DevWebPro

Hundreds of developers at Microsoft and SAP will work together on a new product designed to link together their business software ...

... in the most significant leap forward in their 15-year partnership, according to a report by eWeek.

The new product, code-named "Mendocino," will link SAP process functionality such as time management, budget monitoring, organizational management, and travel and expense management directly into Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Outlook and Word, eWeek said. An early beta of the joint product is expected by the fourth quarter of this year.

Formal detail of the collaboration in the Microsoft press release.

Microsoft and SAP have talked before about a merger in light of the consolidation wave in the software industry. But, according to the eWeek report, they decided to stick with their partnership instead.

Meanwhile, there's been talk during the past week about a potential acquisition by Oracle of CRM applications vendor Siebel Systems.

And yesterday, Reuters reported that Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, told Spanish newspaper El Pais that Sun plans larger acquisitions than those it has made in the past. Asked if PC maker Dell was a possible target, McNealy said, "We have no interest in buying Dell. We are very different," Reuters reported.