SAP is teaming with Intel to market a Linux-based server preloaded with SAP’s Business All-in-One ERP solution. The product—being touted as “an ERP appliance”—will be powered by Intel’s Xeon processor. It will run SAP’s MaxDB database and the SUSE Linux Enterprise operating system from Novell.
SAP is teaming with Intel to market a Linux-based server preloaded with SAP’s Business All-in-One ERP solution. The product—being touted as “an ERP appliance”—will be powered by powered by Intel’s Xeon processor. It will run SAP’s MaxDB database and the SUSE Linux Enterprise operating system from Novell .
Plans to market the appliance—which is expected to appeal to medium size enterprises—were announced at CeBIT 2008, the IT trade show taking place this week
SAP officials say the appliance targets midsize companies in the manufacturing, service, and trade industries and directly addresses the demands in these market segments for quick and easy implementation, and tailored yet scalable solutions at predictable costs.
“The powerful combination of advanced hardware innovation, quad core Intel Xeon processors and SAP Business All-in-One will bring substantial business benefits and lower cost for midmarket customers,” said Pat Gelsinger, senior VP and general manager, Digital Enterprise Group, Intel Corp. “Together with SAP, we plan to offer a solution that is optimized and validated on the Intel Xeon processor architecture and deployed on modular servers by our partner OEM system providers.”
The prototype being shown at CeBIT runs on an NEC system based on 45nm Intel Xeon processor technology.
“To succeed in the SME market, software and hardware vendors must develop offerings to meet the specific performance demands of small and midsize companies, but that is not easy,” said Ray Boggs, VP of small and medium business research, IDC . “Industry-specific capabilities that can be readily implemented in an affordable way will be key, but so will having offerings that are easy to access, with hardware and software already aligned. In effect, customers will be looking to reconcile the somewhat contradictory goals of a solution designed to meet their individual needs but in an almost pre-configured fashion to minimize time and cost.”
Bundled for low TCO
The new offering for SAP Business All-in-One is designed to combine software, database, and hardware into one package, with all components optimized to help midsize companies drive down TCO. The package includes SAP MaxDB, the affordable, simple and reliable high-performing database optimized for SAP solutions, and is based on SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, a secure, reliable solution at low cost.
“With SUSE Linux Enterprise, midsize customers are able to optimize both their SAP functionality and their infrastructure, including a fully integrated, validated technology stack to reduce complexity and increase manageability and reduce total cost of ownership,” said Jeff Jaffe, executive VP CTO, Novell. “It is the open platform of choice, fully supported and delivering ease of use with quality innovation.”
Today, more than 700 midsize companies run their SAP applications on Linux, and more than 35 percent of those in combination with SAP MaxDB.
More Hardware Partners to Come
The SAP initiative and optimization work done by Intel for the Intel Xeon platform is part of a series of planned partnerships with multiple hardware vendors to offer solutions for midsize companies that lower TCO, maximize cost transparency and offer comprehensive functionality to streamline core business operations. As a result, the fast-start program for SAP Business All-in-One offers best practices for pre-configured industry functionality in a defined package that can be rapidly implemented without complex adaptations.
The appliance will come with a solution configurator that will allow prospective customers configure the SAP Business All-in-One solution according to their needs and immediately receive a cost estimate for the solution, including SAP MaxDB, based on SUSE Linux, the Intel Xeon-based server systems as well as implementation.
“The intended offering is another compelling example of how SAP collaborates with its continuously growing partner ecosystem to develop attractive business application packages with built-in innovation,” said Hans-Peter Klaey, president, Global SME and corporate officer, SAP “I am confident that this package will simplify the deployment and use of on-premise solutions, drive adoption of integrated business solutions in the SME market and further deliver the best value to our customers.”
