SAP reveals Business ByDesign

SAP released the latest set of features in SAP Business ByDesign, the German company's software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise resource planning product.

The Web-based software is also now available for Australia and Mexico and includes Spanish language support, reports Accounting Today.

Mobile support for ByDesign will also be extended to Windows Phone 7 devices.

To better support so-called two-tier deployments with subsidiaries and satellite operations using the simpler, lower-cost SaaS suite, ByDesign version 3.0 integrates procurement processes with headquarters operations running SAP's Business Suite software, according to Information Week.

SAP sees such two-tier Business Suite/Business ByDesign implementations as a major market opportunity. As customer orders come into a subsidiary running on ByDesign, purchase orders can automatically be sent electronically from the subsidiary to the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system at headquarters.

This gives managers in both locations a single, real-time view of available stock for more accurate inventory and demand planning.

The new release is more tightly integrated with SAP's flagship Business Suite line of on-premise applications to automate procurement processes between a company's headquarters and its subsidiaries, says CRN.

A company subsidiary could sell a product using Business ByDesign, for example, but centrally manage inventory using Business Suite applications, Iannotti said.