SAP Americas, a subsidiary of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), today announced that it is expecting to welcome customers, influencers and prospects to the SAP SME World Tour, the first SAP World Tour specifically dedicated to small businesses and midsize companies. The SAP SME World Tour will kick off in Atlanta, Georgia on October 28, continuing on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas and ending in San Jose, California at the beginning of November. This series of events is taking place in more than 50 cities spread over 10 countries across Europe, Asia, the United States and Latin America. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/...) Leveraging the successfully established format of the SAP World Tour - which is a global road show that has reached more than 130,000 customers, partners and influencers over the last four years -- the SAP SME World Tour has been created to provide U.S. companies with information on how SAP(R) solutions for small businesses and midsize companies can best fit their needs, help them successfully transform business challenges into opportunities and meet the business demands distinct to their size, industry and market. As sponsor of this event series and long-term partner to SAP, Novell will be present at the event and will answer questions on the use and advantages of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for small businesses and midsize companies. Other sponsoring partners include SAP(R) Business All-in-One partners Bramasol, Inc.; IDS Scheer; itelligence Inc. and Optimal Solutions, as well as SAP(R) Business One partners Accelbus Systems, LLC; Apollo Consulting, LLC; Real Solutions of North America, Inc.; Synesis International, Inc. and TBC International Consulting, Inc.
"We're very pleased to be continuing to support the SAP World Tour for the SME market," said Susan Heystee, vice president, general manager, Global Strategic Alliances, Novell. "Both SAP and Novell have heard from our SME customers that they are increasingly looking for a complete solution, from the operating system up to the application, with an integrated source of technical support that will help them lower cost and reduce complexity. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a recommended Linux distribution and internal development platform for SAP applications and its further optimization will deliver the performance, reliability and scalability that customers demand."
The tour is designed to enable a dialog regarding current trends and economic impact with influencers, customers and prospects -- along with members of the SAP ecosystem and parties interested in partnering with SAP. Through interactive formats including a customer panel and roundtable sessions, participants will learn how the SAP business software solution portfolio and a global network of more than 2,100 partners working in the midmarket can help small businesses and midsize companies adapt more quickly to changing economic environments. In addition, participants will learn how to better address customer and market needs, differentiate against tougher competition, execute growth strategies in an international environment, and maximize results with existing resources while continuing to concentrate on core business competencies and maintaining close customer relations.
The SAP(R) Business All-in-One fast-start program for the United States will be featured during the SAP SME World Tour program. Designed and targeted to deliver rapid business results, allow for fast implementation as well as lower total cost of ownership (TCO), the program offers a preconfigured SAP Business All-in-One solution based on proven SAP(R) Best Practices to midsize companies in the manufacturing, services and wholesale industries. Companies can further specify the offering using the solution configurator available on the SAP web site (http://www.sap.com/...). Additional information can be found at: http://www.sap.com/...
The tour will also focus on the joint offering of SAP and Business Objects, an SAP company, which helps corporations in the small and midsize enterprise (SME) space tightly link business information with business processes, allowing for greater transparency throughout the organization as a foundation for faster and better-informed business decisions.
The events will feature a keynote presentation by David G. Thomson, best-selling author of "Blueprint to a Billion," who will speak on "Getting Back to Basics: The New Fundamentals to Achieve Growth." David has studied the unique management practices that high-growth companies utilize to sustain their market position across, up and down market cycles. He has found that management teams "Lead Forward": they manage beyond the present to enable growth in future quarters. This approach is especially relevant during this market cycle. He will also touch upon how CEOs balance profitability and cash flow with investing in infrastructure. During the event, participants will have the opportunity to choose from a number of roundtable discussions to further engage in conversations about turning these insights into actions regarding revenue growth, maintaining competitive advantage throughout turbulent markets, investing in infrastructure and the strength of partnerships and alliances, to name a few.
"SAP's first global road show for small and midsize businesses is perfectly timed," said Glenn Wada, senior vice president and general manager, SME, SAP AG. "Over the last several weeks, we have witnessed unprecedented changes in the U.S. and global economies. Needless to say, companies in this market segment are eager to understand how SAP has helped others like them to weather the storm, creating competitive advantage in difficult times. Our panel of SAP customers and business thought leaders will make this an invaluable opportunity for prospects and companies interested in partnering with SAP."
The tour provides attendees with an opportunity to network with peers, industry partners and SAP executives, and receive valuable first-hand updates on the established SME solution portfolio from SAP, the company's dedicated SME strategy and its closely integrated, customer-focused ecosystem.
The following customers are planning to attend each SAP SME World Tour event in the United States:
- Atlanta, Georgia - Bamboo Pipeline, Maxxis International - USA
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Clinical Financial Services, Tam Ceramics, Wolf Distributing Company
- Chicago, Illinois - Bamboo Pipeline, Organic Valley, Schumacher Elevator, Televerde
- Dallas, Texas - GSCS, Inc; Power Well Services (acquired by Expro Group)
- San Jose, California - BendPak, JQ American, StubHub, TiVo
For information on dates and locations of the SAP SME World Tour 2008, please visit: http://www.sap.com/...
About SAP(R) Solutions for Small Businesses and Midsize Companies
With more than 37,500 small and midsize customers worldwide, SAP is a leading provider of business applications and an established and highly successful player in the small and midsize enterprise (SME) market. SAP offers a broad and innovative solution portfolio for small businesses and midsize companies to meet the heterogeneous demands of SME customers. SAP solutions for small businesses and midsize companies include SAP(R) Business One, a single integrated application for successfully managing small businesses; SAP(R) Business ByDesign(TM), the software industry's most complete, integrated and adaptable on-demand solution for midsize companies; and SAP(R) Business All-in-One, a customizable and extensible solution for midsize companies with deep industry best practices built in. Sold, implemented and maintained through SAP and an expanding network of qualified partners, all of the solutions are competitively priced, easy and quick to implement and scalable to customers' growing business needs. The SAP solutions specifically designed for SMEs help enable small businesses and midsize companies to lower operating costs, improve operational excellence, gain better business insight and control, and grow their businesses flexibly. Additional information is available at http://www.sap.com/....
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
"We're very pleased to be continuing to support the SAP World Tour for the SME market," said Susan Heystee, vice president, general manager, Global Strategic Alliances, Novell. "Both SAP and Novell have heard from our SME customers that they are increasingly looking for a complete solution, from the operating system up to the application, with an integrated source of technical support that will help them lower cost and reduce complexity. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a recommended Linux distribution and internal development platform for SAP applications and its further optimization will deliver the performance, reliability and scalability that customers demand."
The tour is designed to enable a dialog regarding current trends and economic impact with influencers, customers and prospects -- along with members of the SAP ecosystem and parties interested in partnering with SAP. Through interactive formats including a customer panel and roundtable sessions, participants will learn how the SAP business software solution portfolio and a global network of more than 2,100 partners working in the midmarket can help small businesses and midsize companies adapt more quickly to changing economic environments. In addition, participants will learn how to better address customer and market needs, differentiate against tougher competition, execute growth strategies in an international environment, and maximize results with existing resources while continuing to concentrate on core business competencies and maintaining close customer relations.
The SAP(R) Business All-in-One fast-start program for the United States will be featured during the SAP SME World Tour program. Designed and targeted to deliver rapid business results, allow for fast implementation as well as lower total cost of ownership (TCO), the program offers a preconfigured SAP Business All-in-One solution based on proven SAP(R) Best Practices to midsize companies in the manufacturing, services and wholesale industries. Companies can further specify the offering using the solution configurator available on the SAP web site (http://www.sap.com/...). Additional information can be found at: http://www.sap.com/...
The tour will also focus on the joint offering of SAP and Business Objects, an SAP company, which helps corporations in the small and midsize enterprise (SME) space tightly link business information with business processes, allowing for greater transparency throughout the organization as a foundation for faster and better-informed business decisions.
The events will feature a keynote presentation by David G. Thomson, best-selling author of "Blueprint to a Billion," who will speak on "Getting Back to Basics: The New Fundamentals to Achieve Growth." David has studied the unique management practices that high-growth companies utilize to sustain their market position across, up and down market cycles. He has found that management teams "Lead Forward": they manage beyond the present to enable growth in future quarters. This approach is especially relevant during this market cycle. He will also touch upon how CEOs balance profitability and cash flow with investing in infrastructure. During the event, participants will have the opportunity to choose from a number of roundtable discussions to further engage in conversations about turning these insights into actions regarding revenue growth, maintaining competitive advantage throughout turbulent markets, investing in infrastructure and the strength of partnerships and alliances, to name a few.
"SAP's first global road show for small and midsize businesses is perfectly timed," said Glenn Wada, senior vice president and general manager, SME, SAP AG. "Over the last several weeks, we have witnessed unprecedented changes in the U.S. and global economies. Needless to say, companies in this market segment are eager to understand how SAP has helped others like them to weather the storm, creating competitive advantage in difficult times. Our panel of SAP customers and business thought leaders will make this an invaluable opportunity for prospects and companies interested in partnering with SAP."
The tour provides attendees with an opportunity to network with peers, industry partners and SAP executives, and receive valuable first-hand updates on the established SME solution portfolio from SAP, the company's dedicated SME strategy and its closely integrated, customer-focused ecosystem.
The following customers are planning to attend each SAP SME World Tour event in the United States:
- Atlanta, Georgia - Bamboo Pipeline, Maxxis International - USA
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Clinical Financial Services, Tam Ceramics, Wolf Distributing Company
- Chicago, Illinois - Bamboo Pipeline, Organic Valley, Schumacher Elevator, Televerde
- Dallas, Texas - GSCS, Inc; Power Well Services (acquired by Expro Group)
- San Jose, California - BendPak, JQ American, StubHub, TiVo
For information on dates and locations of the SAP SME World Tour 2008, please visit: http://www.sap.com/...
About SAP(R) Solutions for Small Businesses and Midsize Companies
With more than 37,500 small and midsize customers worldwide, SAP is a leading provider of business applications and an established and highly successful player in the small and midsize enterprise (SME) market. SAP offers a broad and innovative solution portfolio for small businesses and midsize companies to meet the heterogeneous demands of SME customers. SAP solutions for small businesses and midsize companies include SAP(R) Business One, a single integrated application for successfully managing small businesses; SAP(R) Business ByDesign(TM), the software industry's most complete, integrated and adaptable on-demand solution for midsize companies; and SAP(R) Business All-in-One, a customizable and extensible solution for midsize companies with deep industry best practices built in. Sold, implemented and maintained through SAP and an expanding network of qualified partners, all of the solutions are competitively priced, easy and quick to implement and scalable to customers' growing business needs. The SAP solutions specifically designed for SMEs help enable small businesses and midsize companies to lower operating costs, improve operational excellence, gain better business insight and control, and grow their businesses flexibly. Additional information is available at http://www.sap.com/....
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
