Firm selects SAP over Oracle for retail operations

SAP's latest customer win in the retail industry could signal its software's growing popularity beyond retailers with manufacturing operations, according to analysts.

Beall's Inc., which operates more than 600 U.S.-based department stores and outlets, is implementing SAP as part of a company-wide overhaul of its IT operations. Until now, competitors -- including rival Oracle Corp. -- have pointed out that many of SAP's retail customer wins had manufacturing operations, a long-standing strength for SAP, according to Nikki Baird, a senior analyst at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc.

"This is an important win because it's a U.S.-based customer that is not a vertically integrated retailer," Baird said.

SAP and Oracle have been battling over the last year for a greater share of the retail market. Retailers have traditionally purchased best-of-breed software. But lately, Baird said, many have been spending more on technology and turning to larger software vendors to boost customer-facing activities and streamline operations as part of consolidation projects.