Jamie Yeo is back to radio

The refreshed Power98 DJ line-up. Jamie Yeo (center) will be co-hosting The Power Breakfast Show on Power98 with Power98 DJ Sonja Steinmetz and new addition, industry veteran Hubert Tang.By Juliana June Rasul
The New Paper
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012

After five years off the airwaves, a new marriage and a baby, Jamie Yeo is returning to radio.

On a morning show. For the first time.

And in direct competition with her former husband, Class 95 DJ Glenn Ong.

The local actress, TV host and DJ will be co-hosting The Power Breakfast Show on Power98 with Power98 DJ Sonja Steinmetz and new addition, industry veteran Hubert Tang.

The trio will begin duties on Monday.

The revamped line-up was revealed at a press conference yesterday by the station's new programming consultant, Shareen Wong, who is also returning to radio after a hiatus.

Wong, 37, had contacted Yeo last November, suggesting they meet up to chat.

Yeo, 34, told The New Paper in an earlier interview: "We talked about me going back to radio, which was an interesting idea and very exciting to me, but I told her I had to think about it."

At the time, Alysia, Yeo's daughter with her English husband Thorsten Nolte, 37, had just turned one.

The couple own a marketing firm, Upfront Media.

"I really didn't have the time for anything full time. I have a company to run, I have my husband, my daughter. The last thing I wanted to do was to steal time away from her," she said.

After the first round of discussions with the Power98 team, Yeo's initial decision was to not take up the offer due to family commitments.

Yeo - who hosted the Say It With Music programme on weekday nights for 987 from 2001 to 2006 - said she has had several job offers since she gave birth to Alysia in 2010.

The offers included one from an international news agency which wanted her to travel around the region to speak to sports personalities, but she rejected them.

"I always thought I'd never want to do anything that took me away from my family too much," she said.

But in the end, Yeo said she was made an offer she "couldn't resist" in the form of a part-time contract.

"To be honest, the money side of it is just a bonus for me; it'll allow me to save for my baby, buy her nice things. It's not a bread and butter issue.

"More importantly, Power was really willing to accommodate my timing," she said.

While other morning show DJs straggle to work at four or five in the morning, Yeo will be joining her co-hosts only at 7am.

"If I had to wake up at 5am, I'd hardly have any sleep because Alysia wakes up once a night, at around 2am," she said.

"I'm so grateful to my co-hosts for being so understanding."

Tang and Steinmetz will be up bright and early to kick off the show at 6am.

Yeo, who has known Tang since her days at MediaCorp Radio, said the energy among the three of them isgreat.

But will it be good enough to beat a certain morning show featuring a certain former hubby?

"Honestly, I've got no ambitions of outdoing him," she said.

Aware that she is going into a time slot that Ong - whom she married in 2004 and divorced in 2009 - has been at for years, she said she has no plans to "take on his style".

"I'm not Glenn," she said. "I could never outdo him in terms of style."

Though she doesn't habitually listen to morning shows, she has been flipping stations recently in the mornings to find out what her peers are up to.

And that includes Class 95's Morning Express show.

"There are no hard feelings between Glenn and myself," she said.

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Friends mourn the death of renowned kumu hula O'Brian Eselu

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - O'Brian Eselu drove his dancers to move with passion and vigor, a style of hula that combined power and grace. His all-male halau, Ke Kai O Kahiki, won multiple titles at the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival.

"They had the loudest applause. They had the loudest screams because it was very exciting. It was very masculine," said John Aeto, Eselu's longtime business manager

"His men all had that physique and that strength of the body already," friend and kumu hula Chinky Mahoe said. "He worked with that body that he had and brought out that beauty in the hula."

Eselu became enthralled with Hawaiian culture and dance at a young age. As a kumu hula, he was a visionary.

"He would dream the dance and visualize it. And then he would draw it with stick figures," Aeto said.

Eselu's artistry was also on display for over thirty years as the director of the Polynesian show at Paradise Cove.

"I was trying to think about how many people, visitors and kamaaina alike that he entertained. It must have been well over a million, maybe two," Paradise Cove president and CEO Keith Horita said.

Besides hula, Eselu also excelled as a singer and composer. His R&B roots added to a unique Hawaiian music style that earned him a Na Hoku Hanohano award.

"That's really what he's most famous for in the recording industry, his unique falsetto sound," Aeto said.

Eselu graduated from Aiea High School in 1973.  He was Samoan, firmly committed to the Mormon Church and to hula.

"For someone to embrace another person's culture full on like how he did -- hat's off to him," Mahoe said.

Those close to him said although Eselu suffered from diabetes and was on dialysis treatments, he was in good health.

He died Monday night in his sleep at his Halawa home. He was 56.

"The major emotions we're feeling in the community is shock and disbelief." Aeto said.

Eselu once said he used hula to unite people. He was a student of his art, and it showed.

You can leave a  condolence message on our Facebook page.  

Statement from Paradise Cove:

The voice of one of Hawaii's most beloved entertainers has been silenced, with the passing of O'Brian Eselu. Co-workers at Paradise Cove Lu‘au in the Ko Olina Resort – where Eselu had worked for 32 years -- began gathering early today to comfort one another and share stories of their respected kumu (teacher), entertainer and friend. Eselu had been living with diabetes and related health issues.

As Entertainment Director for Paradise Cove Lu‘au, O'Brian Eselu taught two generations of hula dancers and Hawaiian musicians, entertained many thousands of island visitors, and provided cultural guidance at the popular attraction.

"O'Brian Eselu was a cultural treasure, a talented composer and musician, and a gifted kumu," said Keith Horita, President and CEO of Paradise Cove Lu‘au

"O'Brian was a teacher, a leader, and a friend who inspired and motivated so many of Hawaii's youth, especially along O‘ahu's Wai‘anae Coast, and so many of our islands' visitors, with his wisdom, compassion and humor -- and his true sense of aloha," added Horita.

"As humble as he was, O'Brian was born to entertain. He loved it. Audiences loved it. And I'm so glad that his aloha spirit can live on through the performers and musicians in his halau and here at Paradise Cove."

Eselu's hula group, Halau Ke Kai O Kahiki (The Seas of the Ancestral Land) won top honors as the best overall halau and best male halau at the 2011 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival. Many of the group's disciplined young men worked with Eselu at Paradise Cove.

"O'Brian was, by far, our most popular emcee," said Horita. "We've literally had visitors come back to Paradise Cove and ask if O'Brian would be emceeing that evening's show. We've had requests from U.S. Senators, APEC delegates and even the White House."

Eselu directed the Paradise Cove Hawaiian Revue, a popular evening show that features hula, fire knife dancing, comedy and live Hawaiian music.

"O'Brian will be missed -- no doubt about that. But his spirit will live on in our performances. He always encouraged our dancers and musicians to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture through song and dance." Horita said. "I really think those were O'Brian's great loves – his students and his culture. And those are his legacy."

Copyright 2011 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved

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How the 'Duchess of Cambridge effect' is helping British fashion in US

Outside LK Bennett's brand-new Manhattan flagship store, four American women peer through the glass to look at the dress on display. It is above the knee, ruched at the side, and has these friends thinking they've seen it before. As they talk among themselves, one of them remembers who she saw it on. "Kate Middleton", she says, and at once the group starting gushing about the Duchess of Cambridge's style and rush into the shop.

This is the 'Kate effect', aka the Duchess effect, which has propelled the quintessentially British brand – famous for its statement 1990s 'kitten heels' – into a 2,100 sq ft space in New York.

Along with other British labels worn by the duchess, such as Reiss and Issa, LK Bennett is using its unofficial brand ambassador to make inroads in the US. Before the Manhattan store opening, on 23 March, the brand was sold online and in department store concessions, slowing building a dedicated fanbase. But the flagship represents the company's first growth as a result of the Kate effect.

"Kate Middleton is an elegant lady, she wears our clothing and our shoes very well, and the American public are infatuated with her, which has definitely helped us, being new to the American market," said Tony DiMasso, president at LK Bennett and former chief operations officer at Jimmy Choo. "The great press we've received because of her has helped people come to the store and see the brand. We've been very well received in the United States and are starting to look at more stand alone locations in the city and in other states, such as Florida and San Francisco."

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Robert Bensoussan, LK Bennett's executive chairman, hinted at plans to "go to 20 stores in the US very quickly".

The Manhattan store is in a prime spot in an upmarket shopping centre in Columbus Circle, close to the New York fashion week tents. The plush carpet, ladylike decoration, welcoming sales staff and prime positioning of the Davina dress that the duchess wore earlier this month while with the Queen as part of the diamond jubilee tour, is helping to attract both press and customers.

Manhattanite Salud Reyes, who lives in the Upper East Side, said LK Bennett was synonymous with Kate's style from dresses to shoes. "I regularly see them appear on the blog What Kate Wore, and I already have my eyes on LK Bennett's nude 'sledge heel' that she wore recently", says Reyes.

Mary Alice Stephenson, a former fashion editor of Vogue, Allure, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar, believes the duchess's appeal in America lay in her American aesthetic. "While she might be supporting British brands, the way that Kate dresses is very all-American, classic sportswear with a twist," said Stephenson. "She is also very smart using fashion the way that Michelle Obama does, Kate is championing new home-grown talent and breathing life into iconic, traditional British brands."

New York stylist Jess Zaino says her clients are not just chasing after the royal appeal, but that the dresses are accessible and fit regular women.

"The women I put in [LK Bennett] are curvy size 6 to 8 [US]. Also, the Davina dress, with the flattering ruche at the side, is a perfectly versatile dress. It's the new little black dress or the new DVF wrap dress," Zaino adds.

DiMasso is hoping to turn the growing demand for LK Bennett into a dedicated and loyal US customer base. "I think that the female customer in America expects a lot from her brands," DiMasso says. "If you can meet her expectations, she becomes very loyal to your brand."

The 'Kate effect'

The Duchess of Cambridge's patronage has helped a number of upmarket UK high street chains attract an international audience at a time when domestic sales are hard-won.

Although profits at LK Bennett fell to £5m on sales of some £80m in the year to 30 July 2011, its more recent performance has been strong with underlying sales jumping 15% in the six months to the end of January.

Whistles has also benefited from the Kate effect after the duchess wore one of its white silk blouses in the series of Mario Testino photos taken to mark her engagement.

Its owner, former Topshop supremo Jane Shepherdson, says the extra exposure has given the brand a "significant international profile". The engagement photoshoot was also good for Reiss as the series of outfits included a white £159 Reiss dress – and the duchess would wear another of its dresses when she met the Obamas.

The duchess looked rosy in the bandage-style dress and her long-held patronage of the brand has helped strengthen its financial performance, with the most recent set of accounts showing sales jumping more than 10% to £95m.

With the glamorous royal also now holding down a day job of sorts, Hobbs, a popular choice for working women, is benefiting as the duchess expands her work wardrobe. A brown woollen coat from its Unlimited collection sold out online after she wore it for a solo engagement in Liverpool.

The retailer, which started out as a shoe brand with a store in London's Hampstead, describes its clothes as "quintessentially British" with a contemporary twist. Its most recent figures showed profits more than doubling to nearly £7m after sales broke through the £100m barrier.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2012

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Vera Wang Launching Makeup for Kohl’s

Courtesy Vera Wang

Vera Wang is beautifying the beauty department! Piggybacking off the success of her Simply Vera clothing, home and accessories line for Kohl’s, the designer is launching Simply Vera makeup at Kohl’s stores nationwide next week.

Packed with primers, shadows, moisturizers, lip colors and more — all less than $39.50 per pop — the line is about creating a perfect canvas and adding pops of color. “Makeup should let the real you shine through,” Wang says in a release. “Skin is your best accessory.”

Standout products include a skin brightening primer ($39.50) designed to mask signs of aging; smoothing lip colors ($18.50) that can moisturize lips for up to eight hours; and complementary shadow duos ($19.50) which come in mattes and metallics. They’ll make perfect additions to your sunny spring wardrobe. Tell us: Will you check out Simply Vera makeup?

SHOP STARS’ FAVORITE BEAUTY PRODUCTS

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Earthquake Triggers Small Tsunami

A massive 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early today, triggering an Indian Ocean tsunami that alarmed people throughout the region, but caused little damage.

The quake was centered 20 miles beneath the ocean floor about 270 miles from Aceh's provincial capital.

The tremor was felt in Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, India and Malaysia, where tall office buildings shook for more than a minute, according to the Associated Press.

An 8.2-magnitude aftershock was reported off the coast of northern Sumatra with an epicenter 382 miles from Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, around 6:43 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"A significant tsunami was generated by this earthquake," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said today. At its highest, waves tsunami waves rose 3.5 feet.

The tsunami alert was terrifying for people who still have fresh memories of the 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia's islands.

Workers at the Hermes Palace Hotel in Banda Aceh described a scene of panic, near the coast, as people fled to higher ground. Employee Cut Arlista said the shaking was so strong that water from the hotel pool spilled out, although the 70 guests at the hotel were not evacuated.

"People were crying, and everybody was running inland as fast as they can," Arlista told ABC News.

But there was little damage reported by the wave and the tsunami warnings were lifted a short time later.

The nature of the quake made it less likely a tsunami was generated because the earth moved horizontally, rather than vertically, and therefore had not displaced large volumes of water, Bruce Presgrave of the USGS told the BBC.

"We can't rule out the possibility, but horizontal motion is less likely to produce a destructive tsunami," he said.

Still, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore, according to the AP.

The tsunami warning was extended until 9 a.m. E.T.

The latest quake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, the same region devastated by a magnitude-9.1 earthquake in December 2004. That tremor triggered a catastrophic tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people.

"I think a lot of people learned from the past," Arlista said. "Everybody knew to run as soon as the earthquake hit."

Gary Peart, an Australian worker at the Lumba Lumba Diving Center on the beach in Banda Aceh in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, said the quake lasted quite a while.

"It was long for an earthquake," he said. "Maybe a minute and a half, and then it got slowly, slowly stronger, and then it faded away."

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Oil prices lower after bearish US and China economic data

The macroeconomics made a difference as last week came to an end for the long holiday weekend. Although the oil market was closed for the Good Friday Holiday the US government still released the monthly nonfarm payroll data and is was simply negative. The number came in at 120,000 new jobs created versus most expectations for the gain to be in the 200,000 range. The headline unemployment rate did drop by 0.1% to 8.2 but that was not a result of new job gains rather it was a result of more people giving up looking for jobs and dropping out of the job markets.

The number was bearish on all counts as it is suggesting that the fragile US economic recovery may be slowing once again. In fact the U6 rate, which tracks not only those out of work but those who have essentially given up looking for work stands at 14.5%. The data was bearish for all risk asset markets around the world including the oil complex which is currently lower by 1.5% since Thursday's close (pre-number release).

Further negative data for oil was released overnight when China's latest CPI index rose more than expected coming in at 3.6% versus forecasts at 3.3% against last month's level of 3.2%. This data is disappointing to the Chinese government who thought that inflation was under control and the central Bank would be able to start to stimulate their slowing economy. This number will likely postpone the government moving to a very aggressive easing policy until they are certain that inflation is not once again rising. This is a bearish number for the oil complex as well as the broader commodity complex. China is the main oil demand growth engine in the world and if the government is unable to aggressively stimulate this slowing economy oil demand growth is going to underperform going forward and that is bearish for oil. In fact the Chinese data is far more bearish for oil demand than the disappointing employment data out of the US as US oil demand has been in a long term downtrend which began even before the onset of the recession.

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On the geopolitical front he meeting between the west and Iran begins at the end of the week in Istanbul. Whether or not it will meet the expectations of the west or the expectations of the market remains the big question of the week. Anything short of Iran changing their tune and moving more in the direction that meets the demand of the west will likely be viewed as a sign that the probability of military intervention may be increasing. I still view the geopolitics as a so called put or floor in the price of oil for the short term or until there is a lot more clarity as to how Iran will react to the demands of the west.

At the moment the main reason oil prices are still trading at the level they are at is due to the perception that a supply disruption could be possible from the evolving situation in the Middle East...in particular around Iran. On the other end of the equation the fundamentals are starting to look more bearish as oil demand growth may be starting to slow basis the bearish macroeconomic data out of China and the West. The changing landscape in the broader oil complex is moving my view back to neutral as I wait to see how the combination of new macroeconomic data coupled with the upcoming meeting with Iran turns out.

Over the last week the oil complex was mixed with crude oil and RBOB gasoline a tad higher while HO was slightly lower... all closing before the release of the US nonfarm payroll data on Friday morning. The Nymex RBOB gasoline contract was the biggest gainer in the complex last week as market participants focus on the upcoming summer driving season. Brent and WTI increased about the same amount on the week resulting in the Brent/WTI spread ending the week about unchanged. The May WTI contract increased about 0.28% or $0.29/bbl offsetting the losses from the previous week. The May Brent contract ended the week with a small increase of 0.29% or $0.36/bbl. The May Brent/WTI spread widened by just $0.07/bbl but is continuing to trade well above the trading range it was in prior to breaking out after the tensions in the Middle East and Nigeria raised the risk of an interruption in supply with the market placing that risk premium more on Brent than on WTI.

On the distillate fuel front the Nymex HO contract was about unchanged on the week even as distillate fuel inventories increased less than expected last week and as US distillate fuel exports declined on the week. The spot Nymex HO contract decreased by 0.03% or $0.0009/gal. Gasoline prices increased on the week as gasoline stocks declined. The spot Nymex gasoline price increased by 0.98% or $0.0324/gal this past week.

On the week Nat Gas futures declined once again as the inventory injection outperformed history for the fourth week in a row. The spot Nat Gas futures contract lost another 1.74% or $0.037/mmbtu on the week as it moves closer to trading with a $1 handle. Another bearish layer hit the market today when the EIA reported an injection level above most all of the expectations. The immediate reaction was to sell the number but surprisingly the decline was modest and quickly met with a modest level of short covering that is continuing as of this writing. I would not categorize the way the futures market is trading at this point in time as anything bullish in nature or the bottoming of the market . I simply categorize it as short covering heading into the long holiday weekend...nothing more , nothing less. Irrespective as to where Nat Gas futures settle today we will still be in a long term downtrend with lower prices still likely during the shoulder season.

With total storage currently at approximately 2.5 TCF that leave about 1.6 TCF until we hit the maximum storage capacity for the system. Using last year the injection season saw about 2.2 TCF of gas injected into inventory. This would mean about 4.7 TCF heading to storage which is mathematically an infeasible solution. There will be about 600 BCF of gas that right now looks like it will have no home if it is taken out of the ground. At this point in time the only place for the extra 600 BCF of gas that will be produced this year is to leave it where it is and do not produce it.

I am not sure what the producing sector is looking at that most all of us in the market are not seeing. I am surprised that there have not been announcements for significant dry gas production cuts already. I suspect at this juncture there is going to have to be another strong leg lower to get the attention of the producing sector. I still see Nat Gas trading with a $1 handle sooner than later.

I still view the fundamentals as nothing but bearish and I do not see any change in the short to medium term fundamentals as I do not think producers will make deep enough cuts anytime soon or in other words until they absolutely have no choice to do so based on logistics considerations. Nothing has changed to change my view that we will most likely see Nat Gas prices trading with a $1 handle sooner than later.

On the financial front equity markets around the world ended mostly lower for as the downside correction continues (and into the start of this week's trading). The financial markets were mostly impacted by a series of macroeconomic data in several locations around the world...in particular China that indicated that economic growth may be slowing. Global equity values decreased as shown in the EMI Global Equity Index table below.

The EMI Index decreased by 1.5% on the week. Over the last week the Index decreased in value as the euro decreased modestly while the US dollar firmed on the week. Last week the global equity markets were a bearish price driver for oil and most commodity markets. Last week was a risk off trading week for most risk asset markets with that sentiment carrying over into this start of this trading week after the bearish US data on Friday.

I am moving my view back to neutral for oil as it is once again trading below my range support of $102/bbl (basis WTI) while the data out of China is also pointing to a potential slowing of oil consumption . Geopolitics will remain the main price driver leading up the Iran/West meetings on April 13/14th but until I get more clarity as to how the meeting is likely to turn out I am more comfortable staying on the sidelines today.

I am still keeping my view at and bias at bearish. My overall view remains biased to the bearish side. The surplus is still building in inventory versus both last year and the five year average is going to lead to a premature filling of storage during the current injection season. As such for the short to medium term I doubt Nat Gas is going to reverse the downtrend it has been in for an extended period of time. We may certainly see times when short covering rallies take hold but I do not expect a sustained trend change.

Currently markets are lower as shown in the table below.

Best regards,
Dominick A. Chirichella
dchirichella@mailaec.com
Follow my intraday comments on Twitter @dacenergy.

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SAP outlines plans to become big player in databases and mobile

SAP made a series of announcements yesterday as part of its bid to become a high-profile player in the database market alongside the likes of Oracle and IBM.

The HANA in-memory database platform is at the centre of SAP's strategy, and will eventually underpin all of its products. Many SAP customers currently run the company's flagship Business Suite ERP (enterprise resource planning) application on rival databases, especially Oracle and IBM DB2. SAP is hoping over time to convince those customers to run HANA instead, but the necessary engineering work isn't yet finished.

To this end, SAP is also banking on Sybase ASE (Adaptive Server Enterprise), a product acquired through the 2010 purchase of Sybase. The port of Business Suite to Sybase ASE would be generally available this month, executive board member and technology chief Vishal Sikka said.

Right now, HANA is best suited for analytics. On that front, SAP announced the general availability of its Business Warehouse platform running on HANA. "BW on HANA is a non-disruptive and dramatic improvement in cost and performance," Sikka said.

The "ramp-up," or early adopter period for BW on HANA, started in November and was the fastest in SAP history, he added. Some 80 units have shipped to customers and partners so far, he added.

In addition, SAP said that it intends to create a $155 million venture capital fund for startups that build applications on the HANA platform, as well as spend $337 million on an incentive programme meant to lure customers to HANA.

Under the latter effort, SAP will provide consulting services for new customers who want to move from "legacy" databases to HANA. In addition, SAP will give HANA customers who have finished implementing the software "up to an 18-month exchange programme out of their SAP HANA licences to any other previously licensed SAP product if they are not satisfied."

SAP is also focused on making sure developers and database administrators have access to the best training materials for HANA, as well as development and test environments at no cost, said Steve Lucas, executive vice president of analytics, database and technology. "We need to build an environment where we can get a thousand flowers to bloom," he said.

SAP also provided further details, many not unexpected, of how other parts of the Sybase portfolio will play into its database plans between now and 2015.

Sybase IQ, a columnar-store analytic database, will be tied together with HANA to act as a store for older or "cold" data. The product is "envisioned to share common capabilities and life-cycle management" with HANA, SAP said.

The Sybase SQL Anywhere mobile and embedded database will serve as a "front-end" data store in the HANA platform, the company added. Sybase's PowerDesigner modeling toolset is to play a key role as well, SAP said.

SAP also intends to build integration between HANA and data sources including Hadoop, the popular open source processing framework.

Overall, SAP faces a challenge in migrating customers to its database portfolio, given the changes cloud computing has brought to the IT industry, analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research, wrote in a new report on HANA.

"In cloud computing models, users don't care, nor ask what database the applications run on," Wang explained. "They buy service level agreements that must be met by the software publisher. Will users care that a new database is in use? This will be SAP's short-term challenge."

SAP has said that several core modules of the Business Suite will be ported to HANA by the end of the year. Work on that project is "going extremely well," Sikka said.

But in reality, HANA won't be a fully viable replacement for the likes of Oracle "until at least 2015" due to needed technical features that have yet to be added, according to Wang. Those areas include "beefed-up backup and recovery service," auditing, SQL injection protection, compliance monitoring and identity management, he wrote.

While the development work could be complete in late 2014, "given SAP's track record for delivery and customers' track record for adopting new technologies, significant user adoption post-general availability could take until 2015," he said.

Wang said that existing customers are also heavily vested in their database of choice. "Business Suite customers will most likely be the targets for SAP HANA. However, among the estimated 18,500 SAP Business Suite customers, the lack of HANA-ready administrators and consultants, plus the inertia required to overcome database choice, will play a key role in slow adoption."

SAP is also planning to support the latest version of the Business Suite under standard maintenance fees until 2020, which lowers the pressure on customers to make database changes, Wang said.

Meanwhile, the Sybase acquisition also gave SAP an array of mobile application and device management technologies, including the Unwired platform.

In a related announcement, SAP said it planned to buy mobile application development vendor Syclo. Terms were not disclosed. The deal will give SAP Syclo's background and expertise in mobile applications for utilities, manufacturing and other industries, SAP said in a statement.

SAP also announced mobile development partnerships with Adobe, Appcelerator and Sencha.

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