SAP to buy Sage???

The rumour mill is again in action implying that SAP may buy SAGE.

The new Sage MD Guy Berruyer might already have his hands full as he fends off takeover approaches from SAP and possibly Microsoft.
Sage's shares surged to 8.1p to a year's peak of 266.2p as speculators responded to gossip that SAP, the world's largest business software company, is gearing up for a cash bid worth £5.1billion or 390p a share.. SAP is said to be sitting on cash, even after splashing out £3.7billionn on database-software maker Sybase earlier this year.

Some say SAP would struggle to integrate Sage’s different solutions that they have bought, but this could be a great way to offer SaaS accounting software. The relationship Sage has with accountants might be worth a punt and help SAP push their new Business ByDesign software package.

With such a strong foot hold in the small to midsize software market, the leading suppliers of business software SAP could benefit from taking over Sage as software is seen to compete on some levels.

Shares in Sage Group gained sharply on Tuesday, with traders citing talk SAP AG was interested in making a bid for the technology company.

Both companies have declined to comment…

What do you think???

SAP BI Solutions result in “increased customer base” through increased service provision

SAP NEWSBYTE - September 28, 2010 - Just because an organisation is not-for-profit does not mean it is not for cost efficiency and customer service. Case in point: Marietta, Georgia-based Cobb EMC, one of America’s largest electric cooperatives, relies on business intelligence (BI) solutions from SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to enhance operational efficiencies, improve overall decision-making processes and better deliver reliable energy and gas at the lowest possible cost to the 435,000 residential and commercial customers it serves.

Previously, the not-for-profit utility’s IT department supported more than 6,000 individual business reports. Today — with SAP Business Objects Enterprise, SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence® and SAP Crystal Reports® software – Cobb EMC has reduced that number by 95 percent. With easy, self-serve access to information, employees have insight into real-time data, and can conduct detailed reporting to drive measurable benefits across the company – from marketing and HR to accounting and operations.

Having data at users’ fingertips means they can quickly and independently resolve issues. For example, with visual dashboards, they can more easily perform critical business analysis like examining and optimising marketing spend. Ready access to daily exception reports and individual bills helps personnel settle customer issues faster, improving quality assurance. As a result, Cobb EMC maintains a 99.9 percent accuracy rate in billing. Employees manage 65 percent of all standard reporting themselves, and the need for custom programming support has been eliminated — resulting in an annual savings of $300,000. IT now responds to requests for specialised reports in a matter of days instead of weeks.

Cobb EMC has successfully used SAP Business Objects BI solutions as the foundation of new services that have increased its customer base. One such offering lets property management companies better monitor and manage gas expenditures at apartment units — a service differentiator that has already generated $5 million in additional revenue.

A "big company" approach to business intelligence is no longer out of small and midsize business' league. Building a big data warehouse or investing in a lengthy project isn't necessary to reap the benefits of all that rich information. Smaller companies can mine their data just like their larger peers, and they need to do just that if they want to compete effectively.

SAP Crystal solutions offer an integrated group of affordable, intuitive business reporting, dashboarding, presentation, and ad hoc analysis solutions that enable individuals in organisations of any size to discover and share insight for optimal decision making.

Sources: SAP AG Newswire; Information Week

To find out more about SAP Business Intelligence Solutions, Crystal Solutions, which can be integrated with SAP Business One which is has been designed specifically for small to midsize companies visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie

SAP ERP implementation “improved profitability” expected by Air India

The Air India Board on Tuesday approved the implementation of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project.

The implementation of the ERP project is in line with the business objectives and strategy of the company for affecting a turnaround.

When SAP is considered in its proper context as a “change enabler” or “change lever” rather than a “change driver” it is easier to understand how and where it can properly fit into a revenue and profitability context.

SAP is the largest provider of ERP solutions world-wide and has been preferred by more than 115 airlines.

SAP solutions support the core business of airlines in passenger services planning and development and also MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) functions.

The implementation of the SAP ERP package would help Air India in strategic decision-making, monitoring and control systems, the release said.

Besides, integration of key business functions in the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India, the package would also help in seamless integration with other systems and ensuring availability and consolidation of critical data and information,

At the same time, the airline could aim for improved profitability by availability of real-time information on route network and profitability, it said.

It would also help in reduction in costs especially in inventories across various areas.

The cost savings an SAP ERP solution can bring a company come from streamlining operations, improved access to data, complete visibility of the organisation, and ultimately increased productivity and efficiency.

To find out more about SAP Business One, a business management solution designed specifically for small to midsize companies visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie

Source: Economic Times

“Super app” from Sybase and SAP for the Blackberry

Sybase, Inc., an SAP company and industry leader in enterprise and mobile software, yesterday announced the Sybase(R) Mobile Sales for SAP(R) CRM for BlackBerry(R) smartphones -- a new 'super app' that delivers an integrated application experience on BlackBerry smartphones. By extending the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application to the expansive BlackBerry smartphone community, Sybase and

SAP are making it possible for sales, service and marketing professionals to experience significant productivity gains through this 'super app'.

The new mobile solution for BlackBerry smartphones from SAP and Sybase provides comprehensive access to up-to-the-minute SAP customer and business analytics data and the ability to seamlessly conduct workflow processes anytime, anywhere. Advanced features like instantaneous alerts via BlackBerry push technology, and integration with the BlackBerry inbox and calendar provide users with a 'super app' experience on BlackBerry smartphones. Enterprises can also further exploit their IT infrastructure investment by improving mobile worker productivity and efficiency, shortening sales cycles, and increasing visibility into performance.

By making available business-critical data on BlackBerry smartphones using the industry's leading Sybase Unwired Platform and the BlackBerry platform, SAP and Sybase are transforming enterprise operations to not only address the short-term imperatives of reducing costs and better decision making in the field, but also helping companies achieve differentiated capabilities in order to compete effectively over the long term.

Sybase Mobile Sales for SAP CRM delivers the type of powerful experience our enterprise customers expect on BlackBerry smartphones," said Jeff McDowell, senior vice president at Research In Motion. "We look forward to future innovation on the SAP, Sybase and BlackBerry platforms to empower the developer community to build 'super apps' for the SAP Business Suite that deliver a true, native BlackBerry experience."

As the world's leading provider of business software with more than 102,500 customers in over 120 countries, SAP enables organisations to maximise interactions across the customer lifecycle by allowing transactions to be consistent and relevant with real-time, accurate information.

To find out more about SAP Business One, a solution designed specifically for SMEs as well as the Intelligent iPhone app, delivering SAP functionality from the iPhone visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie
Sources: SAP AG Press Release

Data Improvement key to growth, innovation and improved customer relationships

“The fewer data needed, the better the information. And an overload of information, that is, anything much beyond what is truly needed, leads to information blackout. It does not enrich, but impoverishes.”

Peter F. Drucker

It’s not more data we need, its better more refined and useful data, rather than an abundance of useless information.

Sybase, Inc., an SAP company and industry leader in enterprise and mobile software, today issued the second installment of results from a new report -- 'Measuring the Business Impacts of Effective Data' -- an extensive study benchmarking some of the world's leading Fortune 1000 enterprises across a wide range of vertical industries by measuring the direct correlation between a company's IT investments and overall business performance.

While the first installment quantifies the relationship between incremental investments in effective data and the key financial indicators of an enterprise's health and profitability, the second installment examines 'Impacts of Effective Data on Business Innovation and Growth.' That is, the impact on a company's ability to drive innovation, organic growth and sustained customer growth -- each of which make financial performance gains possible.

"Business growth attributable to new offerings and new customers are both critical indicators of the competitiveness of an organisation, and this second installment of findings begins to unearth where data improvement impacts are felt the most," said Anitesh Barua, distinguished teaching professor and lead researcher, University of Texas at Austin.

"We have already drawn definitive correlations between improvements in data and key financial performance metrics of businesses today, as outlined in our initial installment. Unlike previous studies, we are continuing to further peel back the onion to more holistically understand how better data influences a company's health and profitability."

Even the most incremental investments made towards improving only two data attributes -- data accessibility and intelligence -- can deliver dramatic impacts on the following key business innovation and growth metrics:

"Every day, we have conversations with our customers about how their data can be leveraged in new ways to generate revenue, whether it be through the development of new products and services or reaching a new market segment," said Dr. Raj Nathan, executive vice president & CMO, Sybase.

"In the end, we always come back to one thing -- empowering employees with effective data so that data itself doesn't become an impediment to business growth. This study deductively shows that simple, pragmatic improvements in data intelligence and accessibility help employees better understand evolving demand patterns, customer preferences and market dynamics that enable companies to both drive innovations to market faster and attract new customers."

Press Release Business Wire 27/09/2010

SAP contributes to Unilever’s saving of £980 million in costs

In recent years, Unilever has moved to “dramatically” cut the number of suppliers it uses, after at one point using 160 vendors for 1,200 applications. That project, alongside the SAP rollout and a company-wide reorganisation, has helped it save £960 million from costs.

Earlier this year the company said its own SAP rollout, with supplier Accenture, was significantly improving “operational execution” and efficiency, as well as dramatically cutting complexity. The most effective cost cutting was being effected in western Europe, it said, the first region to go live with the system.

Unilever is now facing a large SAP integration, following the announcement it will buy TRESemmé shampoo maker Alberto Culver for $3.7 billion (£2.3 billion).
Unilever, which makes related products including Dove soap and Sunsilk shampoo, as well as other household brands, is standardising globally on SAP enterprise resource planning software.

Unilever said it would become the world’s second largest shampoo maker as a result
of the acquisition, emphasising the importance of the UK, US, Canadian, Mexican and Australasian markets.

Unilever boasts a portfolio of over 400 brands. “With 400 brands spanning 14 categories of home, personal care and foods products, no other company touches so many people's lives in so many different ways.” They are leaders in almost every field within which they work.

The world’s leading, largest and best companies are using SAP and yet it is now within reach of small to midsize companies, supporting them on their quest to become a best run business.

SAP Business One has been designed specifically with small to midsize companies needs in mind. Visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie to find out more

SAP used as a Twitter aggregation platform for Singapore Grand Prix!

This weekend the world-famous 2010 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix is being held, 25-26 September, will bring thousands of new time visitors to Singapore. The Singapore Tourism Board had partnered with SAP AG to build an online service combining Twitter feeds and geo tagging on YourSingapore.com, the STB’s online one stop visitor information center.

This will help visitors to the website discover Singapore and access relevant, real-time information on events, activities and promotions by the city and local merchants. With SAP BusinessObjects Text Analysis software in the back end, the service will help improve the user experience on YourSingapore.com by processing tweets and filtering searches for special events and offers, listing these by specific street names, city districts and locations. Visitors to YourSingapore.com will get their first chance to test the Web application during the FORMULA ONE night race in Singapore, September 24–26, 2010.

This weekend marks the kickoff of this new Web service on YourSingapore.com and is something which will continue to be used in the regular tourism season allowing merchants around Singapore to tweet about sales, parties and events. The introduction of SAP software via YourSingapore.com will offer users an enhanced experience with intelligent text analysis that will analyze messages, group them intelligently and present them in a user-friendly way.

"This collaboration to aggregate tweets on YourSingapore.com will enhance the experience of visitors to the website and put them at the center of the online buzz in the Twitter space during this season. We invite everyone to join in the conversations at #Singapore GP."

With more than 45 million Twitter users in the key markets of visitors identified by the STB, the need to involve Twitter in the Grand Prix outreach campaign was clear. SAP technology provides a platform that will allow the STB to supplement its tourism Twitter initiative to showcase tweets about the FORMULA ONE race and surrounding events on YourSingapore.com.

"We are constantly looking for innovative ways to help our customers implement SAP technology; in this case, enabling Singapore visitors with useful information through familiar user access," said Krish Datta, president, SAP Southeast Asia.

"This application started as a spontaneous idea, but it quickly morphed into a means to demonstrate the potential of SAP software, and is a great showcase of the flexibility of our solutions. We are excited about partnering with Singapore Tourism Board and look forward to seeing the campaign results."

Source: SAP AG

SAP wins out over Oracle for aerospace firm

Russian aerospace company Proton Perm Motors has selected SAP software over Oracle applications to overcome constraints of its current information systems and optimise production planning, gain better insight into resource utilisation and profitability.

Proton-PM sought to better regulate the business processes and the IT systems running its day-to-day production planning and status reports to keep it on track with its strategic plans. It needed a single, automated information system to improve its enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing and human capital management (HCM) processes. It also sought to enhance its investment potential, strengthen its ties with long-standing and potential business partners, and to expand its product portfolio.

With SAP Business Suite applications, Proton-PM intends to free itself of the restrictions of its existing automated information systems and to optimise day-to-day and discrete production planning in stride with advances in its production equipment. Deploying the software in accordance with manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) standards, the company aims to decrease stock by 20 percent and shorten its production cycle by 15 percent.

"These days, public enterprises of our caliber need world-class information technologies, thus integration of SAP solutions turns out to be not only a strong optimisation project aimed at securing financial stability, but also an efficient tool to enhance our company's reliability with the help of the best global business management practices," said Igor Arbuzov, director general of Proton-Perm Motors, OJSC. "We hope that this will offer us an additional set of competitive advantages and further potential for growth."

SAP Business One is a comprehensive integrated solution designed specifically for small to midsize companies. World class business software from the leading providers of such is now accessible for companies of all sizes; don’t be fooled, SAP isn’t too big for you. Think SAP is too big for you? Think Again!

Visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie to find out more about SAP Business One, and here from customers who have seen a substantial ROI on their investment in the solution.

Original Source: SAP AG

Measure CO2 impact with SAP!

SAP has upgraded a software-as-a-service application that lets businesses measure their greenhouse gas emissions in a simple manner.

Its Carbon Impact OnDemand 5.0 can now be used in more than 50 countries, while its new features include the ability to obtain carbon emission and energy use data from business application software suites and building management systems.

The software-as-a-service tool also includes modelling functions which allow environmental managers to predict the impact of their plans to cut carbon output.

Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer at SAP, said the application could be highly useful to many businesses.

"Due to the uncertainty and volatility in energy prices, as well as the growing concerns of consumers, NGOs and governments about organisations' energy and carbon costs, companies face a tremendous challenge," he stated.

Earlier this month, a study conducted by SAP's Sybase was praised by IT Business Edge blogger Loraine Lawson for proving the importance of data quality to business operations.

Source: Experian QAS New Zealand

Software powering sustainability, SAP continues to reduce carbon footprint!

“Sustainable development is a dynamic process which enables all people to realise their potential, and to improve their quality of life, in ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the Earth’s life support systems.”

Forum for the Future Annual Report 2000

According to Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer at SAP, sustainability is a trend that is “really powered by IT”, especially as SAP provides software that supports all different enterprise areas, from supply chains and logistics to distribution and HR.

“Software is key because software can measure, optimise and improve how business is run."

“IT creates transparency. With software, you can find the areas where you can have the biggest impact [on the carbon footprint.”

SAP reduced its global carbon footprint by 15 percent last year, saving the company around €90 million. This comes as the company announced a 12 percent increase in revenues.

The reduction, from 501 kilotons of carbon in 2008 to 425 kilotons in 2009, was well ahead of the company’s annual goal of five percent less than the previous year’s emissions. SAP attributed the achievement to internal measures such as reducing the number of business flights, and the impact of the economic crisis on the business.
SAP’s long-term goal is to reduce its total carbon emissions to the level of 2000 by the year 2020.

This is no easy task, as Dr Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer at SAP, explained: “Our carbon footprint is mainly driven by the number of people in the company. In 2000, we had 24,000 employees. In 2007, we had 50,000 employees. Now, we are at about 48,000."

“We need to reduce the carbon footprint for each employee by more than 60 percent.”

Original Source: Businesszone.co.uk

SAP sales surge by 300% in Latin America

SAP is experiencing soaring demand for its products and services among large businesses and government agencies in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, according to an article quoting an SAP executive. One of his comments: "We are going from a focus on cutting costs to a focus on growth."

From a news article on Business News Americas' website:

SAP's current average sales transaction to large enterprises in Latin America has spiked 300% in comparison to last year, the senior VP of the company's large enterprise division for Latin America, Felix Feddersen, told BNamericas.

The increases have been most marked in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, while verticals seen turning up investments include finances, retail, oil and gas, mining and metals and, in the case of Brazil and Mexico, the public sector. . . .

Large multinationals headquartered in regions such as Europe and the US are channeling funds to growth markets such as Latin America. Additionally, booming Latin American economies are accelerating expansion of regional firms, which are seen automating their entire operations.

SAP's Feddersen said the huge jump in sales has been led by customer-facing apps, including CRM and BI, resulting in a 56% increase in revenue from license sales for the quarter and a 35% jump in revenue from software and related services.

SAP rolls out real-time business analytics apps

In a sign of SAP's stepped up attention to the business analytics market, the company released a set of real-time analytics products on Tuesday that are customised for use in various industry sectors and business functions.

The products are based on technologies from the company's 2007 purchase of Business Objects and include new tools designed to let enterprises enable mobile access to business intelligence (BI) applications.

The initial set of products in SAP's new BusinessObjects analytics application family have been customised for companies in the healthcare, consumer products, public sector, financial services, retail and telecommunication sectors.

SAP's new applications are designed to deliver real-time analytics capabilities for line of business functions, such as finance, sales, marketing, planning, risk assessment and customer satisfaction, at companies within these vertical segments.

The products were developed in collaboration with major SAP customers and are designed to work with structured or unstructured data from any SAP or non-SAP systems.

Driving the company's efforts in the real-time analytics market is the growing demand from enterprises for better decision support tools, SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott told Computerworld on Tuesday.

Increasingly, companies are looking for tools that can help them access, analyse and use real-time data to drive improved efficiencies across their sales, customer service, marketing and other business functions, he said. A growing number of companies are looking to push such functionality out to front-line employees to give them the insight and the context they need to make better decisions, he said.

One significant differentiator though could be SAPs growing focus on enabling mobile access to business analytics applications, Smith said. "SAP has been pushing hard to provide mobile access," he said. "It's something that is becoming very important for businesses."

Because SAP's newly released applications are standalone products that can operate in both SAP and non-SAP environments, the company's commitment to heterogeneous environments is driven home to customers, said James Kobielus, an analyst with Forrester Research.

"They are also very much built for rapid deployment and rapid customisation," Kobielus said.

"These products incorporate a lot of content built in an agile collaborative way by SAP and its customers."

Source: Computer world

SAP highest ranked software company in sustainability indexes

SAP NEWSBYTE - September 09, 2010 - For the fourth consecutive year SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) has been named as the leader of the software sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI), comprising the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World and Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index.

The DJSI follow a best-in-class approach and include sustainability leaders from each industry on a global and regional level respectively. The annual review of the DJSI family is based on a thorough analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, branding, climate change mitigation, supply chain standards and labor practices.

For the software sector, DJSI reviewed a total of 30 companies. SAP had sector-leading scores in 11 of the 20 key dimensions, including customer relationship management, risk and crisis management, innovation management, human capital development, corporate citizenship and labor practice indicators. SAP obtained sector-leading scores for its environmental and social reporting through its interactive sustainability report. Moreover, the company achieved the best score for the software sector in the social dimension.

In recent years, SAP has been recognized consistently for its sustainable business practices by the leading global sustainability rankings, including the Global 100 list of the most sustainable corporations in the world, the FTSE4Good index and the Global Challenges Index. In addition, SAP China was recently named as one of the “Top 50 Green Companies in China” by Business Watch magazine. In Germany, the company is nominated for the 2010 German Sustainability Award in the category “most sustainable strategy.”

In the past year, SAP has continued the execution of its sustainability strategy, which includes both managing its internal operations in a sustainable way and delivering solutions that support its customers’ sustainable business practices. The company introduced a SAP Supplier Code of Conduct to directly address sustainability issues within its own global network of suppliers. SAP also engaged with the Sustainability Consortium as the organization’s first global technology steering committee member.

In addition to issuing an annual sustainability report, in early 2010 SAP started providing quarterly sustainability updates. These quarterly reports offer updates on SAP’s performance and track the company’s progress toward meeting its aggressive carbon footprint reduction goals. In 2009 SAP announced its commitment to reduce the company’s total carbon emissions to the year-2000 emissions level of approximately 275 kilotonnes by the year 2020. This represents an overall reduction of about half compared to SAP’s year-2007 peak levels of 540 kilotonnes.

Source: SAP AG

SAP compare themselves to Apple, staying true to their core

SAP's rival Oracle are making an executive suite reshuffle which from SAP's point of few sets the companies on diverging paths.

Oracle is bringing in a top-shelf executive who knows computer hardware, both from his years at H.P. and at NCR before that. That strategic and operational know-how is crucial to Oracle, since it acquired Sun Microsystems earlier this year.

Mr. McDermott, co-chief executive of SAP called the Sun purchase “Oracle’s wild move into hardware.”
By contrast, he said, SAP is “staying true to its core” in software.

The software-only strategy, Mr. McDemott said, insures that SAP’s major corporate partners, which are also hardware makers, like I.B.M. and H.P., remain allies. “For Oracle, they are enemies now,” he said.

SAP, according to Mr. McDermott, will focus primarily on three product lines. The first is business applications, its mainstay business of supplying the software companies use to manage their finances, customer accounts, manufacturing and procurement.

The second is business intelligence software, which companies use to mine data for insights that can increase sales and cut costs. Its Business Objects subsidiary, acquired in 2007 for $6.78 billion, is a leader in business intelligence software.

The third, Mr. McDermott says, is mobile applications for business. Sybase software is already widely used in transporting messages to and from smartphones, and SAP plans to invest heavily in the mobile business. The idea, he said, is to link workers with mobile devices — like smartphones and Apple iPads (SAP has already deployed 2,000 to its workers) — to all the back-end business operations software SAP makes.

“What Apple has done in the consumer space, we’ll do in business applications,”McDermott said.

SAP expands university reach

As companies throughout the world continue to adopt on-demand technologies, universities and higher education institutions are finding it necessary to restructure their curriculum. In order to provide practical experience for students of business administration, SAP AG announced the start of a pilot project that incorporates the SAP ® Business ByDesign solution into the curriculum for universities taking part in the SAP® University Alliances program. This global initiative is offering selected university faculties access to SAP software and educational resources, and helping students gain practical skills in applying state-of-the-art enterprise software to real-world business scenarios. Instructors at 18 pilot universities in Germany, France, India, the United Kingdom and the United States now can supplement their curricula with innovative teaching methods and hands-on practice with business process modeling using the on-demand solution specifically developed for small businesses and midsize companies who want to work with an integrated, complete business application without the need to invest in IT infrastructure.

"Business graduates at the beginning of their careers typically lack practical experience and therefore have difficulty with business processes," said Helmut Krcmar, professor of Information Systems at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM)."

"By incorporating SAP Business ByDesign into their studies, our students can create their own company and design its business processes in a short time through the system's self-learning capabilities, enabling them to quickly see for themselves the inter-organizational relationships. This opens up entirely new teaching methods for us as, in the future, we can impart practical business knowledge by first using SAP Business ByDesign before we look closer at the theory."

"The on-demand solution from SAP simplifies the modeling of a business from the very beginning with a friendly user interface," said Daniel Pittel, business administration student at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden. "Even without technical skills and knowledge, you are led step by step through the business relationships. Right from the beginning of your studies you merge practice and theory, which clearly boosts successful learning and your motivation."

"Over 1000 colleges and schools use SAP software for education and research," said Oswald. "By including SAP Business ByDesign into our SAP University Alliances program with initially selected universities, we provide today's youth with the best foundation for a career in business administration. By transferring knowledge between technology and industry, we get feedback from different areas of expertise, which allows us to continue to optimize our offerings to the advantage of our customers."

Source: SAP AG

Follow a SAP Business One implementation and business transformation

A Boutique Bicycle Company, Torelli Bicycle, will be the first company to have their SAP Business One implementation and business transformation tracked and documented in the first of a series by Information Week.

The entire process – from planning and business process mapping, to go-live, to the company’s first experiences using its new software – is being documented by InformationWeek over the next few weeks as part of its "SMB Location Makeover" series, co-sponsored by SAP AG (NYSE: SAP). This implementation is being supported by SAP channel partner Navigator Business Solutions.

InformationWeek will follow the transformation at Torelli step by step via weekly updates, blogs, videos, interviews and feature stories. To help streamline business processes, pave the way for future growth, and help focus more on its core business and customers, the bike-maker is implementing the SAP® Business One application.

Torelli Bicycle, now entering its 30th year in business, runs a frame-building operation, in which it designs and builds custom road bikes and frames for professional racers and biking enthusiasts, as well as a parts and accessory business. The small shop of four full-time employees has experienced consistent growth, but its current computing systems and business processes were not keeping pace. The solution will help Torelli integrate its entire business across financials, sales, customer relationships, inventory and operations.

The InformationWeek documentation of Torelli Bicycle’s implementation is the first in a real-time, multimedia series that will showcase real-world technology deployments of enterprise resource planning (ERP) offerings to small and midsize businesses (SMBs). To follow in Torelli’s tracks as it plans, implements and runs SAP Business One, visit InformationWeek SMB On Location Makeover.

Source: SAP AG

New Release ERP vulnerability testing suite “first version works with SAP business platforms”

Leading information security company, Onapsis, will soon release a tool that will allow companies to test their ERP (enterprise resource planning) software for security threats.

"The first version of X1 works with SAP business platforms," said Mariano Nuñez Di Croce, director of research and development for Onapsis. "The company eventually plans to add modules for Siebel, Oracle and PeopleSoft ERP applications," he said.

Nuñez Di Croce said Onapsis hopes X1 will prove to be a cheaper option for companies wanting to do security testing without hiring expensive outside consultants. Also, many of the tools used to analyse ERP applications are focused more on segregation of duties issues rather than the security of the technological components.

X1 can perform several types of security tests, Nuñez Di Croce said. It can scan applications for vulnerabilities and then show how those vulnerabilities could reveal critical business information.

Current exploits are included in X1, and it's possible to drag and drop exploits to illustrate existing risks "so people are aware of what the vulnerability really means for their business," Nuñez Di Croce said.

If a patch or workaround is available, X1 will show it, and it has a reporting engine that can show detailed vulnerability reports and draw up a mitigation plan, Nuñez Di Croce said.

X1 is capable of checking for violations in SAP platforms of the Payment Card Industry's Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of guidelines for protecting payment card data. The tool can also compare to how the current ERP system's configuration compares with an organisation's internal security standards.

“Pricing will be based on the size of a company's ERP implementation that a company wants to evaluate”, Nuñez Di Croce said. “Onapsis can build a personalised demonstration of X1 for company if they're interested,” he said.

Original Article: Infoworld.com, Jeremy Kirk

SAP has deployed 1,000 iPads to their employees!

SAP CIO Oliver Bussmann tweeted yesterday that the enterprise software vendor has already rolled out iPads to 1,000 employees.

And this isn’t just a superficial show of support for SAP’s new-found embrace of mobility: according to Bussmann, every iPad comes with e-mail, Virtual Private Network (VPN) access to server-based applications through Citrix software and Business Intelligence tools via BusinessObjects.

iPad-wielding SAP employees are also piloting the Mobile Sales for SAP CRM app built by Sybase for our then-partner, now-parent company.

According to Bussmann, the 1,000 iPads are spread among SAP’s 48,000 employees worldwide, not concentrated in either its home country of Germany or within its US operations.

And the 1,000 employee figure - a statistic which already comprises more than 2% of SAP’s workforce despite the iPad only being available for 4 months - is set to grow, promised Bussmann, who tweeted “More to come..”

We’ve seen reports of companies starting to deploy the iPad, such as Mercedes-Benz, Wells-Fargo, Bausch & Lomb, Kaiser Permanente, and others. And there is Apple’s statistic that half of the Fortune 100 are testing it.

But SAP’s rollout has got to be the single largest in the world. I doubt that Apple (34,000 employees) has anywhere near the same number of employees using an iPad today.

The usefulness of iPads and other tablets will only grow. Sybase is working with SAP to deliver a mobile SDK for SAP and other enterprise apps, as well as directly helping SAP mobilize its vaunted lineup of enterprise software.

Original Source: ZD Net, Eric Lai

SAP recognises need for “measurable IT return”

"We believe that customers' continued success depends on obtaining measurable return from IT investments," SAP spokesman Andy Kendzie said in an e-mail.

SAP recently rolled out a number of Value Engineering tools and services, some of which are available at no cost, for benchmarking system performance and developing business cases for new projects.

While the total cost of ERP ownership is important to monitor and optimise, focusing solely on TCO is no longer sufficient. Organisations must not consider ROI of ERP projects in order to justify continued investment and maximum benefits.
With the downturn in the economy, an imprudent reaction may and has in some cases been to stop any discretionary spending on ERP projects just when their cost-saving, operation improving potential is needed more than ever.

According to research carried out by the Aberdeen Group, many companies now feel compelled to make an investment in ERP as a necessary infrastructure to support their business. However, best practices for maximising the benefits from such a solution involve the measurement of the reduction in costs, improvement in schedule performance and customer satisfaction, and the ability to redeploy employees to add more value to the organisation.

The most regularly cited reason for not measuring ROI of ERP projects is that it is too difficult to measure. The most successful ERP implementations have clear objectives which should be easily quantified and measured so that full gains can be realised.
24% of SMEs point to a lack of tools to measure ROI, however, most if not all of the tools are available within the application for which the ROI is being measured.

The pressure to remain competitive in the dynamic, global economy forces organisations to consider the results-based approach where the question 'Will we see a return on investment (ROI)?' is central.

SAP and StreamServe sign reseller agreement

SAP® Document Presentment by StreamServe Helps Companies Increase Operational Efficiencies While Enabling Enhanced and Targeted Communications With Customers

In an effort to help companies around the globe increase operational efficiencies while enhancing the way they communicate with customers. SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and StreamServe, Inc., a leading provider of business communication solutions for document presentment and personalized customer communications, have agreed to offer StreamServe’s leading document automation solution as a solution extension from SAP. Available today, SAP is reselling StreamServe’s solution under the name “the SAP® Document Presentment application by StreamServe.”

SAP Document Presentment is an innovative solution that fully automates the generation and personalization of documents (e.g., billing statements) and communications from multiple enterprise applications to multiple output types, including print, e-mail, fax and mobile. With SAP Document Presentment, customers can deliver highly targeted communications to their customers, thereby providing an opportunity to cross-sell and up-sell new products and services.

“We have had much success using StreamServe’s document presentment software with our SAP system, and have found that the solutions work perfectly together in helping us to achieve our customer communication needs and improve the customer experience,” said Richard O’Brien, Marketing and Services manager, EDF Energy. “We are thrilled by this agreement, which we view as a natural one. By uniting the strengths of both companies, this offering further simplifies the process of whom the customer contacts regarding the sale, support and maintenance.”

To read the full press release visit the SAP Newsroom.
Source: SAP AG