In the rapidly consolidating business software market, SAP has taken a conservative tack, preferring to rely on growth through sales of its own meticulously engineered products. But on Oct. 7, Chief Executive Henning Kagermann ditched his playbook, announcing a $6.8bn deal to acquire Business Objects that could signal the German software giant's willingness to buy its way into new areas of the corporate software market.
The deal would vault SAP, the world's third-largest software maker, squarely into one of the software industry's hottest sectors. Business Objects competes in the fast-growing market for software that helps companies plan budgets, close their books, and divine their most profitable customers. Together with an aggressive push by SAP into selling software aimed at small and mid-sized companies, adding business intelligence to its portfolio could help SAP win new customers at a time when sales growth has slowed for its traditional manufacturing and supply-chain management software.
Source: Business Week, http://www.businessweek.com