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Get those bidder paddles ready. NetSuite launched on Monday its long-anticipated IPO auction, with hopes of raising in excess of $99 million.

The auction, the first of NetSuite's four-step IPO process, is expected to close as early as December 19 at the market's close.

NetSuite, the on-demand applications company backed by Larry Ellison of Oracle fame, will then use the bid information to set a final IPO price, which will help it determine who should receive an allocation of shares.

For example, if a bidder wants 100 shares at $8 a share, another 100 shares at $10 a share, and finally another 100 shares at $15 a share, the bidder could potentially end of up with 200 shares and an outlay of $2,500, should NetSuite's IPO price at $10 a share.

NetSuite last week set an initial pricing range of $13 to $16 a share, but, of course, when all is said and done, auction participants may ultimately push the final IPO price above or below that range.

Do I hear $13? Now, do I hear $14? What about $15?

As SAP tries to untwine its third-party support and maintenance company, TomorrowNow, from its legal entanglements with archrival Oracle, a sale, or effort to wind down the company, may be its preferred path.

SAP, which earlier this week announced TomorrowNow's chief executive and several managers had resigned, is now apparently operating without its senior vice president of sales, Bob Geib, and vice president of international sales, Nigel Pullan. Both executives are no longer on the company's management roster, and Pullan's office phone is no longer active. Geib, when contacted by his mobile phone, referred all calls to the company's press contacts.

Meanwhile, one source noted that a couple of TomorrowNow's best sales representatives have been folded into SAP's sales team.

Calls and e-mails to SAP were not immediately returned. It's not clear whether SAP plans to fill those TomorrowNow sales positions, in light of its announcement earlier this week that it was considering selling its subsidiary. TomorrowNow continues to be run by Mark White, TomorrowNow executive chairman.

Meanwhile, TomorrowNow customers were migrated off the company's systems Wednesday and left to get their Oracle updates for PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel Systems applications on their own systems, according to a report in eWeek.

TomorrowNow was making good on a promise it made last August during its case management hearing in federal court. SAP said it had revamped its download policies and planned to require any download of Oracle updates for PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel be done on the customers' premises, rather than hosting that work on its own servers.

SAP, which acknowledged it had engaged in some improper downloads of Oracle's support and maintenance software on behalf of the customers it wooed away from its rival, is debating its next steps for TomorrowNow, a company it acquired nearly three years ago.

Upate: November 21, 1 p.m.

TomorrowNow's remaining sales team will now report into Mark White, TomorrowNow's executive chairman, a representative for SAP said in an e-mail late Wednesday. The representative declined to elaborate, however, on whether the company is winding down its operations.

You've heard of the "killer app."

But have you really seen one?

Ed Abbo, Oracle's senior vice president of applications development, thinks he has--several times over. But then again, what else would you expect an apps guy to say?

Keenly aware that a number of attendees at Oracle OpenWorld were interested in the company's applications strategy, Abbo set out to deliver some answers--with varying degrees of the "wow" factor.

Oracle is looking to add a taste of social networking structure into its apps and, like a number of companies, a pinch of Web 2.0.

For example, Oracle wants to deliver a "social CRM" solution. Basically, it would be customer relationship management (CRM) software that brings information in from the Internet into the application, with the help of iGoogle, Google's personal home page creator.

Sales reps, for example, could pull in information on prospective customers and potential references and leads.

On the less surprising front, Abbo reassured apps customers--yes, that's, PeopleSoft, Siebel, J.D. Edwards and other customers acquired by Oracle--that you can still evolve your business by staying in the same vein of software applications, without having to jump into Oracle's latest-greatest-next-generation Fusion Middleware and apps.

Oracle is adding some of its Fusion Middleware into the apps, as each enhancement is made to the next version of PeopleSoft, Siebel, J.D. Edwards, and the like. Customers, however, can expect to receive support, maintenance, and enhancements on these non-Fusion versions of Oracle's software indefinitely, Abbo noted.

"The center of our (apps) strategy is around offering customers choice," said Abbo.

How's that for a killer concept?

Oracle has been known to play musical chairs with its executives and retool its operations with a jack hammer.

And in this latest go-around, the enterprise applications software giant is cutting loose John Wookey, Oracle's senior vice president of applications development, who handled its Fusion efforts, .

Wookey, when reached at his home Monday night by CNET's News.com, declined to comment on his status. A spokesman for Oracle said Tuesday morning the company does not usually comment on executive changes.

Howlett, citing an e-mail sent throughout the company by Larry Ellison, Oracle's top dog and founder, notes Wookey's work of fusing together all of Oracle's acquisitions of applications companies under its Fusion efforts will now be headed by Thomas Kurian.

Kurian will now handle Oracle's Fusion middleware and applications efforts, while Ed Abbo will handle non-Fusion related application development, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Although the changes are slated to take effect immediately, Wookey reportedly will remain with Oracle until the transition is humming along, the Journal reports.