SAP

SAP's position in social is not very clear at the moment, and I'd advise it to use SAPPIRE 2011 to rectify that. Indeed I'd be pleased to see it use the event to make some new announcements. It has a stake in the ground with StreamWork, a product that overlaps with, but doesn't directly compete with, products like Huddle, SharePoint, IBM Connections and Salesforce Chatter.

But StreamWork is NOT really a Chatter equivalent as many have idly supposed - it's a collaborative decision-making tool currently best applied to specific projects or situational resolutions. StreamWork is nowhere near being applied across the Business Suite as a collaboration layer, for example. I personally don't think that's the best StreamWork use case anyhow.

SAP also has the social / collaboration layers within SAP Sales OnDemand: this is a CRM (specifically, a "Sales Force Automation") product that was designed from the outset with a social sensibility and an integrated activity stream. It has an alliance (and an investment in) LinkedIn.

One of the current drawbacks of social business solutions is that, while it's generally agreed that better collaboration in (and across) companies is a great thing, there are just so many tools and techniques out there. And, they're developing fast, as ideas from consumer IT (like Facebook and Twitter) are used to enhance their capability and attractiveness. SAP's multi-faceted approach isn't helping. Indeed the clarity of direction of - in particular - Chatter might send potential buyers in a different direction.

So for buyers, a stronger steer from SAP as to which tools to take, where they're heading, and how to implement them, is something that will be very welcome. These may be from SAP or from its partners. Users would love to enhance quality of customer service or efficiency and effectiveness in project planning, for instance. But too many collaboration and KM projects have fallen by the wayside over the years, due to reluctance or indifference from the potential users, who find them too hard to use or of too-limited benefit. The right tools with the right context and processes are critical to their success.

About the author:

Peter has over 10 years of experience in the SITS industry. He joined Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) in 2001. He serves as the managing director of PAC's U.S. operations and its partners in Latin America. Peter is also the founder of PAC's global SAP & Oracle Services research teams programs.

On the consulting side, he is involved in U.S. and global projects for software suppliers pertaining to ecosystem assessment, competitive benchmarking, go-to-market strategy in emerging industries, and analysis, planning, and execution of localized partnership strategies.

Peter is often quoted in both IT news and major publications for his views on the application software market. He is also a frequent speaker at IT conferences and PAC Webinars.

He will blog on SAP Market and give his opinions around SAPPHIRE NOW live from the event. Follow his blogs at http://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/