Tuesday, May 23, 2006

SAP's £125M SaaS Attack - A New Venture Fund for SaaS ISVs

"SAP wants more independent software vendors (ISVs) to build applications on NetWeaver. The $125 million venture fund it announced should help lure them in.

The company already has 1,000 ISVs building applications on its proprietary NetWeaver platform, with more than 1,500 such apps already on the market. But SAP is hoping the venture fund will help make it a one-stop software shop.

"We have taken another step forward to extend our lead in cultivating a world-class ecosystem and, ultimately, expanding the options available to customers," said Shai Agassi, president of SAP's product and technology group.

The question is whether customers will want to commit to a proprietary, on-premise-based application model if they aren't already locked in to one. And no surprise, SAP refutes the idea that it would take its lead from Salesforce.com or anyone else."

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