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Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King
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SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck

By | April 29, 2011, 3:30am PDT

Summary: As for the PlayBook, SAP executives said that it’s too early to tell how the device fares. The plan is to get PlayBooks to users internally at SAP so they can leverage enterprise performance management tools.

SAP is rolling out 200 Research in Motion PlayBook tablets as it examines how to best navigate the intersection of analytics and mobility.

That deployment is still small relative to the 4,000 iPads inside of SAP, but makes the enterprise software giant one of the larger PlayBook guinea pigs.

Executives outlined the tablet ratio on a conference call previewing the company’s business intelligence/analytics plans at its Sapphire conference next month.

The key points:

  • Bryan Katis, vice president and general manager of SAP’s Enterprise Performance Management unit, said the company is working to make HTML 5 the standard in all its applications.
  • But HTML 5 will be more of an export for existing analytics software instead of rebuilding software.
  • Flex/Flash remains a key enterprise window to bring enterprise applications to Android and RIM tablets. Many dashboards feature Flash-based UIs.
  • Business Intelligence 4 will be generally available at the end of June.
  • Sapphire key topics will revolve around mobility and analytics, specifically SAP’s HANA analytics appliance.

“We recognize that there’s a change in the workforce that will require a new user experience,” said Katis.

SAP is aiming to tailor business data to users based on their devices—tablets and smartphones.

As for the PlayBook, SAP executives said that it’s too early to tell how the device fares. The plan is to get PlayBooks to users internally at SAP so they can leverage enterprise performance management tools.

Related:

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Topics

Enterprise Performance Management, Research In Motion Ltd., Analytics, Apple iPad, SAP AG, Apple Inc., Flex/Flash, Tablets, Financial Planning, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Finance, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
bobwllms57 18th Feb
I wanted to thank you for this great read. Your blog is one of the finest blog . Thanks for posting this informative article.
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0 Votes
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But was not iPad called "a toy"?
DeRSSS 29th Apr 2011
The subject.
0 Votes
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It still is where I work !
johnmckay Updated - 30th Apr 2011
@denisrs

I do wish folk could see an ipad with secure apps then stop spouting rubbish. Secure apps in effect run like a second OS and are a copmplete pain in the a$$. So whilst I do work with some fanbois who are more than happy to have an ipad they couldn't otherwise afford... I can buy what I like and it isn't an ipad. For the record, again, I have a corporate ipad and an iphone which I choose not to use and stick with a BB Torch. I'm wanting a Playbook and much prefer the asus transformer to the ipad.

The ipad is a great consumer toy... it's a cr8p enterprise toy if you insist on security, but hey, who's going to admt that once they've jumped on the hype boat?

I do wish for some reality checking soon, and hope the strengths and limitations of both devices (ipad, android) allow some ionformed choice. I want them both to do well but there is too much hype and irresponsible reports of ipad and enterprise for my liking.
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
michealyjhon 18th Oct
I like all your comments expressed in this post.
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
michealyjhon 18th Oct
I like all your comments expressed in this post.
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
kpbpsw 29th Apr 2011
The bigger you are the slower you are, Flash as a UI is not a good thing.
0 Votes
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Like SAP is a huge failure who doesn't know
Robert Hahn 29th Apr 2011
Flash as a UI is not a good thing
Says you. It's as reasonable a choice as AJAX, and if you go looking you can find some truly amazing widgets that would make your clients very happy.

Would somebody pick it today for a project with a useful life of ten years? Maybe not, but until very recently it was the only way to do certain things that people really wanted done.

People who think that Flash is all about making ads with dancing bears do not have a clue what it's been doing in corporate IT shops. It's a rapid prototyper, it's cross-platform, it solves a lot of problems cheaply.
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
mediumcool Updated - 29th Apr 2011
@Robert Hahn

And Flash is still rubbish on small devices with batteries.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah
johnmckay Updated - 30th Apr 2011
@kpbpsw

Get real..... the only folk saying that are the folk without it. The fact you cant use it means you are totally unaware of the functionality. Check out some competitors and stop repeating what you've been told. There are plenty of inspiring reviews on youtube that clearly show the different visuals between different tablets. Go look..... anyone with an open mind cannot justify your statement about speed, or content.
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
trott 22nd Sep
thanks for sharing such a valuable post.
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
trott 22nd Sep
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
albertmanol Updated - 27th Sep
That deployment is still small relative to the 4,000 iPads inside of SAP, but makes the enterprise software giant one of the larger PlayBook guinea pigs. Executives outlined the tablet ratio on a conference call previewing the companys business...
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a6498189 8th Oct
@kpbpsw
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0 Votes
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This is a big test for the PlayBook
matthew_maurice 29th Apr 2011
And will either be a chance for redemption in the eyes of Corp. IT buyers or the last nail in RIMs coffin. If SAP can't do something impressive and desireable with the PlayBook then no one can.
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Dont you just love the clowns that appear.
johnmckay 30th Apr 2011
@matthew_maurice

The only thing that comes across is a totally ridiculous wish for RIM to go bust. Where is the sense in that? Where is the business wisdom in that? Me with my BB Torch much preferred to my ipad and iphone wich sit in a drawer..... You make no sense mate! To me... you come across as a total clown my friend.
0 Votes
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A bettter question would be..
omdguy 29th Apr 2011
Why is SAP buying overpriced, under powered tablets instead of laptops and why they think it makes their employees more productive?
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Their answer is..
blind obedience 30th Apr 2011
"SAP is aiming to tailor business data to users based on their devices?tablets and smartphones."
0 Votes
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
deanmastro 5th Oct
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RE: SAP: 4,000 Apple iPads deployed, 200 RIM PlayBooks on deck
bobwllms57 18th Feb
I wanted to thank you for this great read. Your blog is one of the finest blog . Thanks for posting this informative article.
http://www.medicalinsurancecalifornia.org/aarp-aetna-health-insurance/

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