SAP Expands Global Ecosystem With SAP® Co-Innovation Lab in Bangalore

BANGALORE, India - April 24, 2009 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the opening of the third SAP Co-Innovation Lab, at SAP Labs India in Bangalore, which joins existing labs in Palo Alto, California, and Tokyo, Japan. In operation since October 2008, the SAP Co-Innovation Lab Bangalore offers a hands-on environment for SAP, independent software vendors (ISVs), system integrators (SIs) and technology partners to work together with customers on current and future technologies to showcase how companies can increase competitive advantage and improve efficiencies. The co-innovation lab network was established by SAP to provide a physical environment for SAP, customers and partners to collaborate on solutions and offerings that will help solve and address today's most pressing business challenges and opportunities. Expansion of the lab network around the globe broadens the pool of talent working on solutions and brings a wide array of expertise and knowledge to the table.

Initially, the SAP Co-Innovation Lab Bangalore will closely engage with the following partners: Arteria Technologies, Cisco, Cognizant, F5 Networks, Hewlett-Packard Company, Intel Corp., Intelligroup, KLG Systel Ltd., Larson & Toubro Infotech Ltd., MindTree Ltd, MobileOne I.P.Ltd, NetApp and Wipro Technologies. Asian Paints, India's largest paint company with operations in 21 countries, is actively co-innovating with SAP and partners in the lab as a marquee customer.

"At SAP, we believe in the philosophy that collaborative innovation can make a bigger impact to the industry," said Kush Desai, managing director, SAP Labs India. "Working in synergy with our partners and customers and starting early in the development cycle helps us in building future products that address technology needs in a comprehensive manner. These products not only help our customers empower their employees with decision-making tools that streamline their processes, but they also enable companies to respond quickly to the ever-changing needs of their customers. With the launch of the SAP Co-Innovation Lab in Bangalore, we are delighted to broaden the reach of the network of SAP Co-Innovation Labs directly to our Indian ecosystem."

With its ever-growing base of engineers and developers, coupled with new generations being raised with an increased focus on software and technology, India is a logical choice to serve as host of a new SAP Co-Innovation Lab. Members of the lab in Bangalore identify opportunities to address pressing business needs and actively engage with experienced SAP partners and other customers to help drive adoption of service-oriented architecture (SOA).

The SAP Co-Innovation Lab hosts a simulated heterogeneous datacenter integrating hardware and infrastructure software from SAP and participating sponsors. SAP Co-Innovation Lab members have a hands-on environment where they can work on proof-of-concepts and build and test new business processes and SOA solutions. The lab also promotes new and innovative applications and technology solutions to SAP customers through joint seminars, community discussions and events. In addition, the lab provides onsite and online demo theaters and landscapes to address a broader variety of topics, best practices and solution maps.

Improving Insurance Industry Solutions in the Ideal Environment
Wipro Technologies, an SAP global services partner and one of India's best-established technology firms, was one of the first to benefit from the secure, creative environment of the SAP Co-Innovation Lab. Wipro developed its Insurance Claims Analytics solution by working on a platform specially developed in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab, combining its experience in business intelligence (BI) and strong global insurance domain expertise with SAP® BusinessObjects™ XI 3.1 solutions. Collaborating in the secure environment of the lab, Wipro and SAP were able to create a solution that will have a tremendous impact on the industry's future profitability, competitiveness and compliance levels, as it targets property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers.

"Insurance Claims Analytics is a perfect illustration of the kind of breakthrough innovations that will be developed at the SAP Co-Innovation Lab and introduced in the market," explained K. R. Sanjiv, vice president, Business Technologies Services, Wipro Technologies. "The environment is ideal for exploration within the different solution sets, and by being a member and partner of the global network of SAP Co-Innovation Labs, we can continue to develop solutions that are insightful and proactive."

Speeding Development Cycles for Solutions Across a Variety of Functions
The SAP Co-Innovation Lab equips partners with the ability to explore new ideas and propositions that address customer needs, increasing the value to the customer at a more rapid pace. Arteria Technologies, an SAP partner that specializes in enterprise application services, has worked in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab on both mobile- and Adobe-based solutions, with incredible results. "mApprove" is an SAP NetWeaver®-based mobile solution that provides an out-of-the-box approval framework, enabling business users to receive and process all tasks in their inbox from their mobile devices. "Interactive Advantage," another Arteria product, is an Adobe forms-based solution that offers packaged scenarios of workflows in functions such as finance, sales and marketing procurement, materials management and human capital management. The involvement of the SAP Co-Innovation Lab drove the rapid pace from development to availability for business users.

"In collaborating with SAP in a co-innovation lab secure workspace, we have achieved faster development cycles and ramped up the go-to-market strategy for our solutions," said Parag Jain, CTO, Arteria Technologies. "We will greatly benefit in terms of accelerated sales with the solution built in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab and offered via SAP EcoHub - the premier online marketplace for SAP customers"

Customers to Benefit from New Avenues for Collaboration
Asian Paints Ltd., a longtime SAP customer, has been actively engaged with the SAP Co-Innovation Lab, which has helped it to address several key business challenges. The management of Asian Paints Ltd. was becoming increasingly concerned about incorporating mobility into its systems as a key factor in conducting smart business. To address this, an innovation scenario piloted at the lab leveraged the mobile capabilities in SAP NetWeaver with partner solutions built on the hand-held devices commonly used by its sales force. The solution helps empower its business users to make instant, critical decisions in the field. As an active customer in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab, Asian Paints experienced the rapid build of innovative solutions by collaborating with MobileOne and SAP to evaluate mobile client solutions and mobile technology infrastructure, giving the company an invaluable way to manage business and information on the go.

Another business scenario linked Asian Paint's existing shop floor control systems with SAP's flagship enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, SAP® ERP, to enable better reporting and effective decision-making. Asian Paints worked with SAP and KLG Systel to connect its batch control system with the production planning and plant information functionality in the SAP landscape using the SAP® Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence application (SAP MII). The pilot developments were in the area of tank farm management, modeling shop floor execution rules and KPI reporting, which helped the company develop the information architecture for its manufacturing operations.

"The SAP Co-Innovation Lab is a unique project-based innovation environment that enabled active collaboration among SAP experts, SAP partners and Asian Paints to successfully pilot solutions that addressed some of our critical pain-points," said Aashish Kshetry, general manager, Systems, Asian Paints Ltd. " What has impressed us most is the fact that we have been able to manage these projects remotely using the lab's sophisticated landscape provisioning and its collaboration workspace framework for private project-based collaboration."

"The expansion of our co-innovation lab network serves to accelerate collaborative innovation and create a thrust on market-oriented technology solutions," said Satyajit Singh Mecker, senior vice president, Global Ecosystem and Partner Group, SAP AG. "SAP partners will gain strategic insights into our technology road map and our customers' needs. As a result, they will be able to align a competitive go-to-market strategy for their offerings internationally."

Next Major Event: SAPPHIRE® 2009 Orlando
More than 10,000 customers, partners and industry experts are convening at SAPPHIRE® 2009 to discover how SAP and its thriving partner ecosystem are delivering IT solutions that help today's best-run businesses achieve clarity in every area of their operations. SAP's premier educational and networking event, SAPPHIRE is the one occasion each year where senior executives, business managers and decision-makers can come together to explore how innovative business solutions foster long-term, profitable growth. SAPPHIRE 2009 will be held in Orlando, Florida, May 11-14. For more information, please visit www.sap.com/sapphire.

About SAP Labs India
SAP Labs India is the second largest research and development and global services and support center within SAP. Started in 1998, the center established itself across SAP's full value chain very quickly. Contributing to more than 20 percent of global R&D and services and support, more than 4000 employees of SAP Labs India are engaged in collaborative software engineering that facilitates the delivery of innovative business solutions. An extensive employee learning system, management excellence and world class infrastructure make SAP Labs India one of the most sought-after employers in the Indian IT industry. SAP Labs India currently operates out of Bangalore and Gurgaon. For more information, visit http://www.saplabs.co.in.

About SAP
SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 82,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit www.sap.com.