SAP acquires hybris 

“SAP and hybris will deliver the next-generation customer experience for businesses and consumers in a world where digital and physical converge seamlessly,” said Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-CEOs, SAP AG. “With the addition of the hybris commerce platform, we intend to help enterprises achieve unprecedented intimacy with customers in real time and across all devices, delivery channels and touchpoints.”

The hybris commerce platform, known as the Commerce Suite, is an open, omni-channel platform that lets users manage content and unify commerce processes, so businesses have a single view of their customers, products and orders. Conversely, consumers shopping at retailers that use the Commerce Suite will have a single view of that merchant. 

SAP’s latest acquisition has been an analysts’ darling since 2010. Gartner added hybris’ Commerce Suite to its Magic Quadrant in November 2011 and May 2013. Forrester has named the Commerce Suite as one of the top e-commerce platforms on the market twice, in October 2010 and in the third quarter of 2012. {mospagebreak}Being part of SAP has its advantages for hybris as well. In the press release detailing the acquisition, SAP executives noted that they expect hybris to take advantage of its new parent company’s innovations in the fields of the cloud, mobile technology and Big Data. 

“The power of SAP will enable hybris to continue to advance our already industry leading commerce solutions,” said Ariel Ludi, CEO of hybris, and Carsten Thoma, president and co-founder of hybris. “We will accelerate our vision, supporting our customers’ transformations from channel-centric to omni-channel businesses. This crosses all customer interactions, business models and industries. With hybris and SAP powering modern businesses, customers are expected to interact with them seamlessly and in real time, whether in person or via devices, and without regard to channel or location.”

After the acquisition, hybris will operate as an independent business unit under its existing leadership. The company will continue to serve SAP and non-SAP customers. It will be known as “hybris, an SAP company.”