Leo Apotheker has resigned as CEO of German ERP giant SAP, the company disclosed on Sunday. The decision was by mutual agreement with SAP's supervisory board, and is effective immediately.

Oracle has won a battle regarding the way damages can be calculated in its intellectual property lawsuit against SAP, according to a ruling filed Jan. 28 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

An upcoming enterprise collaboration tool from SAP that has echoes of Google Wave will enter public beta Tuesday.

Code-named 12Sprints, the application serves as a sort of virtual war room, allowing users to solve business problems collaboratively, in real time. It is organized around activities that use a variety of "method" tools, such as a pro vs. con chart or SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) matrix.

SAP reported a 9 percent year-on-year fall in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2009, with net income dropping 12 percent from its record level a year earlier. But the company sees a return to growth and improvements in operating income this year, it said Wednesday.

Revenue totalled €3.19 billion ($4.57 billion as of Dec. 31, the last day of the period reported), down 9 percent from €3.49 billion a year earlier. Net income of €727 million was 12 percent down on the €830 million reported a year earlier.

SAP is still planning to conduct a benchmarking program for its Enterprise Support service, despite words to the contrary from CEO Léo Apotheker last week -- sort of.

The German ERP (enterprise resource planning) giant created a KPI (key performance indicator) program along with SUGEN (SAP User Group Executive Network) after widespread outcry over the roll out of Enterprise Support in 2008. Enterprise Support offers more features than standard support, but also comes at greater cost.