SAP customers, partners convene at Sapphire 2009 to share “strategies for success in new reality

Johannesburg — SAP customers, partners and industry experts worldwide will gather from 11 to 14 May in Orlando, Florida, for SAPPHIRE 2009 Orlando, the IT industry’s premier customer conference hosted by SAP (NYSE: SAP).

Under an event theme of: “See your way clear: Strategies for success in the new reality,” Sapphire will explore how companies can achieve transparency and efficiency in every area of their operations to be best-run businesses in today’s challenging economic environment.

Attendees at the annual event will learn how to harness the power of SAP solutions and SAP BusinessObjects software to attain the insight needed to run lean operations, capture greater market share and gain transparency in their operations. SAP and the Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG) are co-locating their events in Orlando, where the 2009 ASUG Annual Conference also takes place from 11 to 14 May.

The Sapphire event will feature more than 660 presentations and training sessions, along with more than 135 interactive demo stations arranged by solution and industry area and 200 exhibiting partners on the conference floors. SAP customers delivering presentations at Sapphire include Caterpillar, Haworth, Joerns Healthcare, Inc., Securit and Wolverine World Wide.

The event will feature three keynote presentations, from Léo Apotheker, co-CEO of SAP; from Jim Hagemann Snabe, member of the SAP Executive Board leading the Business Solutions & Technology organisation, and Bill McDermott, member of the SAP Executive Board leading Global Field Operations; and from Hasso Plattner, co-founder and chairman of the Supervisory Board, SAP. Keynotes will focus on how technology enables companies to derive increased insights, visibility and value — both of their own operations and those of their partner networks, ultimately allowing them to capitalise on strategic opportunities to increase profitability.

SAP users, customers unite in Orlando

ASUG, the America’s SAP Users’ Group, will be holding its ASUG Annual Conference from 11 to 14 May 2009, also at the Orange County Conference Centre in Orlando, to coincide with Sapphire. As in previous years, the co-location of these two premier ecosystem events gives corporate executives and technology professionals the opportunity to share best practices with other customers, gain new insights on maximising existing SAP software investments, and explore ways in which a new SAP application or service can help companies transform their organisations. The events are expected to bring together more than 10 000 current and prospective SAP customers, partners, users and employees to the Orlando area.

“This year’s Sapphire event brings together SAP customers and partners seeking to maximise IT investments with best practices that can directly impact their businesses,” said Marty Homlish, chief marketing officer and corporate officer, SAP. “The need for organisations to gain clarity in all aspects of their operations is heightened in today’s business environment. The focus this year on ‘strategies for success in the new reality’ provides attendees the opportunity to address the ways SAP software can facilitate becoming and remaining a best-run business in a challenging economic climate.”

Further Sapphire 2009 programme information can be found at: http://www.sap.com/about/events/sapphire. To register for Sapphire 2009 Orlando, please visit http://www.sapsapphire.com/usa2009. Additional ASUG conference information is available at http://www.asugannualconference.com. To register, please visit https://www.sapandasug.com/ASUG/AnnualConference2009. This year, join the Sapphire conversation via Twitter at #sapphire09.

ASUG

The Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG) is an independent, volunteer-run organisation that delivers benefits to members of the SAP ecosystem by being the preferred source for experience-driven education, peer networking, and the most valued voice for SAP customer influence. Drawing on the real experiences of its members to deliver real advantage from both a business and technical perspective, ASUG maintains its unique position by serving the needs of the entire SAP ecosystem. (www.asug.com)

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 more than 82 000 customers 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.

Note to editors:

To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit http://www.sap.com/stockfootage. On this platform, you can find high-resolution material for your media channels. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit http://www.sap-tv.com. From this site, you can embed videos into your own Web pages, share video via e-mail links and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV.

Editorial contacts