eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
SAP, reinvigorated in the last two years due to new interest in its HANA in-memory database and mobile application management, closed a deal Aug. 6 to acquire privately held customer-engagement software maker Hybris.
The German-based enterprise database and middleware maker had announced its intention to acquire Switzerland-based Hybris back in June. SAP didn’t divulge terms of the transaction, but Reuters cited sources putting the price at about $1 billion. If accurate, it would be a high valuation—nearly 10 times the company’s annual revenue of $110 million.
Hybris thus becomes SAP’s only commerce software offering. With the closure of the transaction, SAP will halt further investment in its Web Channel Experience Management (WCEM) platform.
OmniCommerce, Hybris’ front-line product, is a new-generation master data management package for commerce and unified commerce processes that gives enterprises a single view of their customers, products and orders. It also provides customers with a single view of the business.
The company’s omni-channel software is built on a single platform, based on open standards, and scalable and extensible to be able to expand as an enterprise grows.
“This should come as no surprise, given that the weakness of this solution in the market was the impetus for the acquisition in the first place,” Forrester analyst Peter Sheldon wrote in his blog.
“Going forward, all commerce-related opportunities at SAP will be strategically directed to Hybris. Existing WCEM customers can expect SAP to continue to support them on the product, but over time they will be encouraged to make a transition to Hybris.”
Hybris will operate as an independent business unit and retain its existing sales and development teams, SAP said.
“This is a positive move for existing and future Hybris customers and ensures that the Hybris solution will continue to remain agnostic of other SAP products and technology,” Sheldon said.
At least from the start, there will be no bundling of products, and Hybris will not become part of the ERP or CRM suites or vice versa. However, SAP will continue development in building lightweight connector integrations for customers who want to run Hybris alongside an existing SAP ERP or CRM infrastructure.