If SAP's biggest rival today is Oracle, five years from now it could be a Chinese player or even possibly Internet search company Google, according to SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner. SAP's nearest competitor in China was already local software maker Kingdee, as a more serious threat than current rival Oracle Corp., SAP's chief operating officer told Reuters.

"In five to 10 years, there will be a major Chinese player," supervisory board chairman Plattner said Thursday. He spoke with journalists and industry analysts on the sidelines of the company's Sapphire customer event in Orlando. "We have to go to Asia and become a major player there. Otherwise, they'll swallow us up."

Another potential rival is Google, Plattner said. "Who says where Google should stop?" he said. "They have money; they could buy expertise."

Plattner isn't the only senior SAP executive to wave the warning flag about China. "You have to respect the fact that China has become a leading providing of products in many industries," Leo Apotheker, SAP board member and president of customer solutions and operations, said in a separate interview. "So why shouldn't the country be capable of building a leading software industry?" Apotheker called Kingdee International Software Group Company, SAP's largest competitor in China, "a meaningful company."

Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited (HK Stock Code: 268) is a leading provider of enterprise management software and e-Business application solution in the Asia-Pacific region, one of the fastest-growing independent software vendors in the global market, and a leading provider in China's software industry, Kingdee is engaged in developing and selling enterprise management software and e-Business application software, and middleware of e-Business and e-government platforms for enterprises or government. Kingdee also provides software-related management consultation, implementation and technical support services for worldwide customers. With its unique product and service position of "Fast Configuration, Fast Implementation, Fast Application, and Fast Results", Kingdee is able to help customers to easily face the challenges of uncertainty brought by the dynamic business environment, perfectly integrate the business processes and information technology, effectively manage changes, and ensure the fast, sustainable and healthy growth of the organization. For more information, please visit: http://www.kingdee.com/en.