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CONTACT INFORMATION
SAP
www.sap.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAP Unveils User Experience
for the Next Millennium
Showcases Deliverables
of User-Focused Enjoy SAP Initiative
PALO ALTO, CA., March 15, 1999 - SAP AG (NYSE
ADR: SAP) today detailed the results of its EnjoySAP initiative
that creates a new experience for people who use SAP enterprise
business software solutions. As demonstrated today during a special
event at SAP Labs Inc. in Palo Alto, new and existing SAP solutions
now feature user interfaces that are easier to learn, tailor and
use. By delivering software that mirrors individuals' work patterns,
SAP gives them a more satisfying work experience, helps companies
reduce adoption times and training expenses, and brings the benefits
of enterprise computing to the casual users of the Internet age.
"EnjoySAP has touched virtually all areas of SAP as we put
the individual at the center of everything we do to develop, support
and market our solutions," said Hasso Plattner, co-chairman
and CEO, SAP AG. "With the wide-scale adoption of the Internet,
the rules for enterprise application software have changed. Simplicity
is essential, and with EnjoySAP, we are delivering personally rewarding,
role-based user interfaces."
With the EnjoySAP initiative, SAP has developed a holistic approach
to designing user interfaces that are visual, interactive and personal
and that go well beyond new graphics to encompass the entire user
experience and individual roles and activities. The new approach
to building user interfaces combines three key facets that simplify
software: the visual aesthetics of software that make its use obvious
at first glance, the understanding of how people interact with the
software for high-speed usability, and the personalization of software
designed for each individual's needs.
At today's event, SAP showed EnjoySAP in action with demonstrations
of the new SAP R/3® solution, new intranet solutions
for SAP Employee Self Service applications, and new solutions for
SAP Business-to-Business Procurement (SAP BBP) all launched
from an employee workplace portal that can be personalized.
The EnjoySAP initiative represents a major ongoing company wide
commitment to reaching out to individuals using the software and
better understanding and meeting their needs. This has translated,
for example, into collaborative efforts with leading usability and
design experts, visits by 17 percent of SAP developers to more than
1,000 customer sites during the past year, and the EnjoySAP contest
to gather customer ideas and suggestions for enhancing usability.
To ensure a tight ongoing link between users and SAP developers,
SAP applications will now include the new Click SAP feature, a mechanism
to Deliver context-sensitive feedback directly from a user to SAP
developers.
The EnjoySAP contest, concluded at the end of last year, generated
more than 1,000 detailed suggestions of ways to improve SAP R/3
usability. The first winner was announced today, Marisela Castro
de Ciffoni, SAP end-user support analyst at Petrozuata, C.A., an
oil company located in Venezuela. The other winners for Europe and
Asia will be announced later this week at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany.
The winners each receive a Volkswagen New Beetle, itself symbolic
of the birth of a successful new product based on the merging of
a new user interface with a proven platform.
"I am excited to participate in this strategic development
process of the EnjoySAP initiative," said contest winner Castro
de Ciffoni. "Taking a user-specific approach tocontinuously
improving on the SAP offering helps us take greater advantage of
all the benefits it has to offer. The more I use the solution, the
more I like it."
Availability
The first solution to embody EnjoySAP is SAP Business-to-Business
Procurement, due to be generally available in April 1999. In the
third quarter, SAP plans to begin first customer shipment of the
Enjoy R/3 Release (SAP R/3 Release 4.6). In keeping with EnjoySAP
quality, SAP will deliver the new version of SAP Employee Self Service
applications in the third quarter of 1999.
About SAP
SAP, the world's largest enterprise software company, provides companies
of all sizes with business solutions that deliver A Better Return
on Information.SM SAP products and services integrate
an organization from financials and human resources to manufacturing
and sales and distribution. This integration enables companies to
optimize supply chains, strengthen customer relationships and make
more accurate management decisions. Founded in 1972, SAP today leverages
a global network of people, processes and products to assure customer
success. SAP is listed on several exchanges including the Frankfurt
stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." The SAP
World Wide Web site can be found at www.sap.com.
# # #
SAP, EnjoySAP, R/3, SAP Business-to-Business Procurement,
SAP BBP, A Better Return on Information and all SAP product and
service names referenced herein are trademarks, registered trademarks
or service marks of SAP AG. Other product and company names herein
may be trademarks of their respective owners. © Copyright 1999,
SAP AG
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