Newsbyte: SAP Hosts Big Data Startup Forum in Silicon Valley

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At 40 years, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) still has the heart and passion of a startup. This week, the company held the inaugural SAP Startup Forum, a gathering of select startups for a full day of collaboration, learning and competition around big data trends and technologies.

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More than 26 startup companies attended the event, hosted by the SAP HANA® platform team, with 13 pitching business cases and software solutions, ranging from optimized planning and scheduling solutions for the manufacturing industry to an online gaming and simulation platform. The day offered participants the opportunity to spend time on the campus of SAP Labs in Palo Alto, engage technical resources and promotional support, hear from and meet key SAP leaders and explore customer and funding opportunities with venture capitalists at the event.

"Being part of two startups before my career here at SAP, entrepreneurship is very close to my heart. This event offers a great opportunity for Silicon Valley startups, who bring their imagination and passion to the bear on the great challenges facing us," said Dr. Vishal Sikka, member of the SAP Executive Board, Technology & Innovation. Addressing the audience of Silicon Valley startups, venture capitalists and influencers, Sikka said: "With SAP HANA, we're providing the technology foundation that enables a whole new paradigm of real-time applications on big data, but it's the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity that will help technology reach its potential."

The event is the first in a series of SAP Startup Forums, with the intent of exposing SAP to the most innovative and disruptive companies in Silicon Valley. Employees attending the event also benefited from new ideas and inspiration and were encouraged to participate in a funding game that challenged each employee to back the companies they believe will have the best chance for success. The category winners in the event's contest were:

• Most Likely to Succeed (SAP employee choice): ZettaSet
• Best Big Data Solution: ZettaSet
• Most Innovative: AlertEnterprise
• Best User Experience: LongJump
• Best Twitter Solution Description: NextPrinciples

The next forum will be held June 8, 2012, on the topics of mobile and big data analytics. The events are invite-only and organized jointly by the SAP Technology & Innovation, SAP Global Marketing and SAP Labs organizations, along with SAP Ventures, the independent venture fund of SAP AG and a catalyst for growth-stage enterprise IT companies worldwide.

For more information, visit the SAP Newsroom. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

Media Contact:
Samantha Finnegan, +1 (650) 276-9350, [email protected], PST

SOURCE SAP AG