The Leader in Enterprise Software and the Leader in Mobile Connectivity for the Enterprise Partner to Change the Way People Work
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and Research In Motion(RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM) (TSX: RIM) today announced a co-innovation partnershipto usher in a new era in enterprise mobility. SAP, the leader in enterprisesoftware, and RIM, the leader in mobile connectivity for the enterprise,have joined forces to change the way people work, by enabling anytime,anywhere mobile access to SAP enterprise applications through the widelyadopted BlackBerry® platform.
Just as the BlackBerry wireless platform has transformed the way people usee-mail, SAP and RIM will bring the power and productivity of SAP enterpriseapplications to the BlackBerry platform in a similarly robust anduser-friendly manner. Mobile users will soon be able to work freely on SAP,no longer tethered to their desktops or offices in order to perform theirjobs. By tearing down the walls between enterprise computing and mobileconnectivity, SAP and RIM are enhancing employee productivity.
The first output expected from this new partnership is a native BlackBerrysmartphone client that will merge the power of the SAP® CustomerRelationship Management (SAP CRM) application with core BlackBerrysmartphone applications, including the BlackBerry Email, Address Book andCalendar applications, to deliver an indispensable tool for sales people.The new mobile SAP CRM application will leverage the inherent security,management capabilities and efficiency of the BlackBerry platform and theintuitive user experience of BlackBerry smartphones. Organizations thatalready have the SAP CRM and the BlackBerry solutions deployed will requireonly basic user training and minimal incremental IT infrastructureinvestments.
According to research firm IDC, the mobile user population is set toincrease from about 800 million in 2007, accounting for 25.7 percent of theworldwide workforce, to one billion in 2011, accounting for 30.4 percent ofthe workforce. (1)
"Providing access to and securing broad adoption of enterprise applicationswith mobile workers has been a pervasive challenge over the years," saidMary Wardley, vice president, CRM Applications, IDC. "Most existingsolutions require users to learn yet another application and navigationparadigm on their devices, and for IT to manage a complex infrastructure todeploy and support. By having a native application on a BlackBerrysmartphone that easily extends functionality but retains the native ease ofuse, users will find it non-intrusive to adopt applications such as CRM.This is an exciting partnership and definitely has the potential to changethe game."
This groundbreaking partnership between two leaders in their respectivemarkets leverages best-in-class business applications and mobile technologyto deliver:
-- Expanded Reach of SAP® Business Suite Applications -- Users rely on their BlackBerry smartphones for access to people and information on the go, so it becomes easier to introduce new enterprise applications with a far greater adoption rate.
-- Automated Data Synchronization -- The new solution leverages the push- based architecture of BlackBerry® Enterprise Server to automate data synchronization between business systems and mobile applications. BlackBerry smartphone users have the flexibility to use the mobile enterprise application even in the absence of network coverage. Once back in coverage, all updates queued on the handset and back-end servers are automatically transferred without user action, similar to how e-mail on BlackBerry smartphones works today.
-- Easy Deployment -- The mobile device management capabilities of BlackBerry Enterprise Server allow IT groups to centrally manage and wirelessly deploy mobile applications to BlackBerry smartphones.
-- Market-Leading Enterprise-Class Security -- The proven capability and demonstrated track record from SAP in enterprise applications security, combined with the renowned wireless security of the BlackBerry platform, helps ensure enterprise-class security for the end-to-end solution.
-- Low Incremental Cost of Ownership -- Businesses that have already deployed BlackBerry Enterprise Server and SAP applications can leverage their existing investments and keep deployment and maintenance costs at a minimum.
"SAP is thrilled to bolster its long-standing relationship with RIM throughthe co-development of this breakthrough offering," said Bill McDermott,president and CEO, SAP Americas and Asia Pacific Japan. "By combining RIM'sexpertise for empowering the mobile worker and SAP's strength in businesscomputing, we are embarking on an exciting future to make it easier andmore convenient for today's business users to perform their jobs.
