On-Demand Software Services

The market defines on-demand as a software delivery format in a one-to-many framework (one solution served to many customers) that can include different pricing options such as license fees with, optionally, service fees, or recurring subscription fees. It complements the traditional model by giving software vendors an additional format in which to market software and create sustainable value for customers. Customers now have a choice of deployment modes (on premise and off premise) and of payment models (perpetual license with, optionally, recurring service fees or recurring subscription fees).

SAP on-demand software services focus on delivering the right solutions to meet customers’ needs. It is therefore crucial that our customers are able to choose between different deployment options to suit their different business needs. In the large enterprise space, we are currently seeing customers adopting on-demand models for business processes, such as for sales automation processes connected with on-premise ERP software functions, that are less mission-critical than, for example, core financial processes. As a result, we expect gradual adoption of on-demand solutions to be the norm, leading to hybrid landscapes with integration of on-demand and on-premise solutions. These adoption patterns are a key driver in our on-demand strategy – evidenced, for example, by our SAP CRM and SAP E-Sourcing on-demand solutions, and the SAP BusinessObjects Information OnDemand portal.

Professional Services and Other Services

The SAP Consulting organization offers planning, implementation, and optimization services for business solutions. We advise and support customers on designing business processes and IT infrastructure and help customers with project management and solution implementation and integration. We also help customers optimize solutions and IT landscapes for changing business needs.

The SAP Education organization provides the training, services, and tools required to assist SAP customers and partners in maximizing the value they can create with their SAP solutions. SAP Education offerings include training needs analysis, certification assessments, learning software and tools, and education in several delivery models, including classroom and e-learning.

The SAP Managed Services organization provides application management services and hosting services, running and managing SAP solutions on behalf of customers. 

Partner Ecosystem

When customers choose SAP software, they also gain access to the SAP ecosystem, one of the leading networks in the software industry. Its members are a host of software partners, system integrators and resellers, technology partners, developers, industry specialists, and users.

To encourage the development of complementary hardware and software solutions, SAP offers global and local partnership opportunities for numerous business areas and customer needs. Our rich partner community includes software and hardware partners and providers of outsourcing, content, hosting, education, and support services. Among them are well-known vendors, such as Adobe, Cisco, EMC, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Novell, Research In Motion, and Sun Microsystems, as well as thousands of smaller organizations.

The SAP NetWeaver technology platform enables our partners to develop products and services that fit into our customers’ IT environments. At the same time, it helps us increase revenue from the many vendors that license our technology platform. The SAP NetWeaver community continues to gain momentum, with ISVs currently developing more than 2,400 applications based on SAP NetWeaver.

• In July 2007, the first SAP Co-Innovation Lab opened in Palo Alto, California, followed in 2008 by a sister lab in Tokyo. The SAP Co-Innovation Lab offers an environment in which ISVs, system integrators, and technology partners can work with us and with customers on new technologies. They also showcase how customers can increase competitive advantage and improve efficiency by transforming their business networks with an SOA for business applications. We are already working on a number of solution co-innovation projects with Cisco, HP, Intel, NetApp, and VMWare.