The results are in from most of the top names in on-premises ERP software, and the results are clear: SAP is leading, Infor and Epicor are doing well, but Oracle is lagging big time.
SAP on Friday released preliminary numbers for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011, that showed software revenue increased 16% over the year-earlier period (17% in constant currencies) to 1.74 billion Euros ($2.2 billion). Software and software-related services revenue were up 12% over Q4 2010 to 3.72 billion euros ($4.7 billion), handily beating analyst's estimates of 3.6 billion Euros.
By contrast, Oracle's software sales for its fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30 were up just 2% compared with the year-earlier quarter, whereas analysts expected at least a 7% increase.
The contrast is even sharper if you separate software revenues by type. Oracle's new-license revenues for databases and middleware were up 4% while applications revenue--primarily ERP and CRM--actually declined by 2%. Oracle blamed the overall shortfall on purchase delays tied to new internal approval requirements at customer firms.
Oracle and SAP are both selling the same idea: Keep the legacy core of software we've sold you, and buy our innovative new software that goes with it. SAP calls it "innovation on top of a stable core." The core is the single application code base of Business Suite 7, which SAP has committed to support with maintenance through 2020. In the latest quarter at least, it appears SAP's brand of innovation is winning.
More than 700 IT pros gave us an earful on database licensing, performance, NoSQL, and more. That story and more--including a look at transitioning to Win 8--in the new all-digital Database Discontent issue of InformationWeek.