SAP Takes Innovation in Leaps, So Customers Can Take It in Strides - With 'Innovations 2010'

FRANKFURT, Germany and ORLANDO, Fla., May. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) announced that it is expanding the scope of solutions for which customers can "switch on" new features without disrupting operations for system upgrades. Under the marquee "Innovations 2010," SAP is unveiling a number of industry-specific and line-of-business enhancements across multiple products including SAP® Business Suite software; the SAP® BusinessObjects™ portfolio; the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform; solutions for governance, risk and compliance; industry packages; and solution extensions and social collaboration. Many of the "Innovations 2010" enhancements being released throughout the year are being demoed at SAPPHIRE® NOW, being held simultaneously in Frankfurt, Germany, and Orlando, Florida, May 17-19, 2010.

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Companies across all industries, including HSE24, Heraeus, Tenneco and Tyson Foods, are taking advantage of innovations from SAP to help gear their organizations for business growth and improved profitability. In choosing the business software that underpins these efforts, company leaders and line-of-business executives want faster deployments, outcomes and time-to-value. They cannot afford to disrupt operations to upgrade their systems or absorb the costs of integrating disparate applications into their IT frameworks. By expanding the scope of "switch on" software enhancements to address even more specific demands, SAP enables customers across all industries to run better as they grow and transform their businesses.

For SAP customer Heraeus, enhanced features for specific industries help the company manage its diverse portfolio of businesses, including precious metals, sensors, biomaterials and medical products, dental products, quartz glass and specialty light sources. "Having accurate financial data is important for every company, but when you deal with precious metals it is absolutely essential," said Martin Ackermann, CEO, Heraeus infosystems GmbH, and CIO, Heraeus Holding GmbH. "By having this data easily accessible we gain more transparency in our transactions and potential risks, helping us to make quick decisions when shifts occur in the various markets that we operate in. With the new functionalities provided by SAP, we intend to be able to easily access the right data, at the right time, which will provide the insight we need to make informed decisions."

Industry enhancements also deliver value for SAP customer Tyson Foods. "As one of the largest food production companies in the world, Tyson Foods continually invests in technology that helps us to be more agile, innovative and efficient so we can better serve our customers," said Kenny Rawls, enterprise solution architect, Tyson Foods. "Together with SAP, we are able to address some important industry requirements, which in turn will allow us to grow our SAP footprint."

Innovations 2010 also focuses around helping companies adopt four strategies relevant to today's most pressing business challenges, including:

• Managing a lean enterprise: Companies are looking to revitalize their operations while using working capital and assets more efficiently. They are conserving cash, cutting costs and making process improvements for quicker immediate returns and a lasting impact for the future. Companies across all industries seek to pursue shared services strategies to simplify business support processes, improve engagement with vendors, suppliers and employees, as well as standardize and redistribute corporate best practices globally.
• Harnessing the collaborative power of social communities: Increasingly, social communities are a source of collective knowledge and collaboration as well as a vehicle to promote or detract from a company's brand. Companies that harness the power of social media channels offer another touch point where they can drive a differentiated experience that engenders reach, collaboration and loyalty. For employees in companies of all sizes, the SAP® StreamWork™ application delivers the first and only on-demand collaborative decision-making application, helping small work groups share information and make decisions in real time.
• Transforming business models for growth: Companies that make the most of their business networks are able to quickly adapt to market changes, talent shortages and the changing demands of consumers. The ability to work across organizational boundaries with best practices, in-source and outsource capabilities and business processes that can be borrowed from other industries is critical to innovation today. For example, convergent charging and billing capabilities meet the high-volume and usage-based invoicing needs of telecommunications companies. They can also help utilities, high tech and media companies as they enter new markets, acquire new customers and evolve their products, services and business models.
• Accelerating business information for faster, smarter decision-making: Whereas management must make many decisions based on guess-work, in today's fast-paced business environment, accuracy is critical. SAP® BusinessObjects™ Explorer software, accelerated version, combines data navigation capabilities with in-memory technology so business users can comb through huge amounts of information instantly – and be more precise in their decision-making. Designed to be intuitive and easy to use, people can get a wide, aerial view of their information, pinpoint data and then drill down to the detail for smarter, faster decisions.

With Innovations 2010, SAP also continues to expand its support for industry-specific deep processes by delivering, for example:

• Advanced trade promotion management that helps consumer products companies gain real-time visibility to available and earned funds, enhanced funds management options and improved decision support.
• Significant enhancement to the SAP® for Banking solution portfolio enables operational and organizational collaboration for improved customer service, enhanced loans management, including flexible collateral management, and updates to Basel II requirements.

"With Innovations 2010, we are evolving our delivery model as we add to the breadth and depth of industry processes and embedded analytics within our on-premise solutions and further tap the power of new technologies such as in-memory analytics and complementary SaaS solutions," said Richard Campione, executive vice president and general manager, Line of Business Solutions, SAP AG. "Each customer can create and evolve a unique solution landscape, one that helps them distinguish themselves within their industry. And they have the investment security and peace of mind that it's all synchronized and orchestrated in a unified manner and can continually and cost-effectively be adapted to changing business needs."

For more information visit www.sap.com/innovations2010.

SAPPHIRE® NOW

With SAPPHIRE® NOW, SAP marks the next evolution of its SAPPHIRE customer conference and networking events, offering SAP customers, partners and prospects even more opportunities to engage in dialogue with peers, participants and thought leaders around the globe. Being held simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, and Frankfurt, Germany, May 17-19, 2010, this enhanced, real-time event connects attendees on site with global participants through state-of-the-art broadcast studios and a newly designed online experience that incorporates the latest social media and community functionality. Whether onsite or online, participants can gain insight on how innovative business solutions from SAP are enabling long-term, profitable business growth. For more information about the Orlando show, visit www.sapandasug.com; for the Frankfurt event, visit www.sap.com/sapphire/emea. Join the conversation via Twitter at @SAPPHIRENOW and visit the SAPPHIRE NOW Social Newsroom at sapphirenow.blogs-sap.com.

SAP and the Americas' SAP Users' Group (ASUG) are co-locating their premier events in Orlando, where the 2010 ASUG Annual Conference takes place May 16-20.

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 97,000 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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During SAPPHIRE NOW (from May 17 to 19), to speak with press contacts on site, please dial the SAP press room: Orlando: +1 (610) 661-0469; Frankfurt: +49 (6227) 7-74065.

SOURCE SAP AG