SAP and the SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN) Announce Additional SAP Enterprise Support Milestones / Continued Collaboration Drives Customer Knowledge Transfer and Program Enhancements in SAP Maintenance and Support Portfolio

WALLDORF, Germany, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP AG and the SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN), a global network of SAP user groups, today announced that the continued collaboration between the two organizations has resulted in the definition of an engagement methodology for SAP® Enterprise Support services and the creation of a searchable, online repository of customer benefit cases and best practices that help promote a clear understanding of the value of SAP Enterprise Support.

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Additionally, in conjunction with the SUGEN SAP Enterprise Support Charter team, SAP continues to host regional feedback sessions with customers to jointly develop best practices, guided procedures and self services to aid customers in optimizing their IT landscapes.

Today's announcement follows the latest feedback session with customers involved in the SAP Enterprise Support Advisory Council, which was established to continue the key performance indicator (KPI) measurements developed by SAP and SUGEN in 2008. The council is comprised of 100 companies from around the world that programmatically share their insights about benefit drivers and KPI data.

"Customers now have a choice in support offerings." said Thomas Schierwagen, program lead for the SAP Enterprise Support Charter Team and member of the Swedish user group (SAPSA) Board of Directors. "We are pleased that our work has resulted in milestones that support that choice by enabling knowledge transfer and best practice sharing among the global customer community."

In addition to knowledge transfer and KPI refinements, the SAP/SUGEN collaboration has enabled the delivery of a scalable engagement methodology, which furnishes customers with a clear road map to realizing the full value of SAP Enterprise Support. This engagement methodology guides customers along every step of the value chain for SAP Enterprise Support. It provides end-to-end coverage for the customer's solutions, safeguarding both the quality of the implementation and operations. As well, it includes access to the newly-launched SAP Enterprise Support Academy, which encompasses a repository of guided self-services as well as direct access to SAP Active Global Support organization experts offering training, best practices and remote support.

"SAP remains committed to continuing our collaboration with user groups and bringing additional value to the customer community," said Dr. Uwe Hommel, executive vice president and head of SAP Active Global Support. By rolling out these enhancements customers can realize the benefits of SAP Enterprise Support faster and subsequently reduce their total cost of operations".

In a coordinated global effort, SUGEN member user groups are working jointly with SAP to communicate the availability of these services to their members around the world. Members participating in the current communication plan include ASUG (North America), ASUG Brazil, ASUG Mexico, AUSAPE (Spain), JSUG (Japan), SAPSA (Sweden), SAUG (Australia), SAP UK & Ireland User Group, SBN Norge (Norway), SUG-MENA (Middle-East, North Africa), USF (France) and VNSG (Netherlands).

"As a result of the dialogue between SAP and the user groups, customers have choice and can now focus on the value proposition of SAP Enterprise Support," said Tonnie Van der Horst, SUGEN chairman and president, VNSG. "We are pleased with the success of our joint efforts and look forward to creating more value for the SAP customers in our continued collaboration."

About SUGEN

Established in 2007, SUGEN is a network of thirteen 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.

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 more than 102,500 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, business intelligence, and related applications.

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