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Yahoo has confirmed widespread reports that it will acquire the popular blogging service Tumblr, and also promised not to "screw it up." The deal is worth about $1.1 billion, nearly all in cash.

Anyone remotely within the orbit of SAP lately knows that its number-one focus is the HANA in-memory database and development platform. At this week's Sapphire conference in Orlando, the vendor sought to show the progress it is making in both building out HANA's capabilities as well as attracting developers and partners to HANA.

SAP's software is known for its role running many of the world's largest companies, but not necessarily for its user-friendliness. As part of an ongoing effort to change this perception, SAP unveiled Fiori, a set of 25 lightweight "consumer-friendly" applications that can run on desktops, tablets and mobile devices, on Wednesday at the Sapphire conference in Orlando.

SAP is hoping to win points with professional sports teams by showing how its HANA in-memory database, analytics, mobile software and other technologies can help them make fans happier, find better players and improve their operations.

You know you're not in iTunes anymore when the app you're eyeing has a US$1,050 price tag, but SAP is nonetheless expanding its online shopping experience in a bid to entice its customers to purchase enterprise software the way they shop on their smartphones.

NetSuite is beefing up its cloud-based ERP software's order-processing features by acquiring OrderMotion, a move that could strengthen its appeal to customers in retailing. Terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, were not disclosed.

BMC has agreed to be acquired by a private investment consortium headed by Bain Capital and Golden Capital, in a deal worth about US$6.9 billion.

SAP is hoping to sow more seeds of interest in its newest technologies, including the HANA in-memory database, through a new online training program available at no charge.

An appeals court has rejected SAP's attempt to overturn a US$345 million judgment awarded to Versata Software, which had brought a patent-infringement case against the software maker.

About half of the world's companies will enact BYOD (bring your own device) programs by 2017 and will no longer provide computing devices to employees, a new Gartner report predicts.

Global CRM (customer relationship management) revenue grew 12.5 percent last year to US$18 billion, a rate three times that of all enterprise software segments on average, as companies look to acquire more business and serve existing customers better, according to a new Gartner report.