SAP Offers SMEs Greater Choice and Financial Flexibility With "Buy Now, Pay Later" Offering and New Solutions

HANOVER, Germany, March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced a "buy now, pay later" offering that provides small and midsize enterprise (SME) customers* zero-percent financing for up to 24 months for the purchase of any SAP product on the reseller price list. With more SMEs prioritizing technology investments to help transform their businesses,** SAP has made it easier for businesses to get the technology they need to compete with larger companies in their industry. The "buy now, pay later" plan helps lower the total cost of ownership of SAP solutions and provides rapid access to software licenses. The announcement was made at CeBIT 2014, being held March 10–14 in Hanover, Germany.

While the global economy continues to improve, many SMEs still face an issue of finding financing to enhance their technology solutions. The U.S.-based National Small Business Association found that one of the most common challenges SMEs face is readily accessing capital.*** The "buy now, pay later" offering gives SMEs a flexible option for their business to invest in new technology that will help the company grow as SAP eliminates the need for upfront capital. With all SAP products on the reseller price list available for this offer via SAP partners, SMEs have a wide variety of solutions available to choose from to address their specific needs, and increase speed for their business processes. SAP also offers SME customers choice in how they choose to deploy their software solutions – on premise, in the cloud or in a hybrid model.

"With more than 80 percent of our 253,500 customers being SMEs, SAP recognizes the importance of providing these business owners with the option to easily invest in new technologies in a flexible manner," said Kevin Gilroy, senior vice president and general manager, Global SME Segment and Indirect Channels, SAP. "SMEs want customized solutions at comfortable price points and with the option to access simple and compelling financing. With the "buy now, pay later" plan available via our extensive ecosystem of partners, we will be able to provide SMEs with an easy way to upgrade their current IT landscapes without worrying about costs. We rely heavily on our partners to bring tailored offerings to these customers and they continue to impress us with their dedication to helping SMEs grow their business."

"Buy now, pay later" will be available initially in Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. More information on the "buy now, pay later" offering is available here [PDF]. The offering will run from now until September 30, 2014, and includes SAP software and one year of maintenance. To learn more about SAP partners' thoughts on the offering, see: "Partner Quote Sheet: SAP Offers Greater Choice and Financial Flexibility."

New SAP Solutions Give SMEs a Business Edge, Deliver Increased Business Insight
Building on SAP's industry-leading portfolio of products for SMEs, including the SAP® Business All-in-One solution, the SAP® Business One application and cloud solutions, SAP is also introducing new solutions to the portfolio of Edge solutions. Designed specifically for the needs of SMEs, Edge solutions extend SAP's product innovations and offer comprehensive, real-time database solutions for analytics, business intelligence (BI), information management and performance management capabilities to give SMEs a competitive advantage. The solutions empower SMEs with the tools to analyze business information quickly and are flexible to allow a business to add capabilities as it grows. Specifically, SAP has brought the SAP® InfiniteInsight® solution into the Edge solutions portfolio following its acquisition of KXEN.

"As an SME, identifying a business intelligence solution that is simple to use, fast to implement, and able to scale as our business grows can prove challenging," said Joshua Henkel, IT Director, Emerald Home Furnishings. "Solutions from SAP fit these requirements and give our business clear insights from data that we had been missing. We don't have a staff full of data scientists to analyze our data, but we don't need that as SAP BI solutions give us that ability in a powerful, but simplified manner."

Edge solutions being announced today include the following new solutions and updates:

• SAP InfiniteInsight is now part of the Edge portfolio of solutions for SMEs. It brings predictive analytics to a broad spectrum of users, including line-of business users. SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge modeling edition, enables SMEs to automatically build predictive models in a simplified manner in minutes or hours, rather than weeks or months. This gives SMEs enhanced reporting measures to guide them with clear decision-making possibilities by being able to use an algorithm for their business problem with a model built for accuracy and optimal results. SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge analytics edition, gives SMEs the opportunity to use predictive analytics, providing them with clear insights in a digestible format. The simplicity of the solution helps SMEs make anyone on staff a data expert. Businesses can build models, and store and run them when needed, which helps SMEs develop a competitive advantage by combining advanced analytics and BI to capture, analyze and predict trends.
• SAP® IQ software, Edge edition, will help SMEs accelerate their access to analytics with a proven data warehouse solution for businesses of any size.
• Edge edition of SAP® solutions for enterprise information management (EIM) were previously available but planned new, competitive pricing will enable SMEs to proactively govern their data at a price point that fits their budget, as well as helps them combine data from disparate sources in a clear and concise matter.

SAP is also introducing products for SMEs beyond Edge solutions. Big Data is an extremely relevant topic for companies of all sizes – large and small. With new, more flexible pricing options for SAP HANA®, SMEs now have the option to purchase pieces that will have the greatest impact on their business, lowering the total cost of investment while leveraging the speed and power from the in-memory database. There has also been a strong shift in the market to ensure that line-of-business users can easily purchase, install, consume and gain value from their technology investments. With SAP's new visualization starter pack, SMEs have the power of data models through a clear user interface with SAP® Lumira™ software and share them via mobile devices, providing them instant insights needed to grow their businesses. The visualization starter pack offers SMEs the ability to combine and visualize data from multiple sources that present both big picture and granular insights in a single view.

"Forward-looking small and midsize businesses worldwide understand the need to refine their current IT systems to match the changing competitive environment. But they typically lack the resources to finance and implement the upgrades that can really make a difference," said Ray Boggs, vice president, Small and Medium Business Research, IDC.

Boggs noted that SAP is touching on key critical needs that small and midsize companies have when it comes to solutions: an affordable model for acquisition, a delivery approach that offers maximum flexibility (on premise or cloud-based) and capabilities that will help sharpen business performance.

Finally, as more SMEs continue to embrace a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, they can now manage the security of their employees' devices with the cloud edition of the SAP® Afaria® mobile device management solution, and have the option of working through the SAP ecosystem of partners to purchase and implement it. Companies pay a low price per employee and can add additional devices as their business grows.

Working with a diverse portfolio of solutions designed specifically for SMEs collaborating with more than 11,500 partners, SAP is committed to helping its more than 200,000 SME customers grow their businesses with technology that fits their needs. SAP partners play a critical role in developing, selling and implementing along the company's portfolio of products.

For more information, including additional news from CeBIT 2014, visit the SAP Newsroom. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews and @SAP4SME, and see videos on the SAP4SME YouTube channel. 

*SAP's definition of "SME" varies by region, therefore, availability of offering contingent upon meeting regional criteria. Offering also available, pending credit approval.
**Oxford Economics, SMEs: Equipped to Compete, June 2013 [PDF]
***National Small Business Association, 2012 Small Business Access to Capital Survey, August 2012 [PDF]

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 253,500 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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