The beleaguered SAP subsidiary is creating a new program, but clients without an interim plan may lose service.Embattled SAP subsidiary TomorrowNow is ending its current customer support program as of Nov. 21, a move that could mean an interruption in service for customers that have yet to set up an alternative.
TomorrowNow, which offers third-party application support, is shutting down the service that it offered on its own computers and on its own premises. The company is creating another support program that will be on client computers and premises, according to a Nov. 1 letter to customers from Andrew Nelson, TomorrowNow CEO at the time.
TomorrowNow announced Nelsons resignation Nov. 19. Other top management executives also left the company.
TomorrowNows fate wont ruin third-party app support. Click here to read more.
In the letter, Nelson urged customers to work with TomorrowNow representatives to develop an interim plan until the new support program is in place. The letter did not say when that new program would be up and running.
He wrote that the changes ultimately will benefit both TomorrowNow and its clients. Over the past two past two months, TomorrowNows sales and services teams have been contacting customers about establishing the new program, where TomorrowNows maintenance and support engineers would use client computers on client premises.
"To avoid potential disruption to your TomorrowNow Support Services after Nov. 21 your organization will need to provide a new support environment that is not on TomorrowNow computers or TomorrowNow premises," Nelson said in the letter.
Currently, two companies sell third-party support for the PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and Siebel CRM (customer relationship management) applications acquired by Oracle: TomorrowNow and Rimini Street.
SAP bought TomorrowNow in 2005, after Oracle acquired PeopleSoft. However, Oracle sued SAP and TomorrowNow in April, claiming some TomorrowNow representatives had improperly downloaded documentation from Oracles support site. SAP officials subsequently admitted in July that some wrongdoing had occurred, but that they had no knowledge of it and had not gained access to the information.
To read more about the Oracle lawsuit against TomorrowNow and SAP, click here.
SAP and Oracle are scheduled to meet in court in February 2008.
Along with the loss of TomorrowNows management team, SAP said in a statement that it is looking at its options, including possibly selling the subsidiary.
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