Event Summary
SAP
AG (NYSE ADR: SAP), and BackWeb Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: BWEB), a provider
of push technology for e-business solutions, announced an alliance making
BackWeb's patented Polite push technology an underlying component of
the mySAP.com Marketplace from SAP.
As
part of the solution, SAP is working with BackWeb to provide a push platform
for its popular mySAP.com business-to-business online community and solution
set. The new service will allow companies to streamline processes and
cut the time and costs associated with requests for proposals (RFPs) and
requests for quotes (RFQs).
The new alliance means mySAP.com Marketplace portal visitors and customers
will benefit from push-enabled applications to "politely" deliver and
receive business information, content, and software. BackWeb's solutions
allow companies to deliver vital or time-sensitive information to users,
complete with unique attention management tools that ensure important
information is noticed and acted upon. The new agreement with SAP also
means that BackWeb technology can be incorporated into applications built
with mySAP.com solutions.
The
Marketplace's new push-enabled services will initially include an application
using BackWeb's Polite push technology, a publishing and distribution
technology. It will provide a streamlined, interactive environment for
buyers and sellers in the electronic distribution of RFPs and RFQs to
potential buyers and sellers.
Market
Impact
With
BackWeb's Polite push technology, Global 2000 companies can deliver multimedia-rich
digital packages of any size or format, including audio, video, graphics,
and HTML. BackWeb's Polite Agent avoids disrupting the customer by using
only available bandwidth and delivering the information in the background.
Commonly
used to select vendor proposals for major contracts involving large corporations,
federal agencies and municipalities, RFPs and RFQs can involve thousands
of pages of information sent to each vendor, currently via courier either
in paper format or on CD digital media. The process often includes frequent
updates based on design changes by the buyer or suggestions by potential
vendors.
mySAP.com
leverages more than 20,000 SAP installations and more than 10 million
users including those in their partner ecosystem. Combining push technology
with the mySAP.com solution bolsters SAP's offering and adds a new level
of functionality to the Marketplace. We can expect similar moves by vendors
offering exchange or marketplaces, as they seek to improve their collaboration
capabilities.
User
Recommendations
Considering an SAP solution? The notion of push technology is an attractive
feature, but one should consider if all the whistles and bells are required.
If you're a small to mid-sized company considering SAP's new outsourced
model, is this something you need?
While
not stipulated in the press release potential users should inquire about
cost. Will this be a standard feature, or will the functionality cost
a little extra? If you're an existing SAP customer, ask your sales representative
when the functionality might be available to you. In the same breath,
ask if it's included in an upgrade and how much that will cost.