SAP Reveals Solutions and Strategies to Drive Customer Business Growth at SAPPHIRE(R) NOW in Frankfurt and Florida

FRANKFURT, Germany and ORLANDO, Fla., April 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With keynote speeches from industry luminaries, a world-class roster of customers and partners, and an innovative new format held simultaneously in two locations, SAPPHIRE® NOW promises to be an event to remember. SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) will host its annual conference simultaneously in Frankfurt, Germany, and Orlando, Florida, from May 17-19, 2010. Here, the company, its customers and its partners will gather together to share and experience innovative solutions running on premise, on demand or on device to enable real-time decision-making. Offering a peek into the future, attendees will also be given an advance look at SAP solutions to come.  

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Industry Luminaries Speak on Innovation, Leadership

The first day of SAPPHIRE NOW begins with a powerful presentation from Sir Richard Branson, the founder and president of Virgin Group. The best-selling author will speak from his experience as an entrepreneur and business innovator. Speaking on the topic of Leadership: Taking Charge, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) and Secretary of State (2001-2005) will give the special keynote presentation at the general session of ASUG, the Americas' SAP Users' Group, co-located in Orlando with the SAP customer conference from May 16-19, 2010.

SAP Executives Showcase the Changing Needs of the New Enterprise

SAP Co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe will each deliver keynote presentations that will focus on the changing needs of the new enterprise, highlighting the changing requirements of the CEO, the business requirements of line-of-business executives, the role of the CIO in driving down costs to fund innovation, and how companies are adapting to the new realities to be best-run businesses. Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board Hasso Plattner and Member of the SAP Executive Board Vishal Sikka will take the stage to deliver keynote presentations on future technology and trends, and the innovation SAP will bring to customers to capitalize on these trends.

In a new format this year, SAPPHIRE NOW introduces a broadcast center on the show floor at both event locations. Hosted by two established news anchors, the broadcast center will feature pre- and post-keynote shows, as well as shows focused on the future of technology, best-run businesses, external market forces, leveraging technology to gain a competitive advantage and much more. The Frankfurt broadcast center will be anchored by Conny Czymoch, who anchored for such shows as Face of Phoenix, DW-TV, SAT1 and CNN. Czymoch will be joined by Matt Frei, a 23-year broadcast news veteran who currently anchors on BBC World News America. The Orlando broadcast center will be anchored by Miles O'Brien, a 26-year broadcast veteran from such news channels as CNN, FoxNews and PBS. O'Brien will be joined by Veronica De La Cruz, a former CNN and NBC news anchor.

The events are expected to bring together more than 16,000 current and prospective SAP customers, partners, users and employees in Frankfurt and Orlando. The events will use real-time connected sessions between Frankfurt and Orlando to help attendees at either physical location to share customer successes, product innovations and industry trends in 1200 presentations, at more than 200 interactive demo stations and with 300 exhibiting partners on the conference floors.

SAP Customers and Partners Share Insights

SAP customers round out the SAPPHIRE NOW agenda with presentations and demos about various topics, including business transformation, industry solutions, creating greater efficiencies and leveraging new technologies. SAPPHIRE NOW attendees can also see presentations and demos by partners in mobile devices, cloud-based technologies and complementary software solutions and services. Anchors at the broadcast center will be interviewing partners on how the SAP ecosystem helps fuel innovation, delivers on-premise and on-demand solutions, and helps customers extend their SAP solutions throughout the enterprise and to the broader community.

World-Class Talent Tops SAPPHIRE NOW

Attendees at SAPPHIRE NOW in Frankfurt will celebrate with DURAN DURAN. With a total of over 70 million records sold, 18 American hit singles and 30 UK top 30 tunes, DURAN DURAN have a global presence that draws huge concert audiences on five continents.

Attendees at SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando will celebrate to the sound of Santana, the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group led by Carlos Santana, the GRAMMY® Award-winning guitarist extraordinaire named by Rolling Stone as one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time."

SAPPHIRE NOW Promises a New Kind of Event

Under the marquee SAPPHIRE NOW, the annual conference has evolved into an enhanced, real-time event that connects attendees on site with global participants through a newly designed online experience, incorporating the latest social media and community functionality. Attendees will have faster access to more information than ever before, with information delivered via the latest interactive technologies on large-screen kiosks. Similarly, media will gain faster access to news, video, photos, coverage and commentary around the event on the soon-to-be-launched SAPPHIRE NOW Social Newsroom. Visit the SAP Newsroom for more details.

"As the next evolution of this marquee customer conference, SAPPHIRE NOW promises to be an amazing experience for attendees through the use of interactive and innovative technologies and highly relevant content on the show floor," said Marty Homlish, chief marketing officer and corporate officer, SAP. "In addition to the impressive roster of thought leaders, presenters and entertainers, attendees will experience first-hand new and future SAP products that they can physically see, hear and touch. It's an entirely new SAP experience, and one that we expect to generate value long after the event ends."

To register for SAPPHIRE NOW in Frankfurt, please visit www.sap.com/sapphire/emea. To register for SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando, please visit www.sapandasug.com. Join the SAPPHIRE conversation via Twitter at @SAPPHIRENOW.

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 95,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit www.sap.com.

(*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, and related applications.

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SOURCE SAP AG