from DSSResources.comSAP unveils next-generation customer relationship management solutionBOSTON, Dec. 4, 2007 -- In a further demonstration of its leadership in the CRM market as noted by leading analyst firms, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today introduced the next evolution of SAP(R) Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM), an important component of the SAP(R) Business Suite. With an eye toward empowering the growing business user market, this breakthrough new product has been co-innovated with leading customers and partners, and is designed to be simple and powerful to solve real business problems. The announcement was made at the fifth SAP Influencer Summit, held in Boston, December 4-5. SAP continues to deliver on its commitment to global companies by providing customers with powerful enterprise software solutions to better manage relationships with customers. SAP offers new capabilities such as trade promotions management, business communications management and pipeline performance management. The latest release of SAP CRM features a dynamic new user interface (UI) that gives business users the power to easily access all relevant information to best serve customers. Users state that the new Web 2.0 capabilities within the UI of SAP CRM are best experienced first hand to understand the unique interface offered by the new solution. "The next generation of CRM applications will be designed to use Web 2.0 style user interfaces to appeal to sales, marketing and customer service professionals," said Ed Thompson, VP Distinguished Analyst, Gartner. "But they will also be able to support multiple other different user interfaces with a clear emphasis on usability and ease of configuration for all types of users as well as integrate more easily to form end-to-end processes to appeal to both business users and IT." SAP evolves CRM beyond traditional task automation to a flexible, user-driven end-to-end business process execution platform. SAP CRM is architected to help companies achieve a complete 360-degree view of customers, which is one of the most critical factors in enabling successful CRM strategy, as reported by a recent Economist Intelligence Unit study, "Improving Customer Relationships." SAP CRM is already helping companies such as Adobe Systems, Danfoss and Intel Corporation extend and improve customer-facing processes across their business ecosystems of employees, customers and partners. New SAP CRM Capabilities Enabling Customer-Driven Growth SAP CRM brings to the market a range of new capabilities in key areas designed to help companies empower their teams, delight their customers and grow their business. -- Flexible multi-channel customer service -- SAP(R) Business Communications Management software brings together communications technologies and SAP CRM to expand traditional call center-based processes across the organization, including field-based staff and experts in any location. -- Maximizing the value of every interaction -- SAP(R) Real-Time Offer Management software helps bring intelligence to every customer interaction and offer to build profitable customer relationships. -- Optimizing marketing and promotional spend -- SAP has greatly enhanced its trade promotions management (TPM) and marketing development funds (MDF) solutions to help customers extract more out of their promotional spend, while securing greater visibility, control and traceability of end-to-end funds and claims processes. Adobe Embraces Enhanced Capabilities in SAP CRM Adobe set out to simplify its business processes and to integrate all enterprise applications on one robust platform. Already running SAP CRM 5.0 to support its call centers worldwide, the company decided to take advantage of the integrated sales force automation capabilities within SAP CRM to support the sales processes. From lead management, territory assignment, account and contact management to opportunity management, Adobe is rolling out sales force automation capabilities from SAP to more than 170,000 customer accounts. "At Adobe, we are focused on driving to a solution that simplifies our business processes and successfully enables them on a scalable, flexible integrated applications platform," said Colleen Berube, vice president of enterprise applications, Information Technology, Adobe. "Early reaction to the sales force automation capabilities from SAP has been extremely positive. Our CRM users regularly report that SAP CRM is a high-quality solution that has important benefits for our company." Intel and SAP Collaborate on Solution for Marketing Development Funds (MDF) Intel and SAP have a long history of collaboration to develop innovative solutions and maximize value for their customers. The two companies have collaborated on a solution for MDF within SAP CRM 2007. Working together, the companies automated and streamlined processes within MDF by enhancing online claims entry, compliance and accruals. These processes within CRM link to claims and payout processes within a company's SAP(R) ERP back-end system, as well as accounts payable in order for vendors and partners to more effectively transact in a compliant manner while managing channel marketing funds. "Intel has a strong heritage of working with leading vendors to co-develop solutions for a global marketplace," said Daryl Ganas, general manager, Customer Capability, Sales and Marketing Group, Intel Corporation. "The collaboration between SAP and Intel in the CRM space is yet another example of how our companies are working together to bring a strong solution to market, further enhanced by innovative Intel platforms. This collaborative effort in the MDF space provides a comprehensive, leading-edge functionality to support critical business processes from end to end, providing maximum value to our customers." SAP CRM 2007 Available to Customers SAP CRM 2007 is available to customers in December 2007, and is already being deployed by industry-leading players. "The latest version of SAP CRM is all about customer-driven growth and is revolutionary for the enterprise software industry as a whole," said Bob Stutz, senior vice president and general manager, CRM Global Strategy and Product Development, SAP. "SAP is bridging the gap between cool, user-driven Web experiences and enterprise software applications. SAP CRM is about making CRM simple and powerful to provide differentiation, innovation and agility to business users. The ultimate goal is to enable companies to empower employees, gain customer insights and drive growth." For more information on SAP CRM, please visit http://www.sap.com/crm. About SAP(R) Customer Relationship Management SAP offers market-leading customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, based on an enterprise service-oriented architecture, that help companies drive new growth, maintain competitive agility and attain operational excellence through customer-centric processes. Delivering best-in-class front-office capabilities with enabling end-to-end, industry-specific processes, the SAP(R) CRM application enables customers to empower their teams, delight their customers and grow their business by driving rapid user adoption and enhanced productivity. SAP CRM is one of the core applications within the SAP(R) Business Suite that is built upon the SAP NetWeaver(R) platform. The software helps companies empower employees with the real-time information and analysis they need to gain customer insight, acquire new customers, boost customer loyalty and build lasting relationships. About SAP SAP is the world's leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 43,400 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP(R) applications-from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver(R) technology 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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