And while SAP has a traditional enterprise base, Microsoft has been busy in recent years beefing up its BI, ERP and CRM offerings.

So how do they cooperate and compete? According to McBride, the consolidation of the software market which has diminished enterprise apps means they must work together by combining customers.

As Vamos pointed out, it's okay to compete "but you have to be sensible".

"Together we can grow the market for both companies and help customers get the best value," he said.

So how does this partnership strengthen SAP's position against Oracle? McBride said the company was "strong already, but we're just becoming even stronger".