SAP, Teradata in BI partnership

Software solutions provider SAP and Teradata have teamed up to offer integrated hardware-software data warehouse systems, reports InformationWeek.

The agreement will simplify integration issues for businesses that use both SAP and Teradata, but it also shows that neither vendor is sitting still as Oracle contemplates opportunities for hardware-software combos with its planned Sun Microsystems acquisition.

The SAP/Teradata deal calls for the companies to provide SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse on the Teradata database, and to integrate NetWeaver BW, SAP Business Objects, and the Teradata Active Enterprise Data Warehouse, an existing software-hardware combo.

PeopleCube, a provider of intelligent workplace, resource, and energy management technology, has brought out Workplace BI, states TMCnet.

The company claims Workplace BI is the industry's first business intelligence tool that allows organisations to effectively monitor, measure, and manage utilisation of real estate to maximise value and reduce overhead.

Noting that real estate is the second largest cost for most organisations, Jeffrey R Roof, vice- president of product management for PeopleCube, said companies want to make the best use of the space they have and to divest under-performing real-estate assets.

The German business software maker displayed a stark difference in strategy to its American rival last week when it revealed the aggressive extent to which it had been cost cutting in the first quarter to maintain steady margins, according to Forbes.

Of the 300 million euros (R3.4 billion) SAP was planning to spend this year on restructuring, it has already spent 160 million euros (R1.8 billion) in the first quarter alone.

SAP's job cuts were focused on sales and marketing and services headcount, where 6% of staff was cut, while research and development was relatively sheltered, with a 1% cut. This suggests SAP is not expecting a recovery any time soon in its main business of selling software licences, and is instead focused on preparing new products to present to the market when the economy recovers, said Rajeev Bahl of Piper Jaffray.