IBM and SAP Collaborate on New Software Project

By Greg McNevin

January 22, 2008: IBM and SAP have just inked a deal that will see them deliver their first joint software project.

Codenamed “Atlantic”, the project will see the two integrate IBM’s Lotus Notes with SAP’s Business Suite, resulting in a new style of applications that present critical business data in ways familiar to Lotus Notes Desktop.

“We're creating a richer collaboration environment,” said Michael Rhodin, IBM’s general manager for Lotus Software. “Businesses are looking to find better ways to collaborate and manage their business processes. This IBM-SAP solution addresses both challenges in one seamless package for millions of users.”

Support for SAP workflows, reporting and analytics, and the use of roles from within the Lotus Notes client are currently on the drawing board for "Atlantic". In addition, the two are planning to include tools to extend and adapt roles and capabilities, as well as make use of additional collaborative and offline capabilities in Lotus Notes and Domino.

The initial release is planned to ship in the fourth quarter of 2008 and will be sold by both companies.

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