Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the isn't-that-interesting dept.
Vic writes
"SAP announced
an equity investment of an undisclosed amount by the SAP
Venture Fund in Red Hat Software, adding more support to
the Linux bandwagon and the open source movement. "
So SAP is big in Germany? Why would Red Hat be interested in
Germany? Can you spell S.u.S.E?
SAP already involved in SuSE and, AWAIK, Debian
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2
This is just the second step. The main SAP integrators, as least here in Europe, have decided to support SAP mainly on SuSE and, AFAIK, Debian. To be more wide-spreading about Linux distros it is obvious SAP now also supports RedHat.
I doubt the implied SUSE conspiracy, SAP is huge.
by
mosch
·
· Score: 3
SAP, though many of you have not heard of it, is most likely the world's leading ERP software dealer. Many companies have hundred-million dollar contracts regarding SAP, this is an important milestone. More important, in my estimation, than even Oracle, Sybase, etc... though it would've been impossible without them.
Something interesting to note at the moment is the mirroring of the current debates about linux on the desktop with debates about linux as a server about 3 years ago. The arguments are the same, the logic is the same. While I believe it's only a matter of time until Linux lights a fire on the desktop, I believe that our previous focuses, the ones about improving the system, debugging it, and attempting to make the most configurable, robust and stable system will take us even further.
Thank you, SAP, for making an honest evaluation and coming to the obvious (to most slashdotters anyway) conclusions regarding Linux's viability as an enterprise class operating system.
Good for redhat, but sap..uhh..sucks
by
Stu+Charlton
·
· Score: 2
I'm glad Redhat's getting all the investment dough, but SuSE really does deserve some too. I just installed 6.0... sweet distro.
And another thing...SAP is big *today*, but I really gotta wonder about the future... I mean, sure it's nice to integrate your line-of-business systems, but A) SAP is clunky and annoying (ask any engineer working on it), B) It doesn't give the business SQUAT for analytical power, C) many businesses are buying it because their current enterprise systems aren't Y2K enabled, and need something to hold the fort.
The *real* stuff is with those OLAP engines & data warehouses... I'd love to see OLAP engines or multidimensional DB's on linux.... even some of the query tools like Cognos'... (if we want Linux to be on the corporate desktop).
The reason for this investment could be that SAP is afraid of Microsoft. Microsoft has shown several times that they are able to capture almost every market. And ERP seems to be a very lucrative business so they might do the same thing with SAP that they did with Oracle (SQL Server), Netscape (Internet Explorer & IIS), to Lotus (Exchange) and all the other markets. They capture huge a amount of market shares just by their presence.
Future conflicts over software licensing?
by
JoeBuck
·
· Score: 2
Red Hat has attracted lots of outside investment now. Unfortunately, outside investment can lead to outside control if things aren't managed very carefully. SAP is going to be more comfortable with traditional, proprietary software company management than with Red Hat's approach of putting the software they develop under the GPL.
Much the same thing happened to Cygnus. At one time, everything Cygnus did was freeware (GPL, LGPL, etc). As they grew and hired more folks from the traditional software industry, and started thinking about going public, "value added" thinking started to take hold. Now they've got proprietary products and one of their founders, Mike Tiemann, now says that infrastructure should be free but applications should be proprietary.
Red Hat may come under increasing pressure to create proprietary "value-added" pieces (or, as RMS likes to say, "freedom subtracted") to improve their competitive position.
One could argue that this is OK as long as the GPL version of Red Hat is a complete system. But the old-time Red Hat folks might have to fight their new investors to keep this.
At the Company I work for, we have used SAP for quite a number of years now. The "NEW" direction is to move away from our AIX and Solaris boxes to Windows NT. However, with all the news about Linux, I have been put on a committee to evaluate Linux and its place here in this company. I've already heard today after reading this article, that they are thinking of Linux instead of NT. This is a GOOD thing.
IMHO, any big company exposure to Linux can only help the Linux cause, not hurt it.
I now use my Linux laptop for dial in support instead of having to rely on my Windows box because SAP did not have a port of its GUI. I downloaded it last week and have since installed it and it work great. Just the MSCHAP stuff is giving me fits.
I will reserve comments about RedHat becoming the next Microsoft and SAP suck comments because that is the kind of talk that will hurt the Linux cause. If people view Linux'ers as complete anti-Microsoft bigots, it does hurt Linux in the suits eyes. I'm definitely NOT defending Micro$oft and its tactics, I would just like to help Linux get into companies such as mine. Now that SAP backs Linux, it truly does stand a chance of getting used here.
Good News for PC Vendors, Bad News for IBM and Sun
by
IntlHarvester
·
· Score: 2
Right now, if you were to look at the applications that move hardware for the big mini/mainframe vendors such as IBM, Sun, and HP, I would guess that way up on the list is ERP packages like SAP, Baan, and JC Edwards as well as PeopleSoft.
Sure all of these packages theoretically run on NT, but right now that's sorta the Loss Leader to get the customers in the door. Once there, they figure pretty quickly that NT (and MS SQL) is not up to the task.
Enter Linux - Possibly a way to get these huge applications to run on relatively cheap hardware. The big win is going to be for Compaq and Dell, and the folks who can get the integration services done.
Of course, a couple years down the road, when IA64 is established, there's going to be little or no reason to run these big apps on Solaris/IA64 or HP-UX/IA64 versus Linux/IA64. The big minicomputer vendors are running head on into the commodtized hardware market, where there's a perfectly good and free OS waiting for them. It's going to be interesting to see if they can stay in business. --
not just big in germany
by
pluteus_larva
·
· Score: 2
SAP isn't just big in Germany, you know. It's the number one ERP developer worldwide. Everything is going to SAP, there's tons of money falling into SAP development, and if SAP were actually to port to Linux, it would be a real coup.
SAP already involved in SuSE and, AWAIK, Debian
by
kmj9907
·
· Score: 2
I'm relatively new to linux, so slap me if I seem out of line, but isn't one of the main points of linux that you can write things for linux, and you don't have to port to each different distribution? If a program written for one distro won't work with another, then how exactly are they the same OS?
Thanks.
kmj
--
kmj
The only reason I keep my ms-dos partition is so I can mount it like the b*tch it is.
SAP is a big deal everywhere, not just Germany. They obviously like Red Hat's business side. This isn't some secret plot by RH to kill SuSE. SAP is new to linux so it is going with the market leader.
Slashdot Mirror
This is just the second step. The main SAP integrators, as least here in Europe, have decided to support SAP mainly on SuSE and, AFAIK, Debian. To be more wide-spreading about Linux distros it is obvious SAP now also supports RedHat.
SAP, though many of you have not heard of it, is most likely the world's leading ERP software dealer. Many companies have hundred-million dollar contracts regarding SAP, this is an important milestone. More important, in my estimation, than even Oracle, Sybase, etc... though it would've been impossible without them.
Something interesting to note at the moment is the mirroring of the current debates about linux on the desktop with debates about linux as a server about 3 years ago. The arguments are the same, the logic is the same. While I believe it's only a matter of time until Linux lights a fire on the desktop, I believe that our previous focuses, the ones about improving the system, debugging it, and attempting to make the most configurable, robust and stable system will take us even further.
Thank you, SAP, for making an honest evaluation and coming to the obvious (to most slashdotters anyway) conclusions regarding Linux's viability as an enterprise class operating system.
I'm glad Redhat's getting all the investment dough, but SuSE really does deserve some too. I just installed 6.0... sweet distro.
... (if we want Linux to be on the corporate desktop).
And another thing...SAP is big *today*, but I really gotta wonder about the future... I mean, sure it's nice to integrate your line-of-business systems, but A) SAP is clunky and annoying (ask any engineer working on it), B) It doesn't give the business SQUAT for analytical power, C) many businesses are buying it because their current enterprise systems aren't Y2K enabled, and need something to hold the fort.
The *real* stuff is with those OLAP engines & data warehouses... I'd love to see OLAP engines or multidimensional DB's on linux.... even some of the query tools like Cognos'
-Stu
The reason for this investment could be that SAP is afraid of Microsoft. Microsoft has shown several times that they are able to capture almost every market. And ERP seems to be a very lucrative business so they might do the same thing with SAP that they did with Oracle (SQL Server), Netscape (Internet Explorer & IIS), to Lotus (Exchange) and all the other markets. They capture huge a amount of market shares just by their presence.
Red Hat has attracted lots of outside investment now. Unfortunately, outside investment can lead to outside control if things aren't managed very carefully. SAP is going to be more comfortable with traditional, proprietary software company management than with Red Hat's approach of putting the software they develop under the GPL.
Much the same thing happened to Cygnus. At one time, everything Cygnus did was freeware (GPL, LGPL, etc). As they grew and hired more folks from the traditional software industry, and started thinking about going public, "value added" thinking started to take hold. Now they've got proprietary products and one of their founders, Mike Tiemann, now says that infrastructure should be free but applications should be proprietary.
Red Hat may come under increasing pressure to create proprietary "value-added" pieces (or, as RMS likes to say, "freedom subtracted") to improve their competitive position.
One could argue that this is OK as long as the GPL version of Red Hat is a complete system. But the old-time Red Hat folks might have to fight their new investors to keep this.
At the Company I work for, we have used SAP for quite a number of years now. The "NEW" direction is to move away from our AIX and Solaris boxes to Windows NT. However, with all the news about Linux, I have been put on a committee to evaluate Linux and its place here in this company. I've already heard today after reading this article, that they are thinking of Linux instead of NT. This is a GOOD thing.
IMHO, any big company exposure to Linux can only help the Linux cause, not hurt it.
I now use my Linux laptop for dial in support instead of having to rely on my Windows box because SAP did not have a port of its GUI. I downloaded it last week and have since installed it and it work great. Just the MSCHAP stuff is giving me fits.
I will reserve comments about RedHat becoming the next Microsoft and SAP suck comments because that is the kind of talk that will hurt the Linux cause. If people view Linux'ers as complete anti-Microsoft bigots, it does hurt Linux in the suits eyes. I'm definitely NOT defending Micro$oft and its tactics, I would just like to help Linux get into companies such as mine. Now that SAP backs Linux, it truly does stand a chance of getting used here.
Right now, if you were to look at the applications that move hardware for the big mini/mainframe vendors such as IBM, Sun, and HP, I would guess that way up on the list is ERP packages like SAP, Baan, and JC Edwards as well as PeopleSoft.
Sure all of these packages theoretically run on NT, but right now that's sorta the Loss Leader to get the customers in the door. Once there, they figure pretty quickly that NT (and MS SQL) is not up to the task.
Enter Linux - Possibly a way to get these huge applications to run on relatively cheap hardware. The big win is going to be for Compaq and Dell, and the folks who can get the integration services done.
Of course, a couple years down the road, when IA64 is established, there's going to be little or no reason to run these big apps on Solaris/IA64 or HP-UX/IA64 versus Linux/IA64. The big minicomputer vendors are running head on into the commodtized hardware market, where there's a perfectly good and free OS waiting for them. It's going to be interesting to see if they can stay in business.
--
Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
SAP isn't just big in Germany, you know. It's the number one ERP developer worldwide. Everything is going to SAP, there's tons of money falling into SAP development, and if SAP were actually to port to Linux, it would be a real coup.
--
Wage Slave Journal
Thanks.
kmj
kmj
The only reason I keep my ms-dos partition is so I can mount it like the b*tch it is.
SAP is a big deal everywhere, not just Germany. They obviously like Red Hat's business side. This isn't some secret plot by RH to kill SuSE. SAP is new to linux so it is going with the market leader.