SAP Reveals Co-Innovation Lab And Envisions Web 3.0

Dan Farber (ZDNet) submits: SAP (SAP) held a dog and pony show, including a ribbon cutting ceremony, for the unveiling of its new Co-Innovation Lab in Palo Alto. “The intention is for this to be a working lab, not just a slick showcase for customers,” said Zia Yusef, executive vice president of the Global Ecosystem and Partner Group at SAP. SAP and partners, including Cisco (CSCO), HP (HPQ), Intel (INTC) and NetApp (NTAP) as well as ISVs and systems integrators, will work on joint projects and utilize a simulated, heterogeneous data center with hardware and software from participating vendors. The Co-Innovation Lab houses 1,600 SAP employees, including 1,000 engineers.It’s not exactly a keiretsu, but a compatible federation of companies that have a shared interest in building next-generation solutions, not just products, that integrate with SAP’s ERP and NetWeaver platform.

“There is a constant demand from ISV partners to sit down with our developers and engage and imagine the future. We should not forget the human collaboration necessary to make innovation happen,” Yusef said. For SAP, the Lab provides a showcase for its SOA-based platform and allows ISVs to test and demonstrate its products in a real world environment, and also highlight partner products.

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