SAP, RIM Working to Build SAP into BlackBerrysSAP, RIM Working to Build SAP into BlackBerrys

SAP and Research In Motion have announced that the two companies are working together on integrating SAP business software into BlackBerry smartphones.According to the announcement, a BlackBerry-native version of SAP CRM software that is "merged" with BlackBerry e-mail, address book, and calendar applications will be demonstrated at the SAP users conference next week and will be officially available within months. RIM CEO Jim Balsillie said that the integration will allow sales, marketing and IT personnel to enable event and alert-driven updates and synchronize data better. The applications are intended to work even when no network coverage is available, and information will be synched next time the BlackBerry connects.

According to Bob Stutz, executive vice president and general manager for industries and CRM products at SAP, CRM is just the first step towards putting all SAP solutions on the mobile devices. "The plan is we're starting with CRM, then we're going to expand it around our full business suite, and eventually every single SAP application will be running on a BlackBerry device," said Stutz. The companies did not discuss pricing.information, Computerworld