BusinessWeek writes about SAP's new SaaS CRM offering. Overall tone - a defensive, me too product when the DNA of the company is still about big ticket, behind-the-firewall products.
Kinda like GM is used to selling big ticket cars and SUVs. Periodically, it catches religion and brings out hybrids and sub-compacts. Whenever consumers (and even the oil friendly President) demand fuel efficient products. GM's losses in 2005 equaled SAP's revenues. If it only had moved to hybrids quicker.
Talking about GM, it announced winners for some of the outsourcing evaluation it has been conducting. With 6 providers in the mix it is definitely a "hybrid". And given global labor economics, definitely a "sub-compact" compared to the contract it signed with EDS 10 years ago.
Be nice to see Consumers Report do an evaluation of SAP's new offering along with those of other SaaS products - an updated version of what InfoWorld did with salesforce.com, RightNow, NetSuite and SalesNet earlier in the year.
Do I hear red tag sale? Lemon laws? Stringent SLAs? Can you see why SAP is a little lukewarm about this model?
