Yesterday SAP hosted over 40 press and analysts to release this information. The article you posted is just one of many we can expect to see in the near future. Following is official press release.
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For Release 11 a.m. PST
March 15, 1999
SAP Unveils User Experience for the Next Millennium
Showcases Deliverables of User-Focused EnjoySAP™ Initiative
PALO ALTO, Calif. — 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 companywide 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 to continuously 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.”
Experience It for Yourself
For firsthand experience of EnjoySAP, please visit the interactive Web site for the latest news, customer commentary, downloads and technology information. Go to the EnjoySAP home page at sap.com.
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 sap.com.
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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
For more information, press only:
Gerhard Rickes, SAP AG, +49 6227 7-44217, gerhard.rickes@sap-ag.de
Marikit Klein-Smith, SAP America, (610) 355-2834, marikit.klein-smith@sap-ag.de
Brian Edwards, Waggener Edstrom GmbH, +49 621 1594-121, briane@wagged.de
Gretchen Schaffer, Waggener Edstrom, (503) 245-0905, gretchen@wagged.com |
