SAP will support all of its apps on VMware
Plan is not an anti-Oracle move, VMware exec says
December 11, 2007 (Computerworld) -- SAP AG will begin supporting its enterprise software, including its family of ERP applications, on VMware Inc.'s virtualization platform.
The Waldorf, Germany, business software vendor is certifying 64-bit versions of its Netweaver ERP software as well as its CRM applications to run in Windows or Linux-based virtual machines created by VMware Infrastructure, according to Parag Patel, vice president for alliances at VMware. Eligible hardware includes servers from Dell Inc., Fujitsu-Siemens, Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM.
"This is a very clean support statement," Patel said. "You can run SAP in development, you can run it in production, you can run it on several operating systems. In other words, no caveats."
SAP has more than 40,000 customers and VMware has 25,000. Patel said he didn't know the exact number of customers already running SAP on VMware, but added he "wouldn't be surprised" if it was in the hundreds or thousands.
Those customers will now be able to approach SAP first for any technical problems, Patel said, though they can also approach VMware if a problem is more of a virtualization issue.
"What's significant is that SAP has very mission-critical apps," Patel said. "Companies are very conservative in deploying SAP, and SAP is very conservative in adding support for its apps."
Patel said more than 100 vendors support their software to run in VMware's virtual environment, including IBM, CA Inc., BEA Systems Inc., and others. VMware's online list is out-of-date, Patel said, and he advised customers to check individual support statements at each application vendor.
The alliance also represents two companies lining up against an increasingly threatening rival, Oracle Corp.
Long foes in the enterprise space, SAP and Oracle are embroiled in a lawsuit. Oracle sued SAP in March, alleging that employees of an SAP subsidiary, Tomorrownow, downloaded large amounts of content from an Oracle support Web site in an effort to provide cut-rate support to Oracle customers.
Meanwhile, an uneasy truce between Oracle and VMware, including support statements by Oracle for its apps on VMware, appeared to implode last month at the Oracle OpenWorld show, when Oracle announced its own virtualization platform and said it would restrict app support to its own platform. Oracle later released a statement attempting to soften that stance.
Asked if the SAP-VMware support tie-up was an anti-Oracle move initiated by SAP, Patel said "I haven't gotten those vibes."
Lack of application support in virtualization hasn't inhibited enterprise adoption so far, said IDC Corp. analyst Michelle Bailey. But as more risk-averse companies, such as small and medium-size businesses with smaller IT staff, start to adopt virtualization, they will need more reassurance that they can get support in case problems arise, she said.