I’ve written a bunch about both Sapho and Capriza, two vendors that both want to counter the usability issues relating to traditional enterprise software by enabling contextual mobile applications to be built which “talk back” to core back-office software.Over the years I’ve been bullish about these vendors, but have remarked that they possibly have a high bar to cross in order to get meaningful enterprise adoption.
I’ve also suggested that it is through specific integrations and pre-built basic applications that these vendors will be able to make a dent and overcome the hurdles to adoption. Given this view, it is interesting to see some news from Sapho this morning that suggests they are going down that very path.
The latest version has some specific integrations with both SAP Ariba and Concur Travel – both designed to tick of very common enterprise use cases with the lowest possible barriers to implementation.
New integration with SAP Ariba
Sapho has built out a deep integration with SAP Ariba, one of the more popular procurement management platforms out there. Sapho is adding a pre-built connector with turnkey micro apps for the product. With the new version, managers using the Sapho App will be able to approve or deny purchase requisitions from SAP Ariba along with the other approvals they have to process on a daily basis. At the same time, employees will get updates about status changes.
Support for Concur Travel
Sapho was already integrated with Concur, but this integration has been deepened with this version by the inclusion of ties into the Concur travel application. Sapho will notify users when their travel arrangements have been successfully booked so they can share the itinerary details with their colleagues. In a similar manner, Sapho will watch for when an employee completes a trip and will remind them to submit an expense report.
Sapho is also rolling out some new charting options for their platform, but it is these enterprise software integrations which are most impactful.
MyPOV
I’ve long been bullish about how these vendors allow organizations to continue to use their legacy back-office applications (and, let’s face it, ripping and replacing these systems is generally a non-starter) but to enable employees to interact with the applications via lightweight mobile applications.
But despite my bullishness, I suspect that Sapho still had a high bar to clear in order to gain enterprise adoption. By tying in with Concur and Ariba, Sapho gets to tap a customer base who are already somewhat au fait with cloud applications, and hence more likely to be keen and willing to embrace mobile applications also. This is a smart strategy for Sapho and should bear them fruit.
