Want to buy SAP software? There's an app (store) for that

New SAP store aims to simplify enterprise software purchases

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It's simple for consumers to get apps whenever the mood strikes them, but in enterprises it's typically a different story. Borrowing a page from successful consumer app stores, SAP has launched SAP Store, hoping to make software purchases just as easy on the business side.

Unveiled Tuesday at Sapphire Now in Orlando, the SAP Store is a key part of the digital-business push SAP has made at the conference. Its goal is to allow enterprise users to buy software from SAP without the need for a purchase order, invoice or lengthy request-for-proposal process.

Built on SAP's own Hybris Commerce Suite and available across devices, the store offers a one-click online agreement and transparent pricing. Individuals can configure their new applications -- usually in a few hours or less, SAP says -- without needing help from their IT department or outside consultants.

SAP's Lumira analytics software, for example, is available in a free version and a paid version with extra functionality. By the middle of this year, SAP plans to make it possible for a user of the free version to see additional features available in the paid version -- such as new data sources -- and get access to them by purchasing the paid version online from within Lumira itself.

SAP plans to expand in-application purchasing capabilities to other products too, including relevant add-ons and extensions and third-party content.

Hand-in-hand with the SAP Store launch, the company on Tuesday also unveiled what it calls its first digitally native app: SAP Digital for Customer Engagement, a simplified cloud customer relationship management tool aimed at individuals and small teams.

"You can go from 'I want to buy it' to 'I'm live on it' in 15 minutes," said Jonathan Becker, SAP's chief digital officer.

SAP Digital for Customer Engagement costs $29 per user per month. Also available on the SAP Store are the SAP Hana cloud platform, SuccessFactors Perform & Reward for talent management and the SAP Learning Hub educational offering.