Bangkok--Feb 4--PITON Communications
SAP shaping the future of technology for businesses of all sizes with enhanced solutions delivered from new Asia Pacific market hubs
SAP Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), today announced it exceeded 2004 performance targets with total 2004 Asia Pacific total revenue of ?480 million. This represents 20 percent year-on-year growth [24 percent at constant currency
]. Software revenue for Asia Pacific grew 28 percent [33 percent at constant currency
] to ?175 million during the same period.
The company’s Asia Pacific operations ended 2004 strongly with Q4 total revenues of ?146 million, up 26 percent over the same quarter in 2003 [28 percent constant currency
]. SAP’s worldwide total revenues reached ?7.5 billion in 2004 with software revenues of ?2.4 billion. Increased adoption of SAP NetWeaver? and the mySAP? Business Suite, including mySAP CRM and mySAP ERP, drove this industry-leading growth.
The signing of more than 1,000 new Asia Pacific customers in 2004 was complemented by both increased customer satisfaction and customer retention and supported by the hiring of more than 1,140 new employees in the region. SAP extended its marketshare against its peer group based on software revenue by six percentage point gain in 2004 over 2003 to 67%.
“Our success in 2004 is evidence of how we have increasingly become a trusted partner for Asia Pacific businesses looking for better ways to quickly adapt their business models and drive internal efficiencies,” said Hans-Peter Klaey, President and CEO, SAP Asia Pacific. “Organizations look to IT as a way to boost competitive advantage and SAP will continue to be their business partner of choice. Building on the success of 2004, SAP Asia Pacific looks to accelerated profitable growth, increased CRM and overall application market share and business application platform leadership in 2005.”
SAP NetWeaver — The Platform of Choice
With SAP NetWeaver, companies can execute new business strategies and processes rapidly while maintaining a sustainable cost structure. SAP NetWeaver supports open industry standards and interoperability, allowing for ease of integration with both SAP and non-SAP systems and enabling the Enterprise Service Architecture, SAP’s blueprint for a services-oriented architecture. SAP is leading the way with its Business Process Platform by enriching the SAP NetWeaver composition platform with ready-to-run business processes which are accessible through Enterprise Services.
Last year, through SAP NetWeaver, companies including Dewan Sabah Kota Kinabalu, Bursa Malaysia, Asiatic Development Bhd (Malaysia); STATSChipac (Singapore); Bank Mandiri (Indonesia); and General Insurance Corporation (India) enjoyed improved business performance.
To share the power of SAP NetWeaver interoperability with potential customers, SAP announced the launch of the Safe Passage Program earlier this month. The program will allow companies that use PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards solutions to quickly and seamlessly extend their IT infrastructure with the SAP NetWeaver platform. These organizations will benefit from an integration of their entire IT landscape with one open platform that enables flexible business processes across the entire organization.
Dominance in the Mid-Market Space
SAP’s strong performance in 2004 was driven by small and medium-sized business market success as SAP continued to leverage its volume business model. Australia, China, Korea and India experienced unprecedented growth in their respective SMB and mid-market focused businesses.
In 2004, SAP Asia Pacific signed nearly 200 new mySAP? All-in-One customers and more than 400 SAP? Business One customers, bringing the total number of SMB customers in Asia Pacific to nearly 1,000. To support this growing customer base, SAP has established an SMB business unit with more than 200 employees in Asia Pacific including a development center in China.
“The Asia Pacific economy is dominated by midsized businesses and IT spending within the mid-market is expected to grow considerably faster than the enterprise segment. This presents a tremendous opportunity for SAP as these businesses can benefit from the application of the mid-market SAP Best Practices we’ve honed to drive industry leadership for our customers,” said Robert Vetter, SAP Asia Pacific Vice President, Business Development. “SAP has the customer segment specific strategies and solutions to address the unique needs of the mid-market sector. Surveys have shown customers agree that SAP Best Practices solutions are affordable, easy to implement and deliver lower TCO and a fast ROI.”
Companies employing SAP Best Practices have enjoyed lower implementation costs and quicker returns on investment. In Asia Pacific, these companies include Farmers Trading Company, Rakon (Australia); Guangzhou NCM Co. Ltd., Sparkice (China); Chien Luen Industries (China); Coship Electronics (China); Orchid Pharmaceuticals (India); PT AJBS (Indonesia); and PT Belfoods (Indonesia). And in Thailand, there are newly installed bases: Amarin Book Center — Retail, SMB and Datamat (Thai Airways Technical) — A&D, LKA.
About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software solutions*. Today, more than 24,450 customers in over 120 countries run more than 84,000 installations of SAP? software—from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize businesses to enterprise-scale suite solutions for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver? platform to drive innovation and enable business change, mySAP? Business Suite solutions are helping enterprises around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP industry solutions support the unique business processes of more than 25 industry segments, including high tech, retail, public sector and financial services. 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 )
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