SAP Delivers Innovation Without Disruption to mySAP(TM) ERP Customers

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Delivering on its commitment to help customers experience the business value of enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA), SAP AG today announced that it is evolving its product release road map for mySAP(TM) ERP. Moving forward, all new functional enhancements to mySAP ERP through 2010 will be made available as extensions to mySAP ERP 2005 in a series of optional enhancement packages, eliminating the need for customers to continually upgrade their systems to take advantage of the newest technology and business process innovations from SAP. The announcement was made at SAP(R) TechEd '06, being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sept. 12 - 15.

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The cornerstone of this updated delivery road map is mySAP ERP 2005, the "go-to" release for all customers running SAP(R) R/3(R). Together with SAP NetWeaver(R) 2004s and enterprise services, mySAP ERP 2005 serves as a stable business process platform on top of which these enhancement packages will enable continuous business innovation. With this move, SAP is the first and only enterprise software provider to leverage enterprise SOA to benefit customers by transforming the way they can consume new features and functionality. This move also sends a strong message to the SAP ecosystem by providing them with a stable platform on which to innovate for several years.

Enhancement packages will be optional, offering customers the flexibility and power to choose new capabilities that best meet their business needs. Enhancement packages may contain new functionality -- such as talent management and financial collaboration capabilities -- innovations to streamline implementation of shared services, industry-specific enhancements, and enterprise services. The first enhancement package is scheduled to be available in December 2006.

This evolved delivery model will make it simpler and faster for customers running mySAP ERP to adopt new product functionality, industry-specific features and enterprise services. It will also shield customers from the complexity of multiple upgrades and improve return on investment (ROI) by providing a single, stable platform that enables them to consolidate their systems and reduce the number of separate instances that need to be maintained. More importantly, this new software delivery rhythm provides customers long-term planning security by virtually eliminating the need to make any major changes to their core ERP systems for the next four years and offering them a reliable software enhancement process that alleviates disruption and minimizes costs.

"One of the top concerns for any company is how to manage change, so the stability and predictability of mission critical enterprise systems is critical to companies as they evaluate upgrades and assess the adoption of new functionality," said Rod Masney, president of Americas' SAP Users' Group (ASUG). "SAP's plan allows us to counsel our members with confidence that mySAP ERP 2005 is the right release for SAP customers now and for the foreseeable future."

"The new release strategy further validates mySAP ERP 2005 as the go-to release for R/3 implementations and our decision to upgrade to it," said Dr. Ulrich Wiesweg, vice president, applications E.ON AG. "The delivery of enhancement packages will allow us to keep our core systems stable while enabling us to adopt ongoing innovation with minimal disruption. This is a great example of how enterprise SOA is helping us to transform our IT landscape in an evolutionary manner."

mySAP ERP delivers clear value to customers along with a cost-effective, low risk and evolutionary path to the industry's first service-enabled suite of enterprise applications. This new approach to enhancement delivery further leverages enterprise SOA as the blueprint for mySAP ERP to enable customers to easily adopt ongoing innovations while maintaining the stability they require with their core business systems. For more information on mySAP ERP, please refer to the announcement titled "SAP Delivers Next Evolution of Flagship ERP; Provides Users with More Choice and Enhanced Usability," issued on May 17, 2006 at SAPPHIRE '06 Orlando.

"As a result of SOA, an emerging market trend in software is to deliver software in smaller packages without forfeiting the benefits of integration," said Yvonne Genovese, vice president and distinguished analyst, Gartner, Inc. "This trend will benefit vendors as it will allow them to innovate faster and users by eliminating the major costly upgrades they face in current generations of software."

"No other company is even close in terms of being able to deliver solutions to its customers so predictably or flexibly," said Shai Agassi, president of the Product and Technology Group and executive board member, SAP AG. "This new software delivery rhythm demonstrates how enterprise SOA is revolutionizing the way SAP delivers -- and customers can consume -- enterprise software today. This new delivery roadmap for mySAP ERP also sends a strong message to our ecosystem by providing them with a stable platform on which to innovate for years to come."

SAP TechEd(R) '06 in Las Vegas, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Bangalore

More than 5,000 SAP customers, partners and technical community are convening at SAP(R) TechEd '06 to learn how to transform existing business processes and IT landscapes and take advantage of the power and flexibility of enterprise service-oriented architecture. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, SAP's largest ecosystem education event of the year offers more than 900 hours of lecture-driven and hands-on sessions. SAP TechEd is being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sept. 12 - 15; Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 5 - 6; Amsterdam, Oct. 18 - 20 and Bangalore, India, Nov. 8 - 10, 2006. For more information, please visit http://www.sapteched.com/.

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 34,600 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP(R) applications-from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize enterprises to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver(R) platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. 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 as comprising enterprise resource planning and related applications such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and supplier relationship management.

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For customers interested in learning more about SAP products: Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24 United States Only: 800-872-1SAP (800-872-1727) For more information, press only: Chimene Stewart, 650-320-3480, chimene.stewart@sap.com, PDT Iris Eidling, 650-461-1558, iris.eidling@sap.com, PDT SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; 610-661-3200, EDT; press@sap.com Amanda Lietz, Burson-Marsteller, +49 69 238 09-54, amanda.lietz@bm.com, CET Rachel Allen, Burson-Marsteller, 415-591-4041, rachel.allen@bm.com, PDT

During SAP(R) TechEd '06 (from Sept. 12 - 15), to speak with press contacts on site, please dial the SAP press room at 702-691-7437.