Paul Hamerman Quotations

SAP is going to retain a lot of its proprietary ABAP code in developing its next generation SOA applications whereas Oracle's approach is to try to get away from legacy and proprietary code and move to a pure Java J2EE environment. Even though the task Oracle has is more complicated in that they have to integrate applications from multiple acquisitions, they will achieve a more open kind of environment.

Compare that to what SAP and Microsoft are doing jointly to provide some useful functionality and you'll see that Microsoft is retooling entire interface around Office and that is much more extensive.

Middleware is important because the capabilities of the applications are based upon the middleware functions. Oracle exploits some of its database technology and will leverage middleware and database capabilities into the applications.

It's clearly growing. It's become a proven, mainstream model.

The initial scenarios are pretty thin, but I think more importantly they are providing a more comprehensive vision around what kind of applications could be offered under this partnership.

SOX is becoming a catalyst or driver to make overdue improvements in ERP and IT infrastructure.

The first time around with SOX, there was an imposed deadline and everyone scrambled to meet minimum compliance requirements. Now, it's time to look at the underlying systems and processes, and see how they can gain efficiencies from them.

Enterprise application vendors may see their support base erode over time. I'd like to see vendors not only offer premium support package but a reduced level of service options for customers that need more support and less likely to upgrade.

As they have made these acquisitions they have maintained the maintenance base and even increased it.