CIOIN

SAP has acquired software from Datango that will allow it to add multilingual online help and training materials to enterprise software applications.

The move will broaden SAP's software training portfolio and could help its customers cut support costs through improved user training.

The Datango software makes it easier for enterprises to create documentation, classroom training presentations, e-learning materials and online help, which can then be translated into more than 40 languages at the click of a button, according to Datango's website.

A typical Datango training session might introduce users to a new application with a demo to explain its features, then allow them to practice what they saw in a simulated environment before performing specific tasks in the simulated environment with direct feedback. Datango's software can also show users the correct operating steps in a separate window that runs on top of the live system and add context-sensitive information to help users.

The end result should be fewer support calls and less time spent correcting errors, according to Datango.

SAP isn't providing much information on how it will use Datango's software, saying only that the two companies will capitalize on a trend toward creating applications with self-help and auto-teaching functions, it said.

SAP said it had acquired software and related assets from Datango, but didn't say whether any Datango employees are covered by the deal. The transaction, for an undisclosed sum, is scheduled to close by the end of March.

Datango was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Berlin. It and SAP are not strangers: Datango's software has been deployed as part of SAP's software-as-a-service suite Business ByDesign.