SAP is acquiring e-commerce technology company Hybris, which SAP hopes will help it to further develop on premise or cloud deployment for the platform.
Hybris, SAP boasts, is currently the fastest growing e-commerce software company and covers web, mobile, call centre and in store channels. The idea is to help Hybris customers sell whatever they’re offering against each of these channels, using data to provide insight into every layer of the buying process.
The Zug, Switzerland based company’s top investor is Palo Alto investment firm HGGC.
SAP believes combining its own SAP HANA and SAP Jam platforms with Hybris’ software will help it expand the reach of the commerce platform. “The acquisition will further SAP’s ability to help companies fully engage customers to improve loyalty and create stronger, more valuable relationships,” SAP said in a statement.
Co-CEOs at SAP AG, Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe, said in a joint statement: “Hybris puts SAP on the leading edge of the consumer economy. With Hybris, SAP has made a decisive move to raise the stakes in customer relationship management”.
Essentially, the acquisition will see SAP trying to carve up a larger slice of e-commerce, taking on players such as Salesforce and others.
The acquisition is expected to complete in the third quarter of this year, subject to all the usual approvals and closing conditions. Hybris will be owned by SAP but operate as an independent business, keeping its management team.
