Does Business Objects Really Help SAP get at the "Business User?"

I've been doing some thinking on this whole concept of the "business user" segment that SAP is using as a rationale for their acquisition of Business Objects.

On the face of it, I get it. SAP is basically saying that their core ERP user has most of the ERP they need, and there's only so many ERP users out there, so in order to double their addressable market, they need to expand beyond their traditional user constituency. Everyone pretty much has an ERP system at this point, it's heavily customized, and organically adding on new functionality doesn't get them their growth targets. So great, let's get more into this new business user segment that shows some promise, which to date has been where their own performance management products have resided.

But do the core Business Objects products really help SAP get closer to the business user? The mantra of the BI vendors for the past 4-5 years (at least) is that their systems help unlock the data and information that business users need (so far so good). But then in the next breath, they say that the potential BI user population is only 20% (or so) penetrated; and they, by their own admission, haven't been able to expand the pie any further themselves with their traditional BI tools. So the very business users they proport to want to help are not using the products today.

So who IS using these tools? Well, we know that IT does; they do a lot of work on the reports, adminsitration, security, and integration of the product. But they're not business users. And if they're doing this for Business Objects, they're doing it already for ERP/SAP as well. So no one new here. We know business analysts do, they're certainly business users; they use the pivot tables, cubes, etc., to analyze the information from the data warehouse and universe and look for trends, etc. But there are relatively few of these analysts in a company today, and they're already likely using their ERP system to get out the data, look at orders, forecasts, maybe even financials. So that's not necessarily a net-new user for SAP either; in fact, like the IT user, they may be already counting this user in their population as well. And even if it is, it's a negligible addition to the potential user population.

Well what about the people for whom all these reports and analysis is created--are they are elusive business user? I'm not sure. Would we say they're' "users?" Perhaps in the technical sense, in that they are "using" the information that IT or the analyst is creating to help them run their business. But they're really not using the BI tool or app, just getting information delivered to them. Are they more likely to use Business Objects or a BI tool now that BOJ is part of SAP than when it was independent--i.e. is this an untapped user population? I just don't think so. They're not attached to BI, they don't care where it comes from, they're fine with what they're already getting (or not, but you get my point). So that's not a net-new segment either.

Which brings us to performance management. Here, I'd argue, is the one place where BI companies have been branching out in recent years to hit the line-of-business person, the business decision maker, the CFO, whoever--the audience that SAP is calling "the business user." Cognos led the charge with its performance management initiatives 5 years ago, and everyone else has been playing catch up since them. Including Business Objects. And SAP.

So if this is really where they see the best opportunity to grow into a new segment, someone who will not produce data for others, not just get a report in their inbox, but actually run their business through the BI tools and applications, then I agree, this is where we find a business user.

But isn't this precisely where SAP has already invested, acquired, begun integration, and has almost a 100% product overlap with Business Objects? The BOBJ performance management customer base is pretty small (relative to their BI customer base). So SAP is not getting access to a new built-in business user customer segment that helps them expand the pie. Additionally, the SAP performance management product line-up is already on the way to being integrated into the SAP architecture. So how does adding the only applications really "used" by a business user to a portfolio that already has them (and good ones at that) actually expand the pie? Won't the "business user" product portfolio basically look the same as it does today once integration is completed?

Now please don't misread this as sour grapes on the acquisition or naivity in terms of thinking that this acquisition won't work. To the contrary, SAP was far from successful at weaning itself from the Crystal environment, and SAP users will certainly benefit from the great tools and apps that Business Objects wil provide. I get that part, and I think that SAP shops will have great tools at their disposal.

But saying that BI is for business users flies in the face of the core buying audience and users of Business Objects BI products today. They're selling to IT; IT is the main user, not a business person. The business person is mainly a consumer. The main business users are in the field of performance management, which SAP was already well on the way to doing on its own.

So how is that an expansion?