SAP customers frustrated by everyday IT issues may be able to get some relief from a new software and services offering released today by SAP America.
SAP said its combined services and software package, called SAP Direct, is designed to act as a "quick fix," addressing more than 50 common business issues, including data archiving, fax and e-mail automation, and purchase order and requisition approvals.
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The packages are aimed at small and midsized businesses, and will be delivered within 30 days after customers order them, SAP said. Payment is not due until the completion of services, according to a company press release issued yesterday.
SAP realizes it can sell more than the traditional types of core solutions that it has offered in the past, said Michael Dominy, a senior analyst on business applications and commerce with Boston-based Yankee Group. SAP is following in the footsteps of its competitor, Oracle, which has used its services arm for years to address unique business problems, Dominy said.
"SAP is moving from selling software and technology to selling complete solutions, and that's a good move," Dominy said. "It's a way of getting closer to the customer base, providing more value and increasing the ability of customers to use SAP applications effectively."
Instead of spending time searching for software and implementation vendors, companies can choose among dozens of SAP Direct software and service packages. SAP said the package provides the appropriate software, installation, configuration and education for less than $30,000.
SAP is currently offering more than 50 SAP Direct packaged services, addressing a wide variety of defined business issues.
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The packages are designed to solve data archiving problems, for the relocation of application data from completed business transactions to a secure storage system; automated fax and e-mail issues, to integrate fax and e-mail into business systems by allowing customers to send either fax or e-mail directly from the SAP system; and purchase order and requisition approval delays, to improve the workflow of purchase orders or requisitions.
The offering is being announced just days before thousands of SAP customers converge at the Sapphire '04 user conference at the Morial Convention Center next week in New Orleans. The three-day event is scheduled to start Tuesday.