SAP Acquires Syclo for Mobile App Momentum
Sanjay Poonen, the head of SAP's mobility division and president the Global Solutions division, took the stage during a press conference in San Francisco on Tuesday to announce that his company is acquiring Syclo.
Already an SAP partner company prior to the announcement, Syclo is a provider of mobile asset management and field service apps that give smartphones and tablets access to enterprise ERP and CRM platforms. It has 600 customers in 39 countries across several industries, including manufacturing, life sciences, utilities and oil and gas.
The news came after SAP outlined its ambitious plans for the database market that hinge on HANA and technologies derived from its acquisition of Sybase. For its mobile strategy, Poonen revealed that it is taking a more aggressive posture as it grows its partner ecosystem, or in the case of Syclo, outright acquire IP.
A Post-Sybase Buy Push
Acknowledging that the company has largely quiet on the Sybase front since acquiring the database maker, Poonen used the press conference to highlight the overlap between SAP's mobile offerings and its work on enterprise software, databases and analytics.
Where they intersect is an opportunity for SAP that's anchored in Big Data, he explained. According to Poonen, SAP feels that the combination of Big Data and mobile is the “killer app” that will move the industry forward.
Part of that insight comes from SAP’s own IT operations. Few companies have embraced mobility as fully as SAP, says Poonen. “We're one of the largest deployers of iPads and BlackBerries of any enterprise company,” he said. “Our CIOs rolled out 15,000 iPads and tens of thousands of BlackBerries,” he added.
Describing Syclo as “the undisputed leader in mobile asset management,” Poonen says the acquisition will strengthen SAP's mobile portfolio, which he envisions will form the “backbone for bring your own device” environments. According to SAP, the Syclo buy will “immediately enhance SAP mobile solutions.” Indeed, Poonen confirmed that SAP had already begun to integrate the technology into its platforms.
According to the companies, customers stand to gain several benefits, including a new and expanded selection of mobile apps for a variety of verticals. Customers also receive joint support from SAP and Syclo for users of both platforms.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The companies expect the deal to close during the current quarter.
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Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
Pedro Hernandez contributes to Enterprise Apps Today, and 11Press, the technology network. He was previously the managing editor of Internet.com, an IT-related website network. He has expertise in Smart Tech, CRM, and Mobile Tech, Helping Banks and Fintechs, Telcos and Automotive OEMs, and Healthcare and Identity Service Providers to Protect Mobile Apps.
