????一提到SAP公司，人們或許立即想到了超級(jí)無(wú)聊的企業(yè)資源規(guī)劃軟件（ERP）。但這家總部設(shè)于德國(guó)沃爾多夫的公司正在努力改變這種形象。

????周二上午在舊金山舉行的一個(gè)新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上，SAP公司推出了一系列措施，旨在提升該公司在數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)和移動(dòng)應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域的市場(chǎng)份額。為實(shí)現(xiàn)這項(xiàng)目標(biāo)，SAP公司將啟動(dòng)一個(gè)1.55億美元的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資基金，以鼓勵(lì)研發(fā)依托于HANA的應(yīng)用。HANA是該公司不久前推出的內(nèi)存數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)技術(shù)。它還撥出3.37億美元（轉(zhuǎn)換為歐元就是一個(gè)容易記住的整數(shù)）預(yù)算，用以幫助客戶轉(zhuǎn)向HANA數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)平臺(tái)。在移動(dòng)應(yīng)用方面，SAP公司宣布它正在收購(gòu)企業(yè)移動(dòng)應(yīng)用提供商Syclo公司（但沒(méi)有披露這筆交易的具體價(jià)格），同時(shí)還公布了一些其他的進(jìn)展。

????“我們有能力成為世界上增長(zhǎng)速度最快的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)公司，”SAP公司執(zhí)行董事，技術(shù)和創(chuàng)新事務(wù)負(fù)責(zé)人維舍爾?斯卡對(duì)一屋子的記者和分析師說(shuō)。

????HANA很有前途。它是SAP公司成立近40年來(lái)增長(zhǎng)速度最快的產(chǎn)品，去年就輕而易舉地賺得2億多美元。但直至2011年年中，該公司甚至還沒(méi)有開(kāi)展數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)業(yè)務(wù)，絕大多數(shù)SAP應(yīng)用產(chǎn)品其實(shí)都是在競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手甲骨文公司（Oracle）制造的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)平臺(tái)上運(yùn)行。

????SAP公司相信，它有望在2015年前成為第二大數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)提供商。即使對(duì)于聯(lián)席CEO孟鼎銘和施杰翰而言，這也是一個(gè)雄心勃勃的目標(biāo)。但如果SAP能夠激發(fā)起開(kāi)發(fā)人員的興趣，進(jìn)而創(chuàng)造出大量基于HANA平臺(tái)的企業(yè)級(jí)應(yīng)用，實(shí)現(xiàn)這項(xiàng)目標(biāo)也并不是不可能完成的任務(wù)。當(dāng)然，HANA現(xiàn)在依然處于發(fā)展的早期階段，甲骨文公司勢(shì)必將全力發(fā)動(dòng)反擊（甲骨文拒絕接受本文作者的采訪）。

????此外，SAP公司還在移動(dòng)應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域發(fā)力。成為面向企業(yè)的iTunes如果真的能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)的話，也需要一定的時(shí)日。但SAP公司已開(kāi)始更好地闡述其移動(dòng)應(yīng)用和HANA平臺(tái)的遠(yuǎn)景和戰(zhàn)略。目前仍不清楚的是該公司在云計(jì)算領(lǐng)域的整體規(guī)劃。云計(jì)算是業(yè)界對(duì)SAP產(chǎn)品線最大、最有威脅的演變趨勢(shì)。

????When you think SAP (SAP), you probably think uber-boring enterprise resource planning software. But the Walldorf, Germany-based company is trying hard to change that image.

????SAP unveiled a series of initiatives to boost its market share in databases and mobile apps at a press conference in San Francisco on Tuesday morning. To that end, the company is launching a $155 million venture fund to spur development for applications built on HANA, its newish in-memory database technology. It is also putting up $337 million (convert to euros and you'll get an easier-to-remember round number) to help customers switch to HANA. On the mobile front, SAP announced it is acquiring enterprise mobile app provider Syclo for an undisclosed sum, among other developments.

????"We have the ability to be the fastest-growing database company in the world," Vishal Sikka, executive board member and head of technology and innovation at SAP, told a roomful of press and analysts.

????HANA is promising. It is the fastest-growing product in SAP's 40-year history, and raked in over $200 million in revenue last year. But up until middle of 2011 the company wasn't even in the database business, and the vast majority of SAP applications actually run on databases made by its rival Oracle (ORCL).

????SAP believes it can become the number two database player by 2015. That's an ambitious goal, even for co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe. But it's not impossible, especially if the company is able to generate developer interest and create loads of fast, business-ready apps on top of HANA. Of course, it's still early days for HANA, and Oracle is sure to fight back hard. (Oracle declined to comment for this story.)

????SAP's got its work cut out on the mobile side too. Becoming iTunes for the enterprise will take time, if it happens at all. But the company is starting to better articulate its vision and strategy on both the mobility side and in regards to HANA. What remains unclear is its master plan for the cloud -- the biggest and most threatening transition in its line of business.