Buy And Extend

Microsoft and Best Software have embraced the buy-and-extend model, joining longtime proponents SAP and PeopleSoft, which now support more robust application development environments that make it easier to extend and customize their own applications.

While it may seem that peace in the software valley is finally here, nothing could be further from the truth. The struggle now is over whether business logic should be inside or outside the application.

Naturally, SAP and other major application vendors argue that you get tighter business process integration by supporting the business process inside the application.

Application development tools providers, most vociferously led by BEA Systems, counter that putting the business logic inside the application reduces flexibility and locks customers into a set of offerings from a specific application vendor.

Currently, SAP and its allies have the upper hand because most corporations have done a poor job of writing custom applications around their business processes. It's easier for them to embrace business logic developed inside an application by SAP rather than admit they don't have a firm grasp of their own business processes.

But long term, customers want enterprise software to bend to the business. And composite applications that combine business logic with applications from multiple vendors are going to be an increasingly important requirement.

For solution providers, this means while there is money to make today embracing SAP applications, it's strategically in their best interest and that of their customers to control the business logic outside the realm of the application vendor,even at the prospect of higher initial development costs. Simply put: When it comes to account control, if you don't own the business logic, then the application vendor owns you.

What's your logic? I can be reached at (516) 562-7477 or via e-mail at [email protected].