SAP and Telstra deal fails

By ADAM GIFFORD

SAP is keeping mum about the collapse of one of its flagship projects, the mySAP.com Marketplace joint venture with Telstra.

Telstra is suing the German software maker, claiming the project was torpedoed by another deal SAP did with United States marketplace software vendor Commerce One.

The marketplace was announced at a user conference in Brisbane last August, with SAP Asia Pacific chief executive Les Hayman touting it as a business-to-business collaborative environment that would reduce supply chain costs and offer new ways of working.

He said much of the earlier talk about marketplaces had been shown to be hype, with few actually running.

"There is a massive culture change required to build a proper collaborative marketplace," Mr Hayman said.

Telstra pulled the plug this month when it became clear the project had been superseded by other marketplaces emerging from an alliance between SAP and Commerce One.

Telstra said when it was talked into the mySAP.com Marketplace project, SAP claimed the impending deal with Commerce One would enhance prospects for its success.

Telstra discovered months later it would not be allowed to use the exchange product SAP and Commerce One were developing.

It said SAP failed to work with it to get the project off the ground or develop a joint sales channel.

SAP New Zealand chief executive Viv Gurrey was not able to comment.