SAP Devouring Stars of Dot-Com Era
dailynews.yahoo.com
Thursday July 19 2:57 PM ET
By Eric Auchard
NEW YORK (Reuters) - SAP AG (SAPG.DE) is taking share from rivals across a range of market segments and has surged to become the top supplier of the software businesses use to manage suppliers and purchasing, Co-Chief Executive Hasso Plattner said on Thursday.
Speaking in the vindicated tone of an industry veteran still wounded by previous criticism that Europe's largest software maker had ``missed the Internet,'' Plattner said in an interview that SAP has recaptured the momentum smaller players once had.
``Hype, vision and perception are losing. Deliverables, execution and reality are winning among customers these days,'' Plattner told Reuters following a news conference at SAP's global marketing headquarters. ``We give customers confidence.''
Earlier, SAP reported strong growth in revenues and profits that beat financial analysts' estimates for the third quarter running. It posted a 78 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on sales of 1.85 billion euros, a 25 percent rise.
The results marked the distance German-based SAP is putting between itself and many of its mostly U.S.-based rivals who have succumbed to a global technology spending slowdown.
SAP, which makes software that helps companies connect their key business operations to the Internet, believes its size, stability and broad customer base has helped it win over rivals with more specialized product lines, including Ariba Inc. (NasdaqNM:ARBA), i2 Technologies (NasdaqNM:ITWO) and Siebel (NasdaqNM:SEBL).
SAP DECLARES VICTORY IN KEY INTERNET BUSINESS MARKETS
On Thursday, Plattner said SAP was now the No. 1 supplier of eProcurement software used to connect corporate customers with suppliers -- displacing Ariba, the company that pioneered this business and captured much media attention in doing so.
Plattner said SAP had surpassed the ailing Ariba in the first quarter, in terms of the number of customers. He believes his company has now surpassed Ariba in revenue, although Ariba disputes the figures. Ariba reported a wider loss and its recently named chief executive resigned on Thursday.
Plattner also declared victory in another segment -- ''supply chain management'' software, which has been previously associated with companies such as i2 and Manugistics (NasdaqNM:MANU).
SAP surged past Dallas-based i2 during the second quarter to become the No. 1 supply chain management software company worldwide, he said. SAP posted $150 million in revenue against the $106 million in license revenue i2 reported late on Wednesday in its quarterly results.
After a difficult two-year transition period, SAP has benefited from its large base of existing customers and the increasingly wide acceptance of its mySAP.com e-business suite, which custom tailors how employees doing different tasks use the Internet to their jobs and relate to colleagues.
THE SMALLER GAME ROUTED, SAP TARGETS BIGGEST RIVALS
SAP also has targeted the so-called customer relationship management market that Silicon Valley-based company Siebel Systems Inc. has dominated.
While company Founder and Chief Executive Tom Siebel, said on Wednesday that his company does not see SAP as a major competitor, Plattner said that SAP is quickly gaining momentum, and market share, with an eye to displacing Siebel as No. 1.
``A year ago we were probably not visible to Siebel'' in the customer relationship management market, Plattner said. Now we are one-third of his (Siebel's)revenues in this segment.''
``If Siebel doesn't see us coming, he makes a mistake,'' Plattner said in an understated tone that belied the sometimes harsh rivalry between the two companies.
Of arch-SAP rival Oracle Corp., the big database software maker that is seeking to extend its reach into many of the ebusiness software and applications that SAP is targeting, Plattner said ``We are clearly gaining market share.''
There is little love lost between SAP and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, both highly competitive yachtsmen, who have traded barbs back and forth for years.
``If there is a momentum shift, this is not a seasonal thing, this is a long-term thing,'' Plattner said. ``This (shift) is visible for two quarters and I think it will continue.'' |
