2nd UPDATE: SAP: Oracle-Sun Deal Won't Affect Industry Much

SAP AG (SAP) Co-Chief Executive Leo Apotheker downplayed Monday the significance of Oracle Corp.'s (ORCL) takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA).

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said during a roundtable discussion. "It won't affect the industry much."

Sun Microsystems agreed to be bought by Oracle for $7.4 billion, which is seen intensifying the pressure on SAP.

But the computer hardware business is a tough one, Apotheker said. Oracle will have its challenges, he said.

Apotheker said consolidation continues in the industry, and hinted at "a few other things" SAP might be a part of down the line. SAP earlier bought Clear Standards, a privately held provider of software that manages greenhouse emissions. Terms weren't disclosed. Apotheker declined to comment on rumors that Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was raising funds to acquire SAP.

On May 19, Apotheker will take over as sole CEO when Co-CEO Henning Kagermann retires.

Apotheker is likely already a busy man. The longtime SAP employee inherits the reins of a company dealing with a global meltdown. Companies are cutting back on spending, which isn't good news for the world's largest supplier of business software.

Late last month, SAP posted a 16% decline in net profit and a 33% drop in sales in the first quarter.

Apotheker declined to comment on the progress in the second quarter or when a turnaround in license revenue would occur, noting it is early days. There are contradictory economic signals, so the company is taking a wait-and-see approach, he said.

He added, however, that SAP was focused on its yearly guidance, which centers on margins.

SAP has issued guidance for an operating margin between 24.5% and 25.5% under the assumption that its core sales - labeled as software and software-related service revenues - will stay flat or fall a maximum of 1% compared to 2008.

SAP previously said it would cut 3,000 jobs this year. Apotheker said the company was on track with its cuts, and added that no further cuts are planned.

Apotheker laid out his vision for SAP on Monday, providing a sneak peak into his presentation to customers at a company conference Tuesday. "Clarity," was the focus of his campaign, which he hopes would kick off an "era of transparency and accountability" with businesses.

SAP will launch on Tuesday its Business Objects Explorer software, which Apotheker compared to iTunes with its ease of use and ability to access business data.

Looking ahead, Apotheker talked about his product, Business By Design, that partly follows a model like Salesforce.com (CRM), where software is delivered through the Web. He said he has high hopes for the hybrid service, although he took a shot at Salesforce.com's lack of actual software.

"I have a high degree of confidence that it is a viable business model," he said.

-By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2020; [e-mail]