SAP confirms autonomy for Sybase

Sybase will retain its independence but will work with its new owner SAP to develop a mobile services platform.

The affirmation of business as usual at Sybase will ease some of the worries of existing customers but it also plays well with SAP. Sybase has a strong foothold in the rapidly developing Chinese market and brand familiarity could be useful to SAP's sales efforts, claimed SAP co-chief executive Jim Hagemann Snabe.

Sybase's mobile commerce products are proving popular in China, Hagemann Snabe explained. "In some countries, the mobile device is the infrastructure. Mobile is the new desktop. Retailers are transforming their business to be responsive," he said.

A mobile strategy will be important to SAP going forward but the Sybase database is also a strategic buy for the company.

The company confirmed that certification of the Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) database for use with SAP Business Suite should be completed early next year. Other product lines, such as Business Warehouse and the business intelligence suite Business Objects Data Services will also be ported to ASE.

The announcement lacked real substance but it is early days in the relationship and SAP appeared reluctant to reveal too much at this point. Regarding older ERP products, for example, SAP's chief technology officer (CTO) Vishal Sikka was only willing to say that he is thinking about it.