SAP will soon introduce a mobile version of its Business ByDesign Web-based software suite, a senior executive said on Thursday.

Vishal Sikka, chief technology officer for the world's biggest maker of business management software, told the Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York that his company will let customers use wireless devices to access the Web-based product, which is still in limited release.

There will be a mobile component, he said.

He said the mobile features would be rolled out in the near future, but he declined to specify when ByDesign will be available on devices including Apple Inc's iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry.

SAP has only signed up about 80 customers for ByDesign, a product targeted at small businesses.

Sikka said that the software maker wants to perfect the product prior to a broad release.

Rivals in the area include Intuit Inc, Microsoft Corp, NetSuite Inc, Sage Group Plc and Salesforce.com Inc.

SAP's key rival is Oracle Corp, whose CEO Larry Ellison has said he wants to focus on selling software to large corporations and is not interested in the small business market.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle)

Iphone Devices