Mobile CRM and Data Analytics – SAP's Acquisition Strategy

I agree wholehearted with SAP’s current acquisition strategy. As many of you may know, I have been a key proponent of mobile CRM and believe that it will play a major impact on the CRM marketplace in the near future.

Here are some key statistics on mobile devices in the US:

Mobile penetration in the United States is over 80 percent (even higher in other countries), and mobile advertising is expected to become a $3.1 billion market in the U.S. by 2013. In 2008, nearly $650 million was spent on mobile marketing in this country, and that number is expected to grow despite the lingering recession.

Consequently, I predict that SAP will resume its growth in the CRM market with its focus on mobile CRM.

Here is more about SAP’s acquisition strategy:

Speaking of their first 99 days as co-CEOs, Hagemann Snabe detailed SAP’s goal to move itself into the mobile market.

“In some countries, the mobile device is the infrastructure,” he said. “Mobile is the new desktop. Retailers are transforming their business to be responsive. The mobile we get with Sybase is the perfect end-to-end solution.”

“We don’t acquire to acquire market share or consolidate legacy,” Hagemann Snabe continued. “We acquire to move the company forward. With the acquisition of Sybase…we become number one in mobile solutions. We believe in-memory technology will change the way data is captured, stored, and analyzed.”

McDermott echoed Hagemann Snabe’s comments but, in a subtle jab at Oracle, emphasized that the move was not about the bottom line, but rather about customer satisfaction and growth.

“Both of our companies are excited about this,” McDermott said, “because it is focused on growth. Not like other acquisitions we’ve seen in northern California where 21,000 jobs have been cut and people have been demoralized.”

Symbolically reinforcing SAP’s desire to cut into Oracle’s market share, the comments were clearly aimed at Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems, which, according to rumors reported by The New York Times, led to the loss of at least 10,000 jobs.