This week has seen another example of sourcing and software as a service (SaaS) working in partnership, a sure indication of the emerging paradigm for sourcing this century.
Oracle Sourcing on Demand is the enterprise software giant's latest foray into on-demand services: a module for the purchase of supplies and services.
That said, this is no radical departure for Oracle, as the offering is based on existing components in its E-Business Suite Release 12, which means seamless access to other components of the suite.
As you might expect, the module is designed to enable collaborative processes, such as sourcing and striking the best deals, and because any business relationship is an ongoing thing, it allows you to build in rules and templates from previous successful – or unsuccessful – bids.
While it might not appreciate the comparison, Oracle is in a face-off against SAP, whose own SaaS provisions have been criticised by SaaS players. Salefsorce.com CEO Marc Benioff is on record as saying SAP's SaaS strategy is “horrible”.
In Oracle's case, it is also up-against specialist SaaS procurement and sourcing vendors, including Coupa, which was set up by ex-Oracle staff – something common to many of the leading SaaS vendors. Oracle chief Larry Ellison is himself an investor in Salesforce.com and NetSuite, two of the leading lights of the SaaS world.
Oracle is therefore firmly in the business of hosting and renting applications – and prices for Sourcing On Demand are reported as being in the region of $5,000 to set up and $850 a month to use – which the company believes carries a strong message in the recession, given that procurement can be a notoriously inefficient process.
That said, e-procurement was one of the major areas of promise at the turn of this century, and that market never blossomed despite the considerable promise.
• In other news this week, it will surprise few industry commentators that Satyam is seeking buyers for a majority stake in the troubled Indian services giant, which is still reeling from the scale of corruption and false accounting revealed earlier this year.
