In the middle of the Oracle-Retek-SAP bidding contest and as the world continues to contemplate the values of Sarbanes-Oxley (underscored by the conviction of ex-Worldcom CEO), SAP announces enhanced support for corporate governance.

SAP has established a reseller relationship with Virsa Systems, a Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and SAP Ventures deal. SAP will resell Virsa Systems' Compliance Calibrator.

Here's a snapshot overview from Virsa's website:

The ideal solution is to utilize an automated system that provides
preventative and detective authorization controls to attest, validate
and verify that processes happen the way they are designed, and
activities are managed per established policy. By taking a proactive
approach to catching violations beforethey occur and consistently checking controls in real-time, risk is
reduced to a minimum. The answer: Virsa's Compliance Calibrator, which
delivers real-time, 24/7 "Continuous Compliance" by preventing security and controls violations before they occur.

Compliance
Calibrator sits within SAP and provides the only real-time solution for
risk assessment, simulation and remediation. In addition, with the
largest set of validated rules, Compliance Calibrator helps you to
perform detailed risk analysis, including SoD to prevent potential
conflicts.

Virsa has superb financial backers. Additionally, the Compliance Calibrator can be purchased and supported directly from SAP. Great deal structure for everyone (yes - that includes the customer!).

Steve Shu