Project BEACON Aims to Reduce Administrative Burdens, Improve Information Flow and Enable Employee Career Advancement for the State's More than 80,000 Employees RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP Public Services, Inc., a subsidiary of SAP America, Inc., today announced that the state of North Carolina has selected SAP and BearingPoint to modernize and streamline its human resources and payroll operations. Using SAP's flagship ERP application, the BEACON project -- Building Enterprise Access for North Carolina's Core Operating Needs -- will standardize statewide business processes to provide a foundation for effective management and recruitment, help reduce administrative burdens, improve information access for the state's more than 80,000 employees and enhance and speed the delivery of citizen services. BearingPoint will be responsible for implementation services. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a ) "Streamlining government operations to further the economic viability of the state is a top priority for North Carolina," said Governor Michael F. Easley, state of North Carolina. "BEACON will transform the way North Carolina State Government manages its business functions and serves its citizens by increasing efficiency, simplifying decision making and improving access to information." After an extensive analysis of the business and technical requirements for the state of North Carolina, the Beacon Project Steering Committee determined that SAP(R) software is best suited to meet the long-term business goals of the state. State Controller Robert L. Powell said, "The steering committee is pleased to enter into partnership with a company with a strong focus on the needs of the government sector. We expect to utilize that expertise to benefit our employees and citizens through more efficient business operations." Creating a Partnership for Growth After a thorough assessment of the state's current IT environment, government officials realized existing human resource and payroll systems, some of which are more than 30 years old, were at extreme risk of failure and could not meet the requirements of modern business practices. Additionally, North Carolina was in danger of losing the ability to maintain outdated systems as a growing percentage of the state's employees neared retirement. After consulting with several agencies, the State Controller's office selected mySAP(TM) ERP to serve as the IT backbone to help the state modernize its systems to meet current and future business needs. Using SAP software, North Carolina aims to create an environment in which employees become more productive, feel more satisfied in their current jobs and can make informed decisions about their continued career with the state through improved access to benefits information and inter-agency job opportunities. By improving recruitment and retention capabilities, North Carolina will also have the means to attract and reward more highly skilled workers and better compete with other employers for top talent. The SAP software will ultimately create a common, shared platform that can be accessed by all state employees. By consolidating multiple legacy systems onto mySAP ERP, the state will automate many of its manual, paper-intensive processes and create a single system of record, allowing for more accurate reporting and more informed decision making. Additionally, the state will empower employees with 24x7 access to their personal data with an online portal and streamline employee record handling -- from recruitment through retirement -- allowing state employees to easily transfer between state agencies and facilitate career growth. "Project Beacon is an innovative partnership between North Carolina and SAP that will involve all state employees and citizens served," said Rand Blazer, president, SAP Public Services, Inc. "The SAP system will help the state to operate as a synchronized enterprise, enhancing its buying power and reducing the cost of operations across agencies. BEACON is a vital link to working more efficiently, both now and in the future." The first phase of the implementation, in which SAP is delivering the software and BearingPoint is delivering implementation services, will focus on human resources and payroll applications and is expected to go live in early 2008. 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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Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. NOTE: SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serve informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary. For customers interested in learning more about SAP products: Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24 United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727) For more information, press only: Andy Kendzie, +1 (202) 312-3939, , EDT Bonnie Rothenstein, +1 (610) 661-8867, , EDT SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; +1 (610) 661-3200, EDT; Siobhan Lyons, Burson-Marsteller, +1 (202) 530-4721, , EDT http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: SAP AG CONTACT: Andy Kendzie, +1-202-312-3939, or , or Bonnie Rothenstein, +1-610-661-8867, or , or SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, or +1-610-661-3200, or , all of SAP; or Siobhan Lyons of Burson-Marsteller, +1-202-530-4721, or , for SAP Web site: http://www.sap.com/

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