What Sybase does

Sybase, Inc. was an enterprise software and services company founded in 1984 that specialized in relational database management software. The company served large enterprise customers with mission-critical data management requirements across industries, offering a portfolio of five core products: Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) for high-performance transactional SQL operations; Sybase IQ for columnar analytics and data warehousing; Sybase SQL Anywhere for embedded databases in mobile, IoT, and remote environments; Sybase Replication Server for real-time enterprise data synchronization across SAP and non-SAP systems; and Sybase PowerDesigner for enterprise data modeling and architecture visualization. Sybase pursued an aggressive inorganic growth strategy, completing at least nine acquisitions between 2001 and 2010 spanning middleware, mobile messaging, payments, and event processing, including Mobile 365 ($425 million, 2006) and New Era of Networks ($373 million, 2001).

The company's business model relied on enterprise license sales of database and data management software, with distribution through direct enterprise sales channels and, post-acquisition, through SAP's global network. Pricing was not publicly disclosed in available sources. Sybase funded its early operations through venture capital from Kleiner Perkins (1985) and a consortium including August Capital, Highland Capital Partners, MassVentures, and Woodside Fund (1989, $11.7 million), and was previously publicly traded on the NYSE under ticker SY before its 2010 acquisition by SAP. The acquisition was strategic, aimed at strengthening SAP's mobile platform capabilities and combining in-memory technology with Sybase's data portfolio to deliver business agility; following the acquisition, all Sybase products were rebranded under the SAP name (SAP ASE, SAP IQ, etc.), and the original Sybase, Inc. entity ceased to operate independently.

Name

Sybase

Legal name

Sybase, Inc.

Website

https://sybase.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Sybase, Inc. was an enterprise software company founded in 1984 that produced relational database management software for large organizations, including transactional (ASE), analytics (IQ), embedded (SQL Anywhere), replication, and data modeling (PowerDesigner) products, and was acquired by SAP in 2010.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Enterprise Database Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) Platforms (HDAEAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites (HDAEABAD), Database Tools & Ecosystem (Replication, Backup/Recovery, HA/DR, Monitoring) (HDAEAAAO), Metadata, Catalog & Semantic Layer for Data Platforms (HDAEABAJ)

Keywords

• Enterprise database software
• Relational database management
• Data management platforms
• Embedded database systems
• Business intelligence analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Sybase, Inc. was an enterprise software company that produced relational database management software. Its portfolio spanned high-performance transactional SQL databases (Sybase ASE), columnar analytics databases for business intelligence and data warehousing (Sybase IQ), embedded databases for mobile, IoT, and remote environments without dedicated DBAs (Sybase SQL Anywhere), real-time enterprise data replication and synchronization software (Sybase Replication Server), and data modeling tools for enterprise architecture visualization (Sybase PowerDesigner). All products have since been rebranded under the SAP brand following the 2010 acquisition.

Product overview

Sybase, Inc. was an enterprise software and services company acquired by SAP in 2010. The company produced software relating to relational databases. The Sybase product portfolio consisted of five core products: Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) for high-performance SQL database operations; Sybase IQ for columnar analytics and data warehousing; Sybase SQL Anywhere for embedded database management supporting mobile devices and IoT systems; Sybase Replication Server for real-time enterprise data replication and synchronization; and Sybase PowerDesigner for data modeling and enterprise architecture visualization. All Sybase products have been renamed under the SAP brand following the acquisition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sybase ASE: Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise - a high-performance SQL database server that uses a relational management model to meet rising demand for performance, reliability, and efficiency in every industry.
• Sybase IQ
• Sybase SQL Anywhere
• Sybase Replication Server
• Sybase PowerDesigner

Products and services

• Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) (now SAP ASE) A high-performance SQL database server that uses a relational management model to meet demand for performance, reliability, and efficiency across industries. For enterprise data management workloads.
• Sybase IQ (now SAP IQ) A column-based in-disk relational analytics database that delivers high-performance decision-support for mission-critical business intelligence, analytics, and data warehousing in a low-cost environment. For enterprise analytics and BI workloads.
• Sybase SQL Anywhere (now SAP SQL Anywhere) An embedded database that enables secure, reliable data management for servers where no DBA is available, and provides synchronization for tens of thousands of mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, and remote environments. For embedded and edge data management workloads.
• Sybase Replication Server (now SAP Replication Server) Data replication software that delivers real-time data updates from anywhere in the enterprise, providing seamless data management, integration, and synchronization across SAP and non-SAP data sources for mission-critical tasks. For enterprise data integration and replication workloads.
• Sybase PowerDesigner (now SAP PowerDesigner) A data modeling tool that provides a blueprint of current enterprise architectures to view change impact, automatically captures architecture layers, taps into a powerful metadata repository, and enables information sharing. For enterprise architecture and data modeling workloads.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A9 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sybase