SAP and Sybase Unveil Plans for Combined ERP, Data Management Solution

Updated: June 07, 2012

SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and Sybase, Inc., an SAP company and industry leader in enterprise and mobile software, today announced plans to make the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application SAP® ERP the first SAP® Business Suite application running on Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) – the same high-performance relational database management system (DBMS) that powers Wall Street. In combining SAP applications with Sybase technology, along with harmonized customer services and support, the companies aim to offer organizations worldwide a new database option for running SAP applications and accessing critical information, powering significant efficiency gains and cost reductions. The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE® NOW, being held in Orlando, Florida, May 15-18, 2011, where pilot customers will be showcasing how they are using SAP ERP on Sybase ASE.

Today's enterprises require instant and guaranteed access to their enterprise applications and data at affordable costs. Sybase ASE is an integral part of the SAP solution stack. The companies' plans foresee SAP ERP releases being certified out-of-the-box with the latest Sybase ASE in-market releases, and the life cycle of Sybase ASE being fully synchronized with SAP maintenance policies to simplify release and deployment planning for customers. Additionally, with the tight integration between SAP and Sybase, customers will be able to engage with a single partner focused on efficient business operations and on providing attractive licensing and maintenance terms and conditions. Ramp up and general availability of the combined solution is planned for later this year.

"Clients have clearly articulated their desire to migrate to other database and application platforms," said Martin Fink, senior vice president and general manager, Business Critical Systems, HP. "SAP and HP have reinforced their commitment to customers in support of open solutions with long-term committed roadmaps for SAP business applications and Sybase ASE for the HP-UX operating environment. For clients looking to migrate, we offer a powerful open alternative based on HP, SAP and Sybase solutions that provide better TCO, increased agility and longevity."

"SAP solutions enable enterprises to execute and optimize business and IT strategies by delivering a platform that runs essential, industry-specific and business-support processes," said Sanjay Poonen, president, Global Solutions, SAP. "With more than 30,000 customers, Sybase ASE is a proven leader in enterprise database management. Sybase ASE is a great alternative database for the large base of SAP customers looking for options to improve operational efficiency and reduce overall costs."

"In order to thrive in today's business environment, mission-critical data management systems have to meet tough challenges in performance, operational risk and efficiency, while maintaining low operational costs – all challenges that Sybase ASE addresses," said Dr. Raj Nathan, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Sybase. "Now, through working closely together, SAP and Sybase aim to deliver Sybase ASE with SAP applications to easily deliver business and industry-specific functionality. This co-innovation will help advance SAP's place in the market by supplying users with a reliable, proven database server that is perfectly tailored for – and greatly maximizes the value of – SAP applications."

"Red Hat has a long-standing partnership with both Sybase and SAP," said Gus Robertson, vice president, Global Business Development at Red Hat, Inc. "With SAP offering enterprise solutions on Sybase ASE, there is greater market choice, and choice drives innovation and lower cost for customers. Red Hat has a well-established reputation for lowering TCO and we look forward to continuing that tradition by offering customers the choice of running SAP with Sybase ASE on Red Hat Enterprise Linux."

The strong momentum of Sybase ASE is carried by a very committed customer base with a 97 percent customer satisfaction rate due to its high performance, rock-solid reliability, world-class technical support and low cost of ownership. The planned combination of SAP applications with Sybase ASE will provide a superior alternative platform for new and existing customers, offering optimal integration with a continued commitment to provide SAP customers with end-to-end application and database solutions, meeting the highest level of customer requirements at low overall costs.

With this release, SAP and Sybase will continue to build a foundation for long-term growth of Sybase ASE, investing in technology innovations and certifying Sybase ASE with key SAP Business Suite applications. Further planned development efforts will extend the certification to additional SAP applications, including the most recent releases and enhancement packages of the SAP® Customer Relationship Management, SAP® Supplier Relationship Management, SAP® Product Lifecycle Management and SAP® Supply Chain Management applications, as well as the SAP NetWeaver® Portal component, the SAP NetWeaver® Process Integration offering and the SAP NetWeaver® Business Warehouse component.