SAP goes after SAS, IBM with predictive analytics software

BusinessObjects Predictive Analysis will support the R open-source language for statistical analysis

The deal will give Dell technology for re-hosting mainframe applications

North America is generating most of the business, but sales are rising quickly in Western Europe and Asia-Pacific

About 80,000 IBMers are bringing their own devices to work

But the company is still ironing out pricing and subscription details, which won’t be discussed at Convergence

Partners are expecting to hear more about Microsoft’s plans for ERP on Azure during the Convergence conference

The cloud platform’s service management function goes down

It’s the first software acquisition by Dell since the appointment of software chief John Swainson

Analyst: SAP’s plans reflect competition from the likes of Workday for cloud-based HR software

The move follows SAP’s recent move to purchase cloud HCM (human capital management) vendor SuccessFactors

The service for small businesses is the result of Salesforce.com’s Assistly acquisition

The move could accelerate SAP’s plans to migrate its applications customers away from Oracle’s database

The analyst firm cites Thailand floods, the Euro zone crisis and general economic uncertainty for the downgrade

A next-generation user interface is set for launch later this month

Still, sales of Oracle’s specialized hardware-software appliances grew rapidly in the quarter, according to CEO Larry Ellison