Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Social Responsibility's Strategic Benefits
December 15, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Ed Granger-Happ, CIO of Save the Children, for a discussion of how creating an organization that is socially responsible improves staffing, retention, leadership development and overall corporate health.
Working With and Communicating to Your Board of Directors
January 13, 2009, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-5)
CIO panelists who will share tips and experiences working with their boards: Twila Day of SYSCO; Jeff O'Hare, West Corp.; Marc West, formerly with H&R Block.
IT's Role in Growing Mid-Market Companies
January 14, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET (GMT-5)
Mid-market Council members will share their companies' stories and challenges in driving or coping with growth. Panelists represent Veterinary Pet Insurance, Medicis Pharmaceutical, and Intrax Cultural Exchange.
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October 17, 2007 — IDG News Service (Paris Bureau) — SAP AG is buying a small Indian software company to help beef up the business process management capabilities in its NetWeaver applications platform.
SAP is purchasing Yasu Technologies, a maker of business rules management software, which helps ensure that business processes automated through software are in compliance with a company's rules and regulations.
SAP characterized the deal, which was due to be announced Wednesday, as a "fill in" acquisition that would bridge a gap in its technologies. The deal is due to close this month and financial terms were not disclosed.
Several vendors, including SAP, are providing software tools that allow companies to automate common business processes, such as issuing a purchase order or checking inventory levels, with the goal of making them more efficient.
While the tools for creating the processes are fine, companies need better management software to ensure that the processes comply with company rules and industry regulations, said Rolf Schumann, SAP's chief technology officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
For example, he said, some publicly traded companies are prohibited by regulations from allowing more than five of their board members to fly on the same aircraft, in case of a crash. Yasu's software will monitor flights booked through a company's travel applications and raise an alert if too many board members are booked on the same flight.
Its business rules management system will be integrated with a future version of SAP's Process Integration software, which is part of NetWeaver, Schumann said. It allows the rules to be managed centrally, and for developers to consult them when the are building applications, he said.
Yasu was founded in 1999 and has about 120 employees. Customers include the auto maker BMW AG, according to its website.
SAP CEO Henning Kagermann was expected to discuss the acquisition in his speech at the start of the SAP's TechEd developer conference in Munich on Wednesday.
Last week SAP said it would buy business intelligence vendor Business Objects SA for $6.8 billion. A few days later Oracle Corp. offered to buy BEA Systems Inc., whose software competes with SAP's NetWeaver, for $6.7 billion, but BEA called the offer too low.
Kagermann told the Financial Times of London over the weekend that SAP won't enter a bidding war for BEA, and that its strategy is still to grow its two core businesses—applications and middleware—organically.
But he wouldn't rule out further big acquisitions in areas where SAP is not already strong. "We are categorically not excluding further big acquisitions," Kagermann said, according to the Financial Times.
Just the basics, please. Sometimes we all need a refresher or we need to make sure our team and our colleagues are all on the same page.
Over 25 tutorials on everything from business intelligence to virtualization.