Wednesday, January 17, 2007
SAP Sags on Slower Growth
SAP Sags on Slower Growth: "But it's not just tough prices from Oracle that could be giving SAP trouble. The California maker of databases and corporate applications has spent the last few years bulking up with massive acquisitions and now appears to be taking market share from SAP, according to JMP Securities. What's more, says JMP analyst Patrick Walravens, 'SAP's product message has become convoluted.' Though the company introduced more than two dozen new packages in 2006, 'many customers are confounded by the new applications…and see no compelling reason to upgrade.'
Indeed, this is a common theme voiced by software analysts. SAP has spent four years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing an ambitious new set of 'middleware' software tools called NetWeaver that are intended to link its applications more flexibly to one another and to products from other companies. The goal is to allow SAP programs to be delivered over a wire as if they were services, such as electricity or a dial tone. "
Indeed, this is a common theme voiced by software analysts. SAP has spent four years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing an ambitious new set of 'middleware' software tools called NetWeaver that are intended to link its applications more flexibly to one another and to products from other companies. The goal is to allow SAP programs to be delivered over a wire as if they were services, such as electricity or a dial tone. "
