Sybase Upgrades Mobile Platform to Include SAP Apps

For those that were wondering how long it would take SAP to put the screws on Sybase after the US$ 5.8 billion deal was closed in May, well the answer is immediately.

Sybase (news, site) has just announced an upgrade to its mobile Unwired Platform as well as adding two mobile SAP (news, site) applications — Sybase Mobile Sales for SAP CRM and Sybase Mobile Workflow for SAP Business Suite.

Extending Partner Ecosystem

After paying that amount of money it was always a certainty that developments would be quick in coming, but amongst the other interesting announcements that were made was that since the last quarter of 2009, Sybase has made more than 30 SAP-focused partnerships.

The partnerships, a statement said, significantly improved mobile productivity and customer service, while “addressing complex issues related to mobility deployments."

Probably not a surprise, then, that as soon as the ink had dried on the deal, Sybase was in a position to go to market with mobile solutions that would suit SAP, and in particular SAP’s BusinessSuite.

The new version of the Unwired Platform is going to extend the reach of Sybase — and SAP — by providing a space where enterprise developers can build applications to connect mobile workers with data no matter where they happen to be.

Partners and Solutions

But more than that, the platform is feeding Sybase’s partner ecosystem and extending not just its reach globally, but also the reach of SAP’s applications that are already being mobilized. Amongst those partners are:

Bluefin Solutions

Bluefin has not only used the platform to expand its own products as services, but is also acting as a pilot customer for the Sybase Mobile Sales for SAP CRM by providing its sales staff with solutions that can access customer information on the go.

HCL Axon

HCL Axon, which already implements SAP solutions to other companies, is deploying the upgraded Sybase Unwired Platform to extend key capabilities of SAP solutions in industries such as utilities, travel and logistics, oil and gas, and financial services.

Maihiro

CRM consultant Maihiro has built its mobile CRM product using Sybase and SAP and has extended it to many device types including RIM BlackBerry, iPhone and Windows Mobile.

MSC Mobile

MSC Mobile has integrated the SAP ERP application to push data directly onto mobile devices and enable users to access that data online or offline.

And there are many more. In fact if you take the figure of 30 SAP focused partners that the companies have indicated, there should be a lot more announcements coming from this quarter in the near future.

SAP and Sybase Acquisition

And that’s just the way SAP had explained the deal when it was first announced. By making its software mobile, SAP was looking for greater adoption of its products using the Sybase mobile platform, which enables business users integrate their non-SAP products with SAP.

It is still early days yet to judge, but SAP’s in-memory technology is expected to greatly improve the mobile platform’s analytic processing, while Sybase’s database technology will also be enhanced by the in-memory technology to provide transactional and analytical abilities.

SAP’s in-memory technology in combination with Sybase’s database technology will revolutionize how transactional and analytic applications are built, benefiting all businesses. Further, by combining the market leader in enterprise applications with the market leader in enterprise mobility, companies around the world will be able to run their business from many devices,” John Chen, CEO of Sybase said in May when the deal was announced.

The other thing that can be taken out of this announcement is that SAP has held true to its promise that it would support both companies’ product roadmaps and develop current software products from each to ensure value — and continuance — of existing investments.
 

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Tags: business intelligence, business objects, enterprise cms, m&a, mobile, sap, sybase

For those that were wondering how long it would take SAP to put the screws on Sybase after the US\$ 5.8 billion deal was closed in May, well the answer is immediately.