SAP Takes on Salesforce CRM and Chatter
SAP (NYSE: SAP) is launching a new online CRM and collaboration solution similar to Salesforce.com’s (NYSE: CRM) CRM and Chatter services.
Announced at CeBIT 2011 in Hanover, Germany, SAP’s new Sales OnDemand offering combines sales force automation and social collaboration and is based on the company’s Business ByDesign platform.
SAP spokesman Saswato Das said the new Sales OnDemand service is “not just another Facebook application for the enterprise.” The cloud CRM service offers back-end integration, real-time in-memory analytics and mobility via Apple’s iPad.
“Our goal is to integrate everything — on-demand, on-premise and mobility,” Das told eCRM Guide.
The hosted CRM service also offers an easy-to-use interface, according to Das, who said the offering was developed with input from 50 SAP customers.
“It literally takes a village to close a deal,” said Das. “You need collaboration to embrace the way people work.”
Sales OnDemand is aimed at enterprises, while the Business ByDesign ERP suite was built for small businesses.
Das said the offering is one of many on-demand products that SAP will be offering this year.
In addition to the existing Sourcing OnDemand and Carbon Impact OnDemand solutions, others will focus on expense management and human capital management.
John Wookey, SAP’s executive vice president for Large Enterprise On Demand, said in a statement that the company used “customer co-innovation” and an agile development process to develop the new sales offering.
“This is particularly important as we seek to address this new business area, in which every person, however involved in supporting and meeting sales and business objectives, is our intended user,” Wookey said. “With these new solutions SAP is responding to the way in which people work together today to solve business problems — anytime, anywhere.”
SAP Sales OnDemand will be generally available in the second quarter.
Paul Ferrill has been writing for over 15 years about computers and network technology. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering as well as a MS in Electrical Engineering. He is a regular contributor to the computer trade press. He has a specialization in complex data analysis and storage. He has written hundreds of articles and two books for various outlets over the years. His articles have appeared in Enterprise Apps Today and InfoWorld, Network World, PC Magazine, Forbes, and many other publications.