Johannesburg — SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and Sybase (NYSE: SY) have announced two new solutions for mobile workers to carry out key business and customer relationship management (CRM) processes via iPhone and Windows Mobile.
Built on the industry-leading Sybase Unwired Platform, the mobile solutions extend the capabilities of SAP Business Suite applications, including SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM), and also can be customised to tap into a variety of back-end data sources, including databases, Web services, files and any enterprise application that leverages service-oriented architecture (SOA). The announcement was made at the CeBIT trade fair, being held in Hannover, Germany, 2-6 March.
The population of mobile workers and the number of personally owned devices entering the enterprise is growing exponentially. According to industry analyst group IDC: “The worldwide mobile worker population is set to increase from 919.4 million in 2008, accounting for 29% of the worldwide workforce, to 1.19 billion in 2013, accounting for 34.9% of the workforce.”
SAP and Sybase are empowering mobile workers to quickly act on information with seamless integration to business processes and networks, enabling them to boost productivity and make informed, timely business decisions, all the while staying in close contact with their customers, suppliers, partners and employees.
The new offerings include:
* Sybase Mobile Sales for SAP CRM automates sales processes, increases productivity and enhances customer service by equipping sales professionals with anywhere, anytime access to SAP CRM 2007 through smartphones such as iPhones and Windows Mobile devices.
* Sybase Mobile Workflow for SAP Business Suite enables mobile workers to complete business processes — such as workflow items and alerts, time recording and travel requests that require immediate action — through a familiar and secure e-mail inbox.
“Over the last few years, we have seen significant shifts in the expectations of end-users and their relationship with enterprise software,” said Kevin Nix, senior vice-president, Business Solutions and Technology, SAP. “The new generation of business users demands immediate access to SAP solutions anytime, anywhere using mobile devices. Our partnership with Sybase allows us to deliver instant value to people everywhere to help maintain relationships with customers, partners and suppliers and make quick on-the-go decisions, on the device of their choice.”
These mobile productivity applications are built by Sybase to meet the needs of SAP customers, are fully certified and supported by both SAP and Sybase, and tap the proven mobile infrastructure strengths of Sybase Unwired Platform and the SAP NetWeaver technology platform. SAP and Sybase intend to continue co-innovation efforts to broaden development of mobile applications and devices, which will increase the value of investment in SAP business software. (See also previous announcement, “SAP and Sybase put the power of SAP Business Suite in the hands of the mobile workforce.”)
“We are extremely pleased to deliver on our highly collaborative co-innovation partnership with SAP with the release of our joint mobile CRM and workflow solutions,” said Gary Kovacs, senior vice-president, Markets, Solutions & Products, Sybase.
“Millions of SAP users around the world now have secure and fast access to critical business information, along with the ability to complete time-sensitive business workflow processes, all from their mobile device of choice.
Additionally, for customers requiring highly customised mobile SAP applications, Sybase offers the most comprehensive mobility expertise and mobile enterprise application platform for rapid development and deployment of custom mobile solutions, and provides extensive service support through a thriving partnership ecosystem.”
For more details on this announcement, please visit http://www.sybase.com/partner/SAP. To read what some of SAP and Sybase’s supportive partners have to say about these offerings, please see “Addendum: SAP and Sybase Partner Testimonials”.
Sybase
Sybase is an industry leader in delivering enterprise and mobile software to manage, analyse and mobilise information. We are recognised globally as a performance leader, proven in the most data-intensive industries and across all major systems, networks and devices. Our information management, analytics and enterprise mobility solutions have powered the world’s most mission-critical systems in financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing and government. For more information, visit http://www.sybase.com. Read Sybase blogs: http://blogs.sybase.com.
Sybase is a registered trademark of Sybase, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other company and product names mentioned may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
Special note: Statements concerning Sybase’s future growth, prospects and new product releases are, by nature, forward-looking statements that involve a number of uncertainties and risks, and cannot be guaranteed. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “will” and similar expressions relating to Sybase and its management may identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are intended to reflect Sybase’s current views with respect to future events and may ultimately prove to be incorrect or false. Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially include shifts in customer demand, rapid technology changes, competitive factors and unanticipated delays in scheduled product availability. These and other risks are detailed from time to time in Sybase’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (copies of which can be viewed on Sybase’s Web site).
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 95 000 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.
Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.
For more information, press only:
Shabana Khan, +1 (650) 461-1332, shabana.khan@sap.com, PST
Hilmar Schepp, +49 (6227) 7-46799, hilmar.schepp@sap.com, CET
Crystal Lu, Sybase, Inc., (925) 236-6431, crystal.lu@sybase.com, PST
Scott Malinowski, Sybase, Inc., (978) 287-1793, scott.malinowski@sybase.com, EST
Nadia Guerirem, Bite Communications, (212) 857-9378, nadia.guerirem@bitecommunications.com, EST
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