SAP continued its midmarket push Tuesday with the announcement of the next version of its flagship All-in-One product. It is now available in the U.S. and other key markets such as Germany and Japan. New industry and country versions will be released throughout the year, although no defined schedule was released.
The latest All-in-One will offer an improved user experience to make the product more intuitive and, ideally, encourage user adoption. This includes role-based navigation and a "PC look and feel," according to Jim Dever, director of global media relations for SAP.
The latest version also touts new business intelligence integration, improved analytics that interfaces directly with Microsoft Excel, and integrated CRM software, said Dever.
This All-in-One announcement is part of a larger emphasis SAP is placing on the midmarket, according to Hans-Peter Klaey, president of SAP's SME (small and midsized enterprises) organization. Klaey cited SAP's product announcements, the formation of its SME business organization and targeted advertising as evidence of the company's commitment.
The small and midsize business (SMB) market represents an important part of SAP's goal of reaching 100,000 customers by 2010. By that time, the company aims to increase the percentage of license revenue derived from midmarket customers to over 40%, up from the current 35%.
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SAP is selling into the midmarket through both direct and partner channels, according to Dever.
With All-in-One, partners take the base product from SAP and specialize it. For example, a partner may develop a micro-vertical solution for kitchen-cabinet makers based on best practices and processes provided by SAP.
According to Dever, these partner offerings are tailored for midmarket companies to get software running quickly out of the box. Ideally, these companies will then address other aspects of their business over time.
Pricing of the ultimate software delivered to customers depends on the partners and how they market their individual products.