In a recent interview with IDG News Service, Andrew Nelson, CEO of TomorrowNow, described his company's relationship with SAP. "We're not independent, but we are vendor-neutral," he said. If TomorrowNow customers said they didn't want to hear from SAP under its Safe Passage program, then that wish could be written into their support contract, he added. Nelson also said that TomorrowNow supports something over one percent of Oracle customers. He also confirmed that his company is now also offering third-party support for midmarket vendor Infor's Baan applications and may look to support other applications from both Oracle and Infor.
David Dobrin, founder and president of B2B Analysts in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said he does not think anyone at TomorrowNow's management did anything wrong.
"I don't see this as TomorrowNow's management trying to cross some line or cheat or steal," he said. "The most likely thing is some rogue employees were doing something they thought was legitimate and maybe it was and maybe it wasn't, but Oracle decided it wasn't and is filing suit against SAP."
Dobrin said that Oracle likely sued SAP even though TomorrowNow acts independently of its parent company because "they get a lot more publicity, and SAP has deeper pockets." However, he said from his experience in talking with executives from SAP and TomorrowNow, the companies do try to keep their businesses separate to avoid a conflict of interest. "[This situation] has nothing to do with SAP," Dobrin said.
Oracle representatives have not yet responded to a request for additional comment on the lawsuit.
(Elizabeth Montalbano in New York contributed to this story.)