SAP to acquire Sybase

SAP today announced that it was acquiring database vendor Sybase for $5.8bn in cash.

Sybase, founded in 1984, is famous for developing the original SQL Server source code and signed a deal with Microsoft to share the source code. The two companies went different ways some years later, and started developing their own versions of the source code.

More recently Sybase gambled on a move into the enterprise mobile space, and this may be the key reason for SAP’s interest in the company.

With a heavy financial services Sybase user base, SAP is now able to integrate its enterprise class applications to an increasingly mobile workforce. The avalanche of mobile devices like the iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices, is a clear sign that Enterprise is moving into this area.