Competitive landscape

SAP competitors are primarily in the Enterprise Resource Planning Software industry. SAP also competes in the Customer Relationship Management, Marketing & Sales Software, Manufacturing, Warehousing & Industrial Software, and Supply Chain Management & Logistics Software sectors.^[40]

Oracle Corporation, SAP's major competitor, filed a case against SAP for malpractice and unfair competition in the Californian courts on 22nd March 2007. The complaint alleged that a Texas subsidiary, SAP TN (formerly TomorrowNow before purchase by SAP), which provides discount support for legacy Oracle product lines, used the accounts of former Oracle customers to systematically download patches and support documents from Oracle's website and appropriate them for SAP's use.^[41][42]. Later SAP admitted wrong-doing on smaller scale than Oracle claimed in the Lawsuit.

SAP has admitted to inappropriate downloads however the company denies the theft of any intellectual property.^[43]

SAP is known to grow organically as opposed to its main rival Oracle which has been spending US$20 billion since 2004 acquiring 30 smaller competitors. SAP was able to increase its annual profits by 370% since 2002.^[44]

In something of a departure from its usual organic growth, on Oct 7, 2007, SAP announced that it would acquire Business Objects, the market leader in business intelligence software, for $6.8B.

SAP provoked controversy and frustration among its users in 2008 by raising the cost of its maintenance contracts. The issue is the subject of intense discussion among user groups.