SaaS

What does SAP’s new SaaS strategy spell for the NetSuites of the world?

On the day SAP announced its on-demand strategy, NetSuite’s CEO Zach Nelson, the ever-present thorn in SAP’s side, graciously took me on a walk down memory lane.

Larry Ellison, he recalled, once told him that what really helped Oracle take off was IBM announcing it was working on a relational database.

At the time, Oracle had the best database technology, and IBM acknowledging that relational databases were a big deal simply elevated Oracle’s profile, Nelson said.

And, as his story goes, Ellison said, “Someday, SAP or Microsoft will do the same thing. They’ll start talking about the importance of what you do, but won’t be able to deliver on it yet.”

SAP’s announcement of its on-demand strategy is “another IBM moment for us,” Nelson said. “The opportunity in front of us is huge. With SAP’s announcement today, everyone realizes [SaaS] is the future of software.”

And, he said, customers aren’t going to wait around for SAP to get it right.

So is SAP too late to the game? It’s no secret that SAP has struggled to get an on-demand strategy off-the-ground. Business ByDesign still isn’t fully to market yet.

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