IBM Integrates SAP Solutions for Customer Environments

05/11/2006

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IBM today announced IBM Workplace(tm) for SAP® Software and IBM® Lotus® Notes® access for SAP solutions. Both are part of an initiative dubbed 'Project Harmony,' which draws on IBM's Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) technologies and brings the power of IBM collaboration software directly to SAP customer environments without the need for an SAP system upgrade.

ebizQ was provided with the following details:

IBM Workplace for SAP Software is designed for browser-based users and provides extensive access to SAP systems, integrates SAP applications with IBM collaboration technology, and assembles the combined SAP and IBM capabilities into tailored, high-performance work environments. It provides pre-built adapters for SAP and other widely used applications, allowing efficient integration of the applications throughout the enterprise. Applications that are not originally designed to work together can be combined to create new composite applications that draw on multiple sources of information and processes.

IBM Lotus Notes access for SAP solutions include new features to the Lotus Notes rich client such as templates that drive SAP interactions at no additional charge to Lotus Notes customers. IBM is building on its experience with over one thousand customers and hundreds of thousands of users who have been using Lotus Notes as a front end to SAP applications for several years. IBM is advancing the integration with SAP with Lotus Notes access for SAP solutions by making SAP data more accessible and useful to a wider audience. It integrates business processes that exist in both SAP applications and Lotus Notes into a single, familiar user experience within Lotus Notes which allows users to access the power of the features more quickly and easily.

"Today's announcement is a combination of enhancing our customers' current SAP investments and concurrently integrating their heterogeneous application environment with SAP for maximum value," said Larry Bowden, vice president, IBM. "Technology is reaching a new level of flexibility and ease that allows customers to get more out of their SAP investments. With advanced connectivity and composite application technology, customers can help reduce the need for costly customization and services, all while protecting customer investment in SAP software."

"As the sixth largest school district in the U.S., we rely heavily on technology to help streamline business processes, improve compliance with government regulations and enhance the student learning process," said Vijay Sonty, CIO, Broward County Public Schools. "When we looked at expanding our technology plan to include collaboration, we selected IBM Workplace software because we needed a solution that was open, ready to go and would integrate seamlessly with our existing SAP infrastructure."

IBM Workplace for SAP Software provides SAP users with a tailored work environment that combines information entirely from SAP, or from multiple sources-including multiple versions of SAP and non-SAP applications. Rather than hunting for specific information about customers or transactions, users have immediate and centralized access to the information and capabilities relevant to the task at hand. Since users have a consistent work environment for their applications, they are insulated from the complexities of technology migration and upgrades of underlying applications.

Customers will be able to enrich their experience with IBM Workplace for SAP Software functions including scorecards, dashboards, alerts, e-forms, document and content management, instant messaging, teamrooms, presence awareness, and more. IBM is also in customer testing of potential future enhancements that include employee self service, manager self service, and contractor management. Each is expected to deliver an intuitive, wizard based, user experience for specific roles.

IBM Lotus Notes access for SAP solutions help customers integrate SAP data and business processes with Lotus Notes tasks including vacation/leave workflow, time reporting, contact management, report generation, approval workflows -- all within the view of their familiar Lotus Notes client. Using the powerful replication and security rich capabilities of Lotus Notes, users can take SAP application data offline, helping to keep employees productive regardless of location. SAP sites can re-design the flow of information easily to give its users an opportunity to manage their information in a more efficient, tailored way.

With Project Harmony, SAP and Lotus customers maximize the value of the data within their SAP and non-SAP applications. Clients searching for specific deployment or customization help can tap into ISSL and IBM Global Services, "as we look forward to working with SAP customers on the new IBM Workplace for SAP Software and Lotus Notes access for SAP offerings, " said Mary Sue Rogers, Global Leader, Human Capital Management, IBM Global Business Services. IBM also offers a community of Lotus and SAP experts among its more than 85,000 business partners worldwide.

IBM Workplace for SAP Software and the IBM Lotus Notes access for SAP solutions feature will be available by May 30 through IBM Passport Advantage. IBM Workplace for SAP Software is available for $149-$399 per user. IBM Lotus Notes access for SAP solution is no charge for Lotus Notes customers.

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