Duet 1.5 Delayed

The release of Duet 1.5 has been delayed, likely until the first quarter of 2009. Duet is a jointly developed Microsoft-SAP product that lets workers access the SAP suite of business applications with Outlook and other Office applications. Although neither company has commented on the slip, it likely stems from problems uncovered during customer previews, which began in late 2007. While the delay could slow product adoption in the near term, it could have a long-term impact if it delays Duet 3.0, the first Duet release that will support partner-created custom Duet solutions.

Moving Target

Duet uses Outlook and other Office suite applications to access SAP’s suite of enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, and customer relationship management applications. The product provides access to SAP data and processes for workers other than SAP specialists and managers. Duet 1.0, which shipped in June 2006, focused on self-service applications: for example, a time management application lets users enter time worked into SAP from Outlook. Future Duet releases will extend coverage to SAP business processes, such as sales and supply chain management.