SAP/Sybase deal broadens SMB suite

SAP and Sybase have done a deal to put SAP's Business One suite of SMB applications on Sybase's SQL server database.

The suite targets companies with 10 to 200 users but only worked with Microsoft SQL Server and Windows machines. SAP's relationship with Sybase adds Linux and Unix support.

'We had two customers who switched to the Microsoft platform, but would have preferred to stay with Unix if they could [have],' said Kory Lind, president of Third Wave Business Systems in the US. 'We're also getting a lot of questions about Linux, which seems to have become more mainstream. Having these additional options will be very beneficial for us.'

Lind is among 50 channel partners who sell Business One in the US. Gary Fromer, SAP's senior vice president of SMB and hosting, said he expected the US channel would eventually have about 250 partners.

SAP's integrated suite, introduced to the US market in March, has about 1,600 customers and is sold through some 280 channel partners worldwide.

The new alliance gives SAP more than new database and operating system options. It also supplies resellers with mature mobile products, thanks to Sybase's iAnywhere Solutions subsidiary. Those products include iAnywhere SQL Anywhere Studio, for database management and synchronisation; mobile middleware and the AvantGo service for PDAs, mobile phones and laptops. Free to users, AvantGo has 10 million subscribers.

'Sybase has significant share in the market for mobile capabilities,' said Fromer. 'Being able to work on desktops, PDAs and laptops through one [Business One] system is a big advantage for customers. We think these capabilities will help us penetrate the SMB market, which is very important to us.'

Sybase executives said they expect the relationship to be mutually beneficial. 'We typically go after Fortune 2000 companies, and this is a way to take advantage of a strong channel in the small- to mid-size-business market,' said Marty Beard, Sybase's senior vice-president of corporate development and marketing.

'This marks a strong mid-market play for us. We're excited because it will help make our flagship [database] product more pervasive and extend our mobile technologies into an important space.'

Fromer said he expects SAP to launch the Sybase version of Business One for the United States and Western Europe in the late spring.

Business One pricing should remain unchanged, he said. SAP is expected to release the new mobile capabilities around the same time. Pricing for that has not been determined.

SAP has also just announced that Business One 6.5's CRM capabilities have been upgraded with added features for contract, field service and employee management.