SUGEN Establishes SAP(R) Enterprise Support Task Force to Aggregate
Worldwide Customer Feedback to SAP, Commits to Partnering With SAP
to Drive Adoption And Awareness PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 6
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In an effort to deliver SAP(R) enterprise
support in closer alignment with customer expectations, SAP and the
SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN), a global federation of
twelve SAP user groups, have established a collaborative effort to
represent the collective view of members' strategic issues. SUGEN
today announces the progress of an SAP Enterprise Support task
force, established to aggregate member feedback on SAP Enterprise
Support, that the company announced in June, 2008. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a) The
charter for the SUGEN-led task force is to communicate collective
member feedback and to ensure the value delivery of SAP Enterprise
Support. At the SUGEN bi-annual meeting this week at SAP labs in
Palo Alto, the task force shared with sap the feedback from a SUGEN
member survey designed to measure customer perceptions of the
business value of SAP Enterprise Support. Survey feedback indicated
that 90% of respondents have not yet realized the full extent of
the SAP Enterprise Support offering, its value and cost
justification. Matthias Herzog, SUGEN Vice-Chair and executive
sponsor for the task force said that "we need a joint effort to
overcome the differences between SAP and its customer base to
ensure value is delivered for the increased maintenance fees." In a
strong showing of its commitment to SAP Enterprise Support, SAP has
set up a joint team with SUGEN to establish value key performance
indicators (KPIs) for SAP Enterprise Support. SUGEN and SAP will
jointly evaluate the progress of these KPIs against customer
expectations on a regular basis and adjust the continued rollout of
SAP Enterprise Support until the quality measures are achieved. "In
addition to the commitment to the value of enterprise support, the
members of SUGEN are also very pleased that SAP agreed to extend
standard support of SAP(R) ERP 6.0," said Per Hogberg, SUGEN
Vice-Chair. (See Nov. 6, 2008 announcement, titled "SAP Enhances
Value of SAP Customer
Relationships."(http://www.sap.com/about/press.epx?pressid=10340))
SUGEN reported that its meetings included direct discussions with
Leo Apotheker, co-CEO and executive board member of SAP AG, to
solidify the collaboration and review next steps. "SUGEN and its
member user groups serve as a vital sounding board to help SAP
validate our new initiatives," Apotheker said. "From the open
feedback received, we offer our commitment to SUGEN and our
customers to help them realize the value of SAP Enterprise Support.
We stand by our latest support offering, and we look forward to
continuing our dialog with SUGEN and its members." SAP said it is
continuing to work with SUGEN and user groups to create the
materials and actions necessary to help quantify and deliver the
value of the offering. As an example, sap recently initiated joint
customer workshops with a number of user groups designed to drive
greater awareness about the delivery and value of sap enterprise
support, and is building a road show series to better communicate
that value to the customer community. As continued support, SAP has
also agreed to collaborate with SUGEN to regularly review customer
awareness and satisfaction with the SAP Enterprise Support offering
with additional surveys of the user community. SUGEN chairman, Mike
Stoko from ASUG, and Vice-Chairs Matthias Herzog of DSAG and Per
Hogberg of SAPSA, see these activities as firmly in line with the
charter of the task force. Mike Stoko elaborated, "We believe the
results of our ongoing dialog with SAP will offer positive outcomes
for SAP customers on a global basis as they move to SAP Enterprise
Support. SAP has demonstrated a strong statement in its assurance
to deliver to SUGEN, the user group community, and the larger SAP
customer-base a program that demonstrates value." About SUGEN
Established in 2007, SUGEN is a federation of twelve user groups
designed to facilitate open, honest dialogue between members and
sap and drive the market towards excellence, innovation, and
success. By working together, SUGEN members will be able to provide
consolidated strategic influence priorities and work with SAP to
resolve them, provide an effective and efficient method for
communication among user groups and SAP, and share best practices
between users groups and SAP for the mutual benefit of all. Current
members include ASUG (North America), ASUG Brazil, ASUG Mexico,
AUSAPE (Spain), DSAG (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), JSUG (Japan),
SAPSA (Sweden), SAUG (Australia), SAP UK & Ireland User Group,
SUG-MENA (Middle-East, North Africa), USF (France), and VNSG
(Netherlands). About SAP SAP is the world's leading provider of
business software(*), offering applications and services that
enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to
become best-run businesses. With approximately 76,000 customers
(includes customers from the acquisition of business objects) in
over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges,
including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol
"SAP." (for more information, visit http://www.sap.com/) (*) sap
defines business software as comprising enterprise resource
planning and related applications. Any statements contained in this
document that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan,"
"project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions
as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking
statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations.
The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are
discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent annual
report on form 20-f filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of their dates. Copyright (C) 2008 SAP AG. All rights
reserved. 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)
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: SAP AG CONTACT: Saswato
Das, +1-212-653-9571, , EST; Guenter Gaugler, +49 6227 7-65416, ,
CET; Sap Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; +1-610-661-3200,
EST; for SAP; SUGEN Spokesperson Media Inquiries Contact SUGEN
Chairperson Mike Stoko (ASUG), Bob Dirkes, Techimage, Chicago, Il.,
+1-847-279-0022, ext. 237; or SUGEN Vice-Chairperson Matthias
Herzog (DSAG), Angelika Jung, DSAG, Walldorf, Germany, 0049 (0)
6227|358 09 69, ; SUGEN Vice-Chairperson Per Hogberg (SAPSA), The
Ka Group, 46 70 51 38 208, ; Country-Specific User Group Media
Inquiries, Australia (SAUG), Kim Salter, +61 41 9696 857, ; Brazil
(ASUG Brazil), Right Support LTDA 55. 11. 5083-8422, ; France
(USF), Agence Interpresse Au 01 55 48 05 10, Norbert Spiteri, ,
Isabelle Guillou, ; Germany (DSAG), Angelika Jung, DSAG, 0049 (0)
6227|358 09 69, ; Japan (JSUG), 03-5775-0090, ; Mexico (ASUG
Mexico), Jorge Aguilar, ; Middle East, North Africa (SUG-MENA),
Salem Angari, ; Netherlands, Bea Logtenberg, +31-622-932002, ;
Spain, Miguel Fernandez Cejas, ; Sweden, Per Hogberg, The Ka Group,
46 70 51 38 208, ; UK-Ireland (SAP UK|Ireland User Group), Spark
Communications, 0044207436 0420; United States|Canada (ASUG), Bob
Dirkes, Techimage, +1-847-279-0022, Ext. 237 Web site:
http://www.sap.com/
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