Enterprise Portals Key to Maintaining Competitive Advantage; WatchIT Features Greg Crider, SAP Director of Portal Product Marketing, In Technical Briefings Program, `Exploring SAP Enterprise Portals'

SYOSSET, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2003 -- Enterprise portals are key to promoting collaboration and problem solving, managing diverse information environments, and ultimately maintaining competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive business landscape.

That's the contention of Greg Crider, SAP(R) Director of Portal Product Marketing, and the featured presenter in the WatchIT program, "Exploring SAP Enterprise Portals." In this program, Crider explains why enterprise portals are becoming important tools for leveraging diverse information systems. Using the mySAP(TM) Enterprise Portal as an example, he examines the anatomy and architecture of enterprise portals, discusses key portal capabilities, and identifies selection criteria for evaluating enterprise portal (EP) products.

"In today's enterprise, decision cycles are becoming shorter due to the accelerating pace of business and increased competition," says Crider. "At the same time, enterprises are becoming more functionally and geographically distributed because of globalization, mergers and acquisitions, and tighter supply chain relationships. To deal successfully with these conditions, organizations must act intelligently and decisively, based on insights drawn from their increasingly complex and diverse information environments," he notes. "Enterprise portals were designed to master these heterogeneous information systems. Today's enterprise portals create a consistent user experience that spans traditional IT silos and promotes effective collaboration and problem solving," says Crider.

Prior to joining SAP, Crider was Vice President of Product Management and Product Marketing at Viador Inc., the first publicly traded enterprise portal company. At Viador, he helped direct its product vision, and started its support and training organizations. Crider also spent 10 years at Sterling Software as a product manager, engineering manager, and software developer. Crider holds an M.S. in computer science and a B.A. in education.

By watching this program, technology and business professionals will learn why enterprise portals are an increasingly important tool for leveraging diverse information systems to address important business challenges. Viewers will understand the current state of the art in enterprise portal technology and be able to evaluate portal products. Additionally, they will become familiar with the mySAP Enterprise Portal and its position in the overall enterprise portal marketplace.

WatchIT is the leading producer of media-rich programs for business and IT executives. With a program library containing over 200 programs, the company serves more than 200 corporate subscribers worldwide. Current subscribers include companies such as Verizon Wireless, R.H. Donnelley Corp., Bank of America Technology and Operations Inc., and Lands' End. WatchIT is a privately held corporation with production and distribution headquarters in Syosset, NY. To view the program visit www.watchit.com, or contact David Southwick, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, at (516) 393-5705.

SAP is the world's leading provider of e-business software solutions. Through the mySAP.com(R) e-business platform, people in businesses around the globe are improving relationships with customers and partners, streamlining operations, and achieving significant efficiencies throughout their supply chains. Today, more than 18,000 companies in over 120 countries run more than 50,000 installations of SAP(R) software. With subsidiaries in over 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)

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      CONTACT: WatchIT.com, Syosset
               David Southwick, 516/393-5705