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SAP Monday debuted an updated release of its SAP Business ByDesign on-demand applications with a new development toolkit that channel partners and ISVs can use to build add-on applications.
The new release, Business ByDesign feature pack 2.6, also offers financial consolidation capabilities for large companies with subsidiaries and extends support for mobile devices beyond the Apple iPhone to include Apple's iPad and RIM BlackBerry smartphones.
SAP struggled for several years to bring Business ByDesign to market before making the on-demand applications generally available in the U.S. last July with the 2.5 release. Monday the company said it now has approximately 250 customers subscribing to the Business ByDesign service and expects that number to grow to "several hundred" by May.
Business ByDesign is targeted toward the lower end of the midmarket (for companies with between 50 and 500 employees) and SAP is counting heavily on channel partners to sell the service. About 50 solution provider resellers are carrying Business ByDesign and another 40 ISVs are developing add-on applications for the service, said Chris Horak, global head of solution marketing for Business ByDesign, in an interview.
SAP's goal is to increase the percentage of Business ByDesign sales through the channel every year, Horak said, although he declined to disclose current sales statistics.
NEXT: What's New In 2.6
