SAP will release its A1S hosted suite in September together with a formal name for the long-awaited service and customers that have gone live.

Henning Kagermann, chief executive of the enterprise applications giant, confirmed the date today at a London conference to announce its latest quarterly financials.

“We’ve never done a launch like this in our history,” he said. “You can’t compare it to the new CRM or [programs for] governance risk compliance. It’s a new business with a new product, new technology … an entirely new market with new customers.”

In what was possibly a jibe at Salesforce.com, Kagermann said A1S will be a “complete suite, not just salesforce support but also mission-critical businesses”.

SAP will add new customers as it builds confidence in resilience and understands demand patterns.

“At the beginning of next year we will see how fast we can achieve volume,” Kagermann said.

SAP will in future build tighter links between A1S and other enterprise programs.

“It’s a suite in a box,” Kagermann said. “Technology does not just go top down, it can also go bottom up.”