SAP makes CRM hosting move

Often predicted, and long-expected

SAP has finally made its big move into hosted customer relationship management (CRM) software. The German giant’s CRM On Demand Solution will aim for large and mid-market firms with a per-user monthly subscription service hosted by partner IBM.

The initial offering will be Sales On Demand focused on sales management with a marketing module including hosted call-centre capabilities to follow soon and other offerings to come. The software will be upgraded on a quarterly basis and will be compatible with SAP on-premises software so firms can toggle between ways to access programs, depending on need.

Shai Agassi, president of SAP’s product and technology group, said the hybrid service would let firms “act immediately and grow strategically, without disruption”.

As well as hosting the service, IBM will also help with systems integration projects. CRM hosting incumbents said SAP was validating the primacy of software as a service over on-premise deployments.

“Europe’s most influential technology company is helping us make on-demand the global standard,” wrote Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff in an email to staff.

However, Benioff questioned SAP’s CRM credentials, mocking the firm’s past reluctance to disclose customers. “I have never met a salesperson anywhere in the world who uses SAP CRM,” he said.

SAP introduced American standard and chemicals giant DuPont as early customers for the on-demand service.

Zach Nelson, chief executive of another host, NetSuite, said, “SAP is making a surprising mistake by thinking software as service is a CRM-only phenomenon. So the important question is: where is ERP as a service from SAP?”