Electronic Data Systems Corp (EDS) and SAP America Inc yesterday announced a strategic application outsourcing alliance under which EDS will set up and run SAP enterprise resource planning software for small and mid-size companies. Under the agreement, EDS will offer SAP’s human resources, financials and manufacturing software on a per-user, per-month basis. The companies said the service has been deliberately targeted at smaller sized businesses since they traditionally have not had the time or the resources to set up and manage ERP applications themselves. The time taken to implement the software, and its high cost, has served to keep ERP applications the domain of the larger corporate firms. The announcement marks the first time that SAP has entered into such a partnership with a third party IT services provider. Last September, rival applications giant, Oracle Corp announced that it had set up its own outsourcing arm, Business OnLine (CI No 3,505). Under its service, customers buy their software from Oracle in the standard way but then hand over the management of the servers, software and connectivity to Oracle, for an additional fee. And in November, Peoplesoft Inc said it had partnered with Computer Sciences Corp and KPMG Peat Marwick, to offer a similar service. á
EDS TO OUTSOURCE SAP APPS TO SMALL AND MID-SIZED FIRMS
