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by Joshua Greenbaum, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | As SAP works to simplify products that have been unwieldy to implement, Microsoft bulks up its Dynamics line. Which approach is right? |
There is a wonderful irony in watching the strategic convergence of SAP and Microsoft in the enterprise software market. With two very different legacies, and very different attitudes about product, technology, and customers, these competitors are more and more trying to address the same market issues and reach the same customers. But, when it comes to execution, they seem to be running in opposite directions. SAP, once saddled with the unfortunately well-earned reputation of being complex and costly to implement, is making a major effort to streamline and simplify its product offerings for all markets. This simplification theme was very much in evidence last December at the company's annual analyst conference, and it can be seen in a number of current and forthcoming initiatives. These range from new features in the MySAP enhancement packages that target simplification to products like the Business Intelligence Accelerator and the SOA by Design model-based MySAP system that SAP board member Peter Zencke demonstrated at the conference. The goal, particularly with SOA by Design, is to make SAP more palatable to the mid-market. But there's no doubt that everyone at SAP, from Zencke on down, knows that simplification will sell equally well in the boardrooms of top-tier customers. [Click to continue] |