SAP Supports Microsoft Despite Looming Competition -- Redmondmag.com

SAP Supports Microsoft Despite Looming Competition

By Doug Barney
05/04/2006

SAP, the ERP and supply chain powerhouse, will ship a new Microsoft-centric front-end next month. Formerly code-named Mendocino and now called Duet (SAP changes around names just like Microsoft!), the tool lets Office and Outlook act as clients to SAP back-ends -- which is exactly what Microsoft is doing with its Dynamics line of ERP and supply chain wares. So, although Duet puts SAP into the midmarket, it's the same place Microsoft hopes to make a name for Dynamics.

Should Redmond magazine cover Dynamics, and would you let Microsoft software run your supply chain? Let me know at [email protected].

Wall Street Overreacts? No Surprise
Last Friday Wall Streeters drove Microsoft stock down 11 percent in one bloody day of trading, all because Redmond wants to use some of its huge cash reserves to develop new stuff. Though this pushes down quarterly results, if I'm not mistaken, such R&D actually strengthens a company in the long term. While my mutual fund might not like it, I'm all for Microsoft dipping into its piles of cash.

Linux and Windows Servers Have New Competition: Big Iron
If you're old like me, you remember the death of the mainframe. It was supposed to happen 20 years ago. But Big Iron never died, and now IBM is pushing a smaller, cheaper $100,000 mainframe that could be an alternative to high-end Intel boxes for some apps.

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DesktopStandard on the Move
DesktopStandard, formerly AutoProf, is on the move. Some months ago it hired Group Policy guru and long-time Redmond and TechMentor (that's our show) contributor Derek Melber.

The company is continuing to staff up and just bought NeoValens, a security company. DesktopStandard's phone bill may be going up (time for VoIP?) as NeoValens is in the small, fabulous country of Luxembourg. Stay tuned for new products from this new partnership.

About the Author

Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.

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