SAP (NYSE: SAP) has announced its new Business Suite 7 software management solution, which aims to save businesses more money while also making it easier for partners to sell.
Conrad Mandala, vice-president of SME and channels for SAP Canada, said Business Suite 7 provides organizations with the ability to carry out their essential business processes by utilizing a modular software offering.
“Business Suite lets customers grow with little to no disruption in how they run their business to get up and running very quickly,” Mandala said. “With our early release, we’re targeting our larger customers, but really, all businesses can use this.”
The latest version of the suite includes SAP’s most recent ERP, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) applications.
Customers can purchase features from the software in an a-la-carte type fashion with SAP’s enhancement packages, which allow businesses to choose only what they need, without having to commit to a full upgrade. This will help save organizations money, especially now in our down economy, said Mandala.
The SOA-enabled software also features more than 2,800 enterprise services that businesses of all kinds and sizes can utilize. As for the user interface, Mandala said customers will appreciate the look and feel because it’s now more intuitive and harmonized. SAP’s Business Suite offers users better visibility and insight into their organizations and also helps to improve both operational efficiencies and effectiveness.
The official launch date of Business Suite 7 is tentatively scheduled for this May, Mandala said. Its launch partners for this release include Atos Origin, Capgemini, IBM and Wipro. Manadala said SAP will maintain a focus on these companies to help ensure the Business Suite 7 is a success once it’s rolled out. Training, resources, co-marketing activities and more will also be provided to the channel by both SAP and its launch partners.
Moving forward, Mandala said the company’s committed to establishing itself in the SMB space and will remain dedicated to its channel partners.
“You’ll see a stronger presence from SAP this year with support for our partners with things like demand generation campaigns,” Mandala said. “The channel is flourishing and as proof, we’ve doubled our partner (base) in the Canadian SME marketplace from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008, year over year.”