SAPPHIRE: SAP admits problems but still on track with A1S

Executives of German business software maker SAP AG remain committed to a first-quarter 2008 launch of the company's hosted midmarket application despite acknowledging problems with product development.

Henning Kagermann, CEO of SAP, referred to development issues with the new software, code-named A1S, as "normal."

"As long as the product is not volume-ready, we'll have problems every day," Kagermann said Monday at a news conference during the Sapphire customer event in Vienna.

Rumors have abounded in the market that SAP may have to push the launch of A1S to a later date due to unforeseen challenges in developing -- and supporting -- the new on-demand offering.

A1S will target midmarket customers who seek an inexpensive, easy-to-deploy, low-risk suite of business applications including ERP (enterprise resource planning), CRM (customer relationship management) and SCM (supply chain management). The hosted application, to be available as a monthly subscription, will give smaller, cost-sensitive companies the flexibility to set up and test the software on their own before deciding to make a purchase, using a "try, run and adapt" model.

A1S is a "very important event" for SAP, said board member and president of global field operations Le