SAP AG announced July 10 that it has acquired Praxis Software Solutions, a former SAP partner, to provide an integrated e-commerce and ERP solution for small and midsize businesses.

Praxis software, which will be integrated with SAP's Business One enterprise resource planning solution, enables users to set up online stores and deploy CRM (customer relationship management) software via the Internet—SAP currently offers the latter capability through its on-demand CRM service announced earlier this year.

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The knitted solution, Business One and Praxis' e-commerce storefront, gets SMB customers over the pitfalls many might encounter when they hang their shingle on the Internet, said Gadi Shamia, SAP's senior vice president of solution management for small business solutions. Many SMBs and partners had been hitching e-commerce and ERP solutions together for the intended effect, but with greater effort and failure, Shamia added.

"Too many customers treat [e-commerce] as something you add, like opening another store, and see what happens," Shamia said, referring to the cavalier manner in which some SMBs enter Web-based storefronts. "Without strong back-office support, you risk losing profitability. You might be selling more than you can handle overnight. Your prices on the [Web] site may not match the prices from the distributor."

SAP inherits the 53 partners who had been selling Praxis' solution and expects to build the channel as ISVs grow interested in adding to Business One.

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Minneapolis-based Praxis is a privately held company that is no stranger to SAP. The two are longtime partners through SAP's Business One division, which makes software geared toward SMBs.

Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Praxis employees will also be incorporated into the Business One operations, SAP officials said.

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