Meanwhile, the deal raises questions about SAP's relationships with other mobile technology companies, such as Research in Motion, said 451 Group analyst China Martens via e-mail.

"They made a big deal of when they announced the relationship with Sybase about how it was nonexclusive and how they hold very dear the partnership with RIM," Martens said. SAP formed a strategic partnership with Sybase in March 2009 focused on mobile applications.

Sybase's database is a less common option for running SAP applications in part due to historical compatibility issues with older SAP platforms. In addition, SAP currently sends lucrative business toward rival , as it resells the latter's database. Those dynamics could change with Sybase's technology coming under SAP's roof.

But SAP will also gain a new doorway into financial services, where Sybase has a strong presence.

Both companies' product road maps will be preserved, as will their development groups, but "the opportunity to cross-collaborate" will be there, SAP said.