When SAP formally introduced its new Business ByDesign on-demand software last September, company officials described it as a "first edition" product.
Nine months later, Business ByDesign is clearly in its second printing. Just several days before its annual Sapphire user conference was to convene in Orlando, FL, in early May, the software giant said it would "modify the rollout strategy" for the product. This modification included rethinking BBD's functionality, the company's investment levels in the product this year, and the cost equation for customers.
As a result, SAP said it would take 12 months to 18 months longer to reach $1 billion in revenue with BBD, the original target for which was 2010. The company also had anticipated 1,000 BBD customers this year. At Sapphire, SAP reported that it has 150 "customer engagements" with the product.
From the beginning, SAP officials have described the on-demand BBD and the market it targets - organizations with 100 to 500 employees - as fundamentally different from what SAP has been used to serving, particularly with its conventional All-in-One and Business One software products for the small and medium-sized markets. As SAP CEO Henning Kagermann said at a Sapphire press conference, "This is the first time in 35 years that we've shipped a completely new product. Our learning is a lot."