SHORT QUOTE: SAP is "liquid concrete"
The Economist quotes fellow ZDNet blogger and Enterprise Irregular, Josh Greenbaum, on the subject of SAP's forthcoming software as a service (SaaS) product, known as A1S:
A broader question is whether SAP can overcome its history. It grew up selling complicated software directly to big businesses. Now it will need to reach the much larger number of less sophisticated customers, who want simpler products. Worse, says Josh Greenbaum of EAC, a consultancy, firms may simply not believe that SAP has suddenly discovered flexibility. “People still haven't forgotten the old joke that implementing SAP is like pouring concrete into a company,” he says.
Can SAP convince the market that its rigid, complicated ways are a thing of past? Time will tell, but the success of A1S depends on it.
UPDATE: You may also be interested in this article, on the subject of negotiating pricing and licenses with SAP. For more on A1S, click here.