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Technology Stocks : SAP A.G. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DownSouth who wrote (1623)	7/22/1998 7:46:00 PM
From: ioioioi	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3424

Yes. SAP needs to address this market. Currently the need for thin client is only based on web-enabling SAP (Browser, XML) based. Pandesic was supposed to help SAP do that. There are a few companies that help that. Buyer: Ariba, Extensity, Elekom, Requisite, Aspect Development Seller: Open Market, Commerce One, Sterling Commerce. Business-Business: Rosetta.net, Crossworlds. HR: Seeker Soft. ERP: All home grown solutions. Most, if not all these companies are private, ripe for acquisitions. Plus a host of other services firms. Unfortunately the market is pretty nascent. I think, we will see a binge of acquisitions next year (fall 1998) to have SAP, PSFT, ORCL and JD Edwards compete in this space.

To: DownSouth who wrote (1623)	7/22/1998 9:29:00 PM
From: Matt	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 3424

Hey... I am new to this thread, but I just went in on SAPHY at 224 and I am hoping for a nice launchpad when they hit NYSE. Anyhow - about the thin client stuff. SAP has done some work to make R/3 COM compliant, which means that there are all sorts of alternative interfaces into it. I know off hand that NetDynamics, Cold Fusion and Blue Stone all have interfaces into R/3 which equals light client. SAP has done some work to create self service applications as well - through a company called HAHT Software but the stuff is sort of flaky. Anyhow. They are aware of the need and have built some of the architecture. Most of this comes from the Advanced Technology group headed by Robert Wenig in Palo Alto. The thing is that most Client/Server applications are extremely difficult to build in browsers because of the limitations of HTML. Sure, you can build a thin client - but it won't do things that Windows applications can do with no problem. Take for example populating one dialogue box with information from another - you can't do it without the use of a Java - which sort of goes against the whole "thin client" thing in the first place. -Matt