An interesting shift is apparent around the positioning of the ERP suites. Where Business ByDesign has previously been pitched as an SMB suite it appears it is now best suited for bigger companies with more sophisticated needs and complex processes because of the degree of customisation it allows. We read that to mean it is now the mid market product, with Business One OnDemand taking over as the ‘official’ small business offering. This repositioning will muddy the position of the new products in the market as a whole.
Offering different products for small and medium businesses makes a lot of sense – they have different resources and therefore different needs. However, the repositioning says more about SAP’s cloud strategy, which we feel still lacks coherency and a clear direction despite the burgeoning portfolio and SAP’s evident commitment to the area (see SAP developments open up opportunities for the ecosystem).
If any confusion can be contained, partners should welcome the arrival of Business One OnDemand as it will be offered exclusively through the partner channel. Indeed, we might be seeing some interesting developments here. We met with Steve Winter, SAP’s MD of UK and Ireland earlier this week, who spoke briefly about SuperVARs – providers who are used to working in the retail channel and have deployment capabilities. There is a lot more to come from SAP regarding its cloud portfolio, strategy and partner opportunities.