SAP and Microsoft Extend Alliance for Microsoft SQL Server 2005
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VIENNA, Austria, May 15 -- SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced a joint offering that will simplify and accelerate customer adoption of Microsoft® SQL Server(TM) 2005 and optimize it for SAP® Business Suite. The new offering will enable customers to easily transition to SQL Server 2005 and leverage the benefits of a flexible, enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA) to transform their businesses. SAP and Microsoft have also agreed to set up a joint lab in Walldorf, Germany to further optimize SAP Business Suite on SQL Server 2005. This announcement from SAP and Microsoft, in addition to the Duet(TM) software announcements made at SAPPHIRE® '07 Atlanta, highlights the companies' continued commitment to deliver innovative solutions that benefit mutual customers. The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE '07, SAP's international customer conference, being held in Vienna, Austria, May 14 - 16.
"Microsoft and SAP have long shared a commitment to delivering value through our enterprise-class software and solutions," said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. "The benefits of running SAP solutions on Microsoft SQL Server are clear, and with this joint offering enterprise customers will be able to even more efficiently deploy and operate their SAP environment on SQL Server 2005 while realizing a lower total cost of ownership."
For more than 15 years, SAP and Microsoft have collaborated to co-innovate and empower their customers to better align their IT and business goals, starting with support of Microsoft SQL Server for SAP® R/3® in 1995. An increasing number of SAP deployments run on Microsoft Windows® and SQL Server, making it possible for SAP customers of all sizes to take advantage of the scalability and lower total cost of ownership of SQL Server. SAP and Microsoft will help companies consolidate their database and applications. This provides customers with a way to leverage existing expertise within their organization and benefit from the long-standing relationship between SAP and Microsoft to enhance business performance of their SAP and non-SAP applications. For customers moving to the next generation of SAP business solutions, this joint approach will offer database conversion tools, documented best practices and deployment services support to ensure a non-disruptive transition to enterprise SOA.
"Our relationship with Microsoft is the model for successful co-innovation in one of the most dynamic industries, and today is yet another milestone in that relationship," said Klaus Kreplin, corporate officer and member of the Executive Council, head of SAP NetWeaver Technology, SAP AG. "For a large number of our joint customers, Microsoft and SAP are strategic vendors and customers expect interoperability between our products. By developing an offering that will allow our customers to optimize Microsoft SQL Server for SAP NetWeaver and the SAP Business Suite, in addition to tools that enable a quick migration from other databases, SAP and Microsoft are pushing enterprise solutions forward in exciting new ways, enabling customers to harness the power and flexibility of enterprise SOA."
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
About SAP
SAP is the world's leading provider of business software.* Today, more than 39,400 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP® applications-from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver® 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.
Webcasts, keynotes, presentations and podcasts from SAPPHIRE '07 Vienna will be available as of Monday, May 14 at sapsapphire.com/emea2007/replays.epx. To review the announcements, keynote presentations and other content from SAPPHIRE '07 Atlanta, held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 22-25, visit SAPPHIRE '07 Atlanta Online, sapsapphire.com/usa2007/podcast.epx and sapsapphire.com/usa2007/webcastsandreplays.epx. Broadcast-standard video content about SAP is available at www.thenewsmarket.com/sap. Registration on the site and video is free to the media.
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)
Source: SAP
CONTACT: Robin Meyerhoff of SAP, +1-650-461-1916, robin.meyerhoff@sap.com, PDT, or SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET, +1-610-661-3200, EDT, press@sap.com; or Rachel Allen, +1-415-591-4041, rachel.allen@bm.com, PDT, or Uwe Schaad, +49 69 238 09-31, uwe.schaad@bm.com, CET, both of Burson-Marsteller, for SAP; or Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, +1-503-443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com, for Microsoft; or During SAPPHIRE (from May 14 to 16), to speak with press contacts on site, please dial the SAP press room at +49 6227 7 74069.
Web site: http://www.sap.com/
