SAP® Business ByDesign™ Partners Enrich Solution With Complementary Services

Ecosystem Around SAP Business ByDesign Provides New Capabilities for B2B Collaboration, Payroll, Payment Processing, Tax Management

MUNICH, Germany . - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that it is further expanding the scope, versatility and built-in expertise of the SAP® Business ByDesign™ solution, dedicated to benefiting its customers with enhanced user experience and added value. New and expanded early partnerships allow for four new add-on solutions from SAP’s ecosystem, with customer-focused capabilities and expertise for payroll, payment reference data, B2B collaboration and tax management. The complementary services provided by four early partners are in a controlled go-to-market and available to customers in the six markets that SAP is focusing on for SAP Business ByDesign in 2008-China, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. The announcement was made at the SYSTEMS 2008 conference, being held in Munich, Germany, October 21-24.

First introduced to the marketplace in September 2007, SAP Business ByDesign is the industry’s most complete on-demand solution, specifically designed to address the business solution needs of fast-growing midsize companies. As one essential constituent of the solution portfolio for small businesses and midsize companies from SAP, the solution is the vehicle for delivering business process innovations in an on-demand model to midsize companies for managing their business growth.

“SAP and its extensive partner ecosystem are dedicated to creating and integrating complementary and innovative solutions for our SAP Business ByDesign customers,” said Hans-Peter Klaey, president, SME, and corporate officer of the SAP Group. “Therefore, we continue to enrich the solution, based on customer and market feedback, with partner-developed capabilities.”

Complementary Services Address Key Customer Requirements
The following complementary partner offerings increase the versatility of SAP Business ByDesign and supplement the solution’s ability to improve and automate key business processes for midsize companies. These early partners support transactional processes by specific content and/or provide complete processes run within SAP Business ByDesign.

* Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), Roseland, New Jersey, provides integration between its payroll services and the human resources functions within SAP Business ByDesign. Customers using integrated payroll services with ADP retain control over and visibility into its employee-driven business processes while enjoying all the benefits of outsourced payroll. ADP was the first company to commit to SAP Business ByDesign as a complementary content provider (see Sept. 19, 2007 announcement, titled “SAP® Business ByDesign™ Unveiled”).
* CB.Net, London, United Kingdom, provides SAP Business ByDesign customers with a continuously updated payment reference data service in order to give accurate and critical data necessary for validation and verification of payment information. By using this service, businesses will be able to more easily and accurately check payment co-ordinates, as well as reduce risks and costs in the payment initiation processes.
* Crossgate AG, Starnberg, Germany, offers a B2B collaboration service via its global business-ready network that enables customers to electronically exchange business data, such as purchase orders or invoices, with partners independently from document standards, channels or protocols used in the process.
* Vertex, Inc., Berwyn, Pennsylvania, delivers automated U.S. sales and use tax processing, aiding customers in their business tax management and compliance. Customers using Vertex® Tax Service will automatically be updated with sales and use tax rates and regulations across all taxing jurisdiction in the United States.

By partnering with these specialized providers of business content, SAP continues to introduce key business process enhancements that address market demands while leveraging the solution’s service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform.

“The integration of the Crossgate ’B2B 360° Services’ solution with SAP Business ByDesign will allow us to connect with our parent company in a secure data exchange, providing the benefits of cross-collaboration while operating on a simplified and highly-efficient on-demand model,” said Martin Limpert, CIO of Preh GmbH, a manufacturer of high-tech keyboards, touch screens and data entry components that uses SAP Business ByDesign for its operations. “Our time to market for new product models and net new products will be exceptionally improved, as we can better track customer demand needs and avoid product shortages with the visibility the Crossgate tool allows within our SAP implementation.”

“By continuously expanding its partner network with solutions that not only deliver added value for medium-sized companies but also enable them to run their business more cost-effectively, the SAP Business ByDesign offering is becoming more and more attractive,” said Hassan Hosseini, managing consultant, Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC). “SAP is sticking to its strategy of adding complementary content partners such as ADP, which is not only important for its long-term success, but essential.”