Sybase shifts gears, looks beyond database

Of late, all eyes are on Sybase, as the Dublin-based firm, which has largely been a database company so far, has stepped up its efforts in the mobile content sphere. The enterprise infrastructure and mobile software provider recently acquired Mobile 365, a mobile messaging and content delivery set-up, for $425 million.

Sybase is nurturing an ambition to end 2007 with $300 million revenue from the mobile and wireless business, including Mobile 365.

Four years ago, acquirers did not see the wireless segment as a high-priority area, but the situation is fast changing. Enterprises like Sybase have shifted gears to a mobile device strategy to reap benefits from its investments in data centres for newer activities.

Says John Chen, chairman, CEO Sybase Inc, "It made perfect sense to invest our capital in Mobile 365."

Sybase was sensible enough to realise that it was up against database majors such as Oracle (well entrenched in its business) and, thus, the only alternative was to leapfrog the competition and be a market leader in a newer sphere. "It was a risk that we took," he says, adding "we decided we wanted to be the leader in mobility for enterprise users".

But if database giant Oracle decides to tiptoe into this market, will it be a precarious situation for Sybase? Chen says, "I doubt it (Oracle) will come up with something as good as we have because we have been working on this for a long time."

Sybase got started with its 'Unwired Enterprise' strategy almost seven years ago and claims to have developed technologies that are "dynamic".

While maintaining its interest in the traditional database market by building its Adaptive Server Enterprise, SQL and Sybase IQ products, Chen will now fuel growth opportunities by moving data and applications, traditionally fixed within the walls of the enterprise to workers wanting to make decisions and automate processes while on the move.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2006, Mobile 365 achieved about $90 million revenues.

Sybase is expecting the acquisition to be accretive to pro forma earnings within 12 months following the close of the transaction.

Chen speaks like a proud father when he describes Mobile 365. "It delivers more than 3 billion messages a month and has approximately 700 connections into mobile operators around the world, including Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Cingular, Telefonica and China Mobile," he says.

The company is expanding at a double-digit growth rate in India and will continue to look for acquisitions to strengthen its mobility enterprise. "In terms of growth rate, revenues from mobile and wireless will grow faster than database revenues, but our main revenue stream will continue to be the database segment," Chen says.

Sybase Inc enables the 'unwired enterprise' through enterprise, mobile and wireless software solutions for information management, development and data integration.