SAP has yet to match Oracle's bid for retail software vendor Retek. Oracle this week made a $525m offer for Retek, topping SAP's $496m offer from last week.

"Regarding yesterday’s announcement by Oracle related to Retek, SAP has no further comment at this time," SAP said, before commenting further.

Without directly addressing Oracle, SAP did want to point out that as a middleware maker it's in a better position to sell Retek's software than, say, a database company. "SAP believes that integration at the applications level - rather than at the database level - is what will drive competitive advantage for companies looking to align their IT infrastructure in order to respond swiftly to changes in the fast-moving retail market. Moreover, SAP is committed to openness to all databases in the market, not locking customers out of choices. SAP remains strongly committed to the retail industry."

SAP also took the time to offer a "safe passage" to JD Edwards and PeopleSoft customers who now find themselves under the Oracle umbrella.

So there you have it. It seems the games have started. ®

Related stories

Oracle puts $525m between SAP and Retek
SAP plays down Microsoft threat
Ellison confounds sceptics over PeopleSoft