REDMOND, Wash., and WALLDORF, Germany, July 19, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. and SAP AG (NYSE ADR: SAP), leading providers of inter-enterprise software solutions, today announced that Microsoft has selected SAP as its Global Software Partner of the Year. The award was announced and presented during Microsoft’s largest certified partner event of the year, Fusion 2000 in Atlanta.
“Microsoft’s relationship with SAP provides tremendous value for our joint customers,”
said Charles Stevens, vice president of the Enterprise and Partner group at Microsoft.
“The development of mySAP.com™ with Microsoft® Windows® 2000, SQL Server™ 2000 and Office 2000 offers customers a quality, comprehensive business environment and makes SAP a clear choice as our Global Software Partner of the Year. We look forward to continuing to work together to further integrate Microsoft technologies with mySAP.com and deliver .NET solutions to our customers.”
“SAP is pleased and honored to be the recipient of Microsoft’s award,”
said Cheryl C. Groover, vice president of Strategic Alliances at SAP America, Inc.
“This recognition truly reflects the deepening relationship between our two companies and acknowledges that our customers will continue to install Windows as the preferred platform for mySAP.com. Powered by Microsoft technologies, customers are now implementing mySAP.com Workplace, mySAP.com Customer Relationship Management™ , mySAP.com Business Intelligence™ and business-to-business applications.”
Customer confidence. In January 2000, SAP celebrated the shipment of the 10,000th installation of SAP solutions on Windows NT® , a testimony to the enterprise readiness and value of the Windows platform. In 1999, more than 60 percent of all new installations of SAP solutions were on Windows, a total of more than 2,500 installations worldwide.
Breakthrough benchmarks. Over the past 12 months, SAP performance on the Windows platform has increased 66 percent for the SAP R/3® Sales and Development standard application benchmark, growing to 7,500 benchmark users. In September 1999, Compaq Computer Corp., Microsoft and SAP announced the results of a record-shattering SAP Retail™
benchmark. The companies jointly produced a benchmark number of 3.01 million sales data line items per hour — the best result ever published for this benchmark on any platform. Detailed information on these benchmarks is available at http://www.sap.com/solutions/technology/pdf/50020428.pdf .
Reference platform for Windows-based development. In December 1999, SAP and Microsoft announced the SAP selection of Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 as its strategic database for the Windows operating system and announced its full commitment to Windows 2000 as a platform choice for customers that want to implement mySAP.com solutions. Microsoft and SAP both maintain a team of engineers in Redmond dedicated to optimizing the performance, scalability and quality of SAP solutions and SQL Server together. The adoption by SAP of SQL Server as the strategic Windows-based database for internal development ensures that even the largest enterprise customers of SAP will be able to benefit from the fast time-to-market and the best overall cost of ownership that the platform offers.
mySAP.com integration. SAP is incorporating key Microsoft technologies into mySAP.com solutions. Examples of SAP uses include the following:
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SQL Server as the client database for mySAP.com Customer Relationship Management scenarios
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Microsoft Internet Explorer and Internet Information Server for the mySAP.com Workplace and SAP Internet Transaction Server
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Microsoft Excel as the standard analysis tool within the SAP Business Information Warehouse™
user interface -
Incorporation of Pocket PCs into the mySAP.com Mobile Workplace, enabling companies to bring powerful solutions to market that link customer relationship management, e-commerce, supply chain management, business-intelligence applications and company-specific processes
SAP and Microsoft have been engaged in a successful global technology alliance since 1993 based on the original release of SAP solutions on the Windows platform. Today, the alliance strives to integrate Microsoft and mySAP.com technologies to give maximum benefits to the companies’ mutual customers.
About SAP
As the market leader of inter-enterprise software solutions, SAP is leveraging its strength in industry-focused business software and the world’s largest enterprise software customer base to deliver mySAP.com. mySAP.com provides an open collaborative business environment of personalized solutions on demand. This enables companies of all sizes and industries to fully engage their employees, customers and partners to capitalize upon the new Internet economy. mySAP.com allows people to harness the power of the Internet to work smarter, better and faster by optimizing supply chains, managing strategic relationships, reducing time to market, sharing virtual information, and increasing productivity and shareholder value. SAP is listed on several exchanges including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol
“SAP.”
The SAP World Wide Web site can be found at http://www.sap.com .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Copyright
©2000 SAP AG
©2000 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
SAP, mySAP.com, SAP Business Intelligence, and all SAP product and service names herein are trademarks of SAP AG.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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