SAP unveils Business One ERP cloud computing service for SMEs
March 6, 2012
SAP is set to release a cloud computing version of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite for small businesses, Business One OnDemand.
The product marks the next step in SAP’s cloud strategy, having previously launched Business ByDesign in 2010 for midsize businesses, an ERP suite specifically developed by SAP for cloud computing. Last year SAP teamed up with HP and Verizon to use their datacentres to deploy cloud versions of its Business Suite offering.
"SAP Business One has been a successful on-premise product with 34,000 customers worldwide. It was specifically designed for small enterprises. Many companies operate their entire company on Business One," Bobby Vetter, SAP channel readiness senior vice president, told V3…
"Now that it is on-demand, it will be offered to customers entirely through our partners at an attractive price point for small enterprises."
Vetter added that the new Business One OnDemand offering had been developed in China in less than a year.
"We just added the cloud architecture on top of the multi-tenant architecture that was already there," he explained.
Vetter said the firm had brought this product to market specifically for SMEs as its Business ByDesign tool was better suited for large companies.
"It’s for bigger customers with more sophisticated needs, and more complex processes. It can be customised to a reasonable extent," he explained.
Vetter added though, SAP would not be offering its other ERP suites, such as Business Suite and Business All-in-One, as cloud computing services.
"They are really high-end products. Business Suite is hosted by some of our partners in their datacenters but it was really designed to be an on-premise solution."
SAP recently announced a major dividend return to shareholders as the firm sees strong financial growth on the back of its push into the cloud computing market, as well as big data and mobile analytics.