Ariba

Ariba is one of the largest software and information technology companies, and it is located in Sunnydale, California. Ariba was acquired by SAP AG on May 22, 2012 for $4.3 billion, and now operates under Germany’s subsidiary, SAP America, Inc.

Ariba was the largest and most successful “cloud-based business commerce network” before it was acquired by SAP AG in Germany. According to the company’s website, a business joins the cloud-based network every 8 ½ minutes. Over 730,000 businesses connect with trading partners using the cloud platform, and these businesses are located in 186 different counties.

According to company’s website, the businesses connected to the cloud platform will transact over $822 million, exchange about 60,000 purchase orders, and save about $82 million in supply costs in the next 24 hours alone.

Because of the dominance of Ariba in the market, it’s no surprise that SAP acquired the company—even if that meant buying shares at $45.00. SAP’s customer base is one of the largest in the world already, for about 63 percent of all the world’s transactions pass through a SAP system. These companies include the largest buyers and sellers in the world, and the acquiring of Ariba will encourage even more companies to make transactions through SAP.

In a press release by Ariba on May 22, 2012, CEO Bob Calderoni commented, “In our personal lives, networks are playing an increasingly important role in how we connect, share, and shop—bringing more insight and efficiency into every we do. Businesses are looking for the same connectedness, insight, and efficiencies in the processes and collaboration with customers, suppliers, and partners beyond the walls of their companies. By combining Ariba’s open global trading network and SAP’s solutions and analytics, we are ushering in a new era of business-to-business collaboration and driving new levels of productivity.”