From the 'he said what?' files:

LAS VEGAS. Many people think of SAP (NYSE:SAP) as a large proprietary software vendor which might put them at odds with open source software approaches. That's not necessarily the case.

In a keynote presentation at Interop, SAP CTO Vishal Sikka explained the role that the cloud plays in SAP's overall strategy. He also answered a question about the role that open source plays in the cloud and what SAP's opinion is on open source.

Sikka noted that lots of interesting cloud work bega in open source and that open source is a source for cloud innovation. In his view open source is a thriving model.

 "SAP is a big fan and supporter of open source," Sikka said.

Now Sikka did not detail any specific open source project or efforts that SAP may be involved in, but it's still interesting to note how supportive his comment are of open source.

When it comes to the cloud, there is a lot of talk here at Interop that everything should end up in the cloud. It's a concept that Sikka does not agree with.

"To think that everything becomes cloud oriented is just nonsense," Sikka said. "Just look around the room, there are lots of outlets but we're all carrying batteries. Some things just work better when they are local."