SAP Goes for Database and Mobile, Ignores Search
May 14, 2010
One of the outfits I watch is SAP. The company’s IBM-esque technology permeates today’s SAP. I read “SAP Makes Bid for Sybase in Deal Worth $5.8B” and thought, “SAP likes the old-style database a lot and search not so much.” For me the most important fact in the write up was the $6 billion price tag. I am linking to the online Wall Street Journal, so the link will go dead, maybe by the time you read this. Not much I can do.
I also found this statement one to jot down and reference in a year or two:
“We don’t need to cut costs to make it work,” said SAP Co-Chief Executive Bill McDermott during the conference call. “That’s the magic.”
Yes, magic. I don’t believe in magic anymore. SAP seems to believe in magic.
On the plus side, SAP gets the DNA that morphed into Microsoft SQL Server. I have to think about the implications of this because SAP does have customers who are wedded to Redmond. Another up point is that Sybase has focused on mobile. SAP may be able to build on this foundation.
The downside is that Sybase is a bit like Oracle. Well, it is a lot like Oracle, just not as successful in the selling department. SAP is making it clear to me that the NoSQL method is not a priority because there are six billion reasons to embrace Sybase. And what about search? For me, SAP is happy with what it has. I interpret this to mean that SAP sees more money in aging database technology than the informationizing that modern search systems deliver.
This SAP deal may give two big search and content processing vendors some zip. Now what will Autonomy and OpenText buy next? The growth curve demands big deals. Another question, “What will SAP do to bolster its search and content processing systems?” I hope I don’t have to wait 12 months to see how this plays out.
Stephen E Arnold, May 14, 2010
Freebie.
Stephen E Arnold,
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