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SAP Expands Availability of Online Training to Help IT Professionals Grow and Certify Their Skills During Economic Downturn


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SAP Education Program Provides Remote Learning With Cost Savings of up to 70 Percent Compared to Instructor-Led Classroom Courses

BANGALORE, India - SAP (NYSE: SAP) today announced wider availability of its remote learning offerings in the Asia Pacific region, providing savings of up to 70 percent compared to SAP Instructor-Led Training (ILT). The online offerings present an attractively priced way for companies to gain competitive advantage during challenging economic times and are driven by the continued market demand for junior consultants. Administered by the SAP® Education organization, the remote learning program features a full classroom curriculum online with live SAP training systems and complete help desk support. The online courses are convenient and cost-effective, helping companies foster innovation and value creation. The courses are currently available in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, China and Australia, with expected rollout in Vietnam, Latin America, the Middle East, Western Europe and select African countries by March 2009. The announcement was made at SAP® TechEd 2008 Bangalore, being held Nov. 12–14, in Bangalore, India.

The online courses offered by SAP Education, which are part of SAP’s certification program, provide cost-effective and accessible education alternatives for SAP partners and customers. Current offerings include courses in financial accounting, controlling, human resources, procurement, order fulfillment, planning and manufacturing, business process integration, programming in ABAP, the SAP® Business All-in-One solution and the SAP® Business One application.

“We plan to substantially increase our SAP workforce by the end of 2009 and wanted to find high-quality, cost-effective training that would provide us with internationally recognized certifications,” said Saify Burhani, head of the SAP Practice at Atos Origin in India. “After evaluating various programs, we decided to adopt the online offerings from SAP Education to supplement our current training and certification approach, not only to ramp up faster, but to save on expenses as well. After engaging with the SAP Education program, we have already seen improvement in the knowledge and skills of our consultants. In addition, the remote learning model has allowed us to save on travel and opportunity costs.”

Highlighting the SAP ecosystem expansion in the Asia Pacific region, the remote learning program from SAP Education has experienced strong momentum with more than 4,000 certifications issued since the 2007 launch in India. The pass rate of more than 75 percent is higher than the standard instructor-led classroom programs because it allows learners to proceed at their own pace and repeat lessons as needed. Over the next few months, the offerings will become even more comprehensive as additional content is made available online. The remote learning program currently includes:

* E-learning content access: Instructor-led SAP Education course materials are available 24 hours a day in a highly interactive e-learning format. They include text, audio, video and snapshots of business processes, simulations, exercises and pre- and post- assessments.
* System access: Live access to the SAP training system with practice exercises and real-time demos.
* Help desk support: Expert instructor support is available at scheduled times and continuously throughout the course via the Web-based chat, voice-over IP, and learner discussion boards.

“In today’s financial climate, every enterprise, regardless of size or industry, is looking for ways to increase productivity, reduce costs and boost overall profitability,” said Bernd-Michael Rumpf, president and global head of Field Services, SAP AG. “Employee skills development is an important part of the equation, but it needs to be efficient and relevant with minimal disruption. The online course offering from SAP Education is specially designed to meet these criteria, allowing companies to choose what their employees should learn and enabling individuals to grow their skill sets at their own convenience and comfort.”

SAP® TechEd 2008 in Las Vegas, Berlin, Shanghai and Bangalore
More than 16,000 SAP customers, partners and technical experts are convening at SAP® TechEd 2008 to learn how to transform existing business processes and IT landscapes and take advantage of the power and flexibility of service-oriented architecture. Celebrating its 12th anniversary, SAP’s largest ecosystem education event of the year offers more than 1,000 hours of lecture-driven and hands-on sessions. SAP TechEd 2008 was held in Las Vegas on September 8–12, Berlin on October 14–16 and Shanghai on November 5–6, and is being held in Bangalore on November 12–14. For more information, please visit www.sapteched.com.

Note to editors:
Webcasts, announcements, media roundtables, keynote presentations and podcasts from SAP TechEd 2008 will be available in the event’s virtual newsroom at http://www.sapteched.com/india/news/home.htm. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit www.sap-tv.com. From this newly launched site, you also can embed videos into your own Web pages, share video via email links and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV. No registration is required. To preview and request broadcast-standard video digitally or by tape, log on to www.thenewsmarket.com/sap, where registration and video is free to the media.

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 approximately 76,000 customers (includes customers from the acquisition of Business Objects) 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 and related applications.

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