Leading Global Financial IT Executives and SAP Form Network to Define the Future of Banking IT

New Industry Value Network for Banks to Define Enterprise Services for Banks;

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - December 05, 2005 - In a continuing demonstration of its leadership role in laying the groundwork for the industry’s transformation to service-oriented architecture (SOA), SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the inception of the Industry Value Network for Banks, comprising C-level IT banking executives and chief architects who will jointly with SAP define the banking-specific enterprise services required to make SOA for the banking industry a reality. Leading banks throughout the world including ABN Amro, Absa, Barclays, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Credit Suisse, Deutsche Postbank, ING and Standard Bank have agreed to collaborate with SAP in this initiative. The announcement was made today at SAP’s third annual Industry Analyst summit, being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 5-6.

The effort is further evidence of SAP’s progress in helping customers achieve Enterprise Services Architecture (ESA), SAP’s blueprint for a business-driven approach to SOA. Based on the services that will be defined and on SAP’s banking solution portfolio, SAP will deliver the first industry-specific banking process platform to all banking customers, as well as to ISVs and partners.

The strategic Industry Value Network for Banks is tasked to define enterprise services that will bridge the gap between today’s banking systems and the next generation of banking solutions. The work of the Network will help banks and SAP ensure a non-disruptive, stepwise transformation to next-generation solutions, as well as help banks to be able to integrate new functions and services into their existing IT environments.

“We consider the Industry Value Network for Banks involving the cross-bank definition of services to be a significant step towards making our existing service-oriented architecture more flexible,” said Stephan Murer, chief architect, Credit Suisse.

The aim of the initiative is to define enterprise services that create consistent business language for banks to conduct business processes across their various IT landscapes, allowing them to more quickly compose flexible solutions to meet the real business challenges facing their industry today. By mid-2006, the Industry Value Network for Banks is targeting delivery of a repository of the industry’s most important services together with guidelines for creating a flexible and agile banking IT environment.

“While banks and IT providers are currently working to make their architectures more flexible and agile, they also understand the need to identify the required common definitions and services in their technology road map that helps them to reuse, interoperate and integrate the offerings of IT providers more easily into their existing landscapes,” said Jim Hagemann Snabe, general manager, Industry Solutions, SAP AG. “The creation of the Industry Value Network for Banks will combine the deep industry knowledge of the banking market along with SAP’s expertise to define the services needed for the transition to Enterprise Services Architecture. As a result, the banking community will enjoy more flexible and adaptable solutions, and the process will help open up the opportunity for ISVs and other partners for a new wave of solution innovation in the banking industry.”

Industry Value Networks and Enterprise Preview Systems Benefit ISVs and Customers
The efforts of the strategic Industry Value Network for Banks shall augment the work started by SAP as the first solution provider to propose definitions for the 500 most commonly-used enterprise services with the spring 2005 unveiling of the ESA preview system. The demonstration system provides customers, partners, ISVs and the industry the opportunity to test enterprise services and contribute to the definition and development of solutions (see www.sap.com/company/press/Press.epx?PressID=4515). The first 500 services are also documented fully on the SAP Developer Network website, providing an open environment for discussion around services definitions, at sap.sdn.com

SAP’s Industry Value Networks was first introduced in September, 2005. The Industry Value Networks process is designed to identify high-value customer pain points where collective innovation across the ecosystem is integral to solution creation and deployment. Through ESA, these solutions will use enterprise services as the common language to drive business growth for customers and partners. In an effort to provide transparency, SAP is also releasing to participants in the program a series of industry solution maps that clearly identify high-value areas of collaboration as well as current and future focus points for SAP® solutions (see www.sap.com/company/press/Press.epx?PressID=4940).

About SAP for Banking
SAP for Banking is an industry solution that combines mySAP™ Business Suite solutions and tailored functionality to meet the unique demands of financial institutions. With more than 600 customers in 60 countries worldwide, SAP for Banking provides an integrated set of tools and automated processes to manage every aspect of the front- and back-office banking environment—from high-volume transactional banking processes and customer relationship management to financial accounting, cost controlling and profitability and risk analysis. Based on the open architecture of the SAP NetWeaver® integration and application platform, SAP for Banking helps companies expertly manage transactions and relationships across the institution to quickly identify and exploit market opportunities and easily tailor new products to the specific needs of individual customers. (Additional information at http://www.sap.com/banking)

About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software solutions*. Today, more than 29,800 customers in over 120 countries run more than 100,600 installations of SAP® software—from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize enterprises to suite solutions for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver® platform to drive innovation and enable business change, mySAP™ Business Suite solutions are helping enterprises around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP industry solutions support the unique business processes of more than 25 industry segments, including high tech, retail, public sector and financial services. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol “SAP.” (Additional information at http://www.sap.com)

(*) SAP defines business software solutions as comprising enterprise resource planning and related software solutions such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and supplier relationship management.

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Andrea Robillard

SAP

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