SapphireNow sparkles with new products and renewed optimism
SAP is doing its best to put the tumult of 2008 and 2009 behind it. Back then it was dealing with a dip in software sales, antagonism towards it new maintenance regimes and was slow to deliver on promised new solutions.
Jump forward to Sapphire 2010 and SAP could finally announce the arrival of its on-demand suite of ERP applications, SAP Business ByDesign, and its senior executives are talking, and executing, a bold new course.
New SAP Co-Chief Executive Officers Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe, have already distinguished themselves from previous SAP leaders by being more open to acquiring companies that complement SAP’s future product plans. They recently announced the proposed purchase of Sybase, a maker of database and mobile computing software, and signs are they plan to be more aggressive when further targets present themselves.
Indeed mobility was one of the key themes of the conference and SAP will use the Sybase purchase as a key plank in its effort to create business applications for customers that want employees to use tablets and smartphones at work. iPads were in an abundance at the conference and an SAP BusinessObjects application for the iPad was praised for its simplicity and intuitive operation.
Sapphire also gave SAP the chance to update customers regarding its in-memory database technology. Used in appliances to provide high speed analytical power, SAP is currently rounding up a group of test customers to help it finalise the development of the technology, with a general release expected near the end of this year.
In-memory databases move information to be processed into main memory, instead of reading and writing it off of disks, giving a performance boost. In the past, the capacity constraints and cost of RAM held back the potential of in-memory processing. That obstacle has been surmounted by the advent of servers capable of containing multiple terabytes of RAM, as well as additional power provided by multi-core processors.
Other key themes addressed at the conference included SAP’s ‘cloud computing’ developments, its latest business intelligence initiatives and its ongoing drive towards creating a greener, more sustainable business environment.
A huge number of keynote speeches were delivered at this year’s event, many of which are still available for viewing from the dedicated website, Sapphirenow, which you can visit and register your details to browse the information.
Australian and New Zealand SAP customers will be able to experience the best of Sapphire locally when the SAP World tour hits Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland during July and August 2010. Watch Oxygen’s events postings for details.
If you would like to discuss any of the recent Sapphire developments and how you can position your organisation to benefit from these please email us.
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