SAP's first-quarter earnings were hurt by the weak dollar and costs related to its acquisition of Business Objects, but the real news from an enterprise perspective was the slow progress of Business by Design, SAP's service offering. The company stretched its timetable for reaching $1 billion in revenue and 10,000 customers for the web-based software from 2010 to a year or more later, and reduce investment in the project by about €100 million; BBD will engage "significantly less than 1,000 customers in 2008."

During the earnings call, SAP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henning Kagermann said he is confident in BBD and that it remains an important part of SAP's strategy. He also said "innovations and technologies" from BBD will be used for existing products; "we expect to this to contribute significantly to the overall revenues SAP in 2010." An analyst asked about channel conflicts but didn't get much of an answer.

Previously: Plattner and Benioff debate the future of software.

Below, SAP Americas & Asia CEO Bill McDermott discusses the global business (but not Business by Design).