MODERNISATION efforts now under way in Saudi Arabia will soon place the kingdom among the world’s most competitive nations.

Henning Kagermann, CEO of Sap calls economic reforms in the kingdom critical to its long-term economic success and global competitiveness.
Sap currently operates offices in Riyadh and Khobar, but crucially, has created an extensive ecosystem of partners to serve the company’s growing customer base in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Sap is investing in Saudi Arabia because it makes strong economic sense,” says Kagermann, whose company employs more than 43,000 people worldwide to service customers of all sizes, in all industries and countries.
“Beyond the energy sector where Sap has a long and rich history supporting the growth and global expansion of Saudi Aramco, we believe that Sap is a key enabler of innovation in all sectors, innovation that is crucial to sustained economic growth and the creation of wealth,” adds Kagermann.
Kagermann says successful public and private organisations that are able to rapidly innovate, share many common characteristics. Firstly, they consolidate their IT to reduce cost and unnecessary duplication. Secondly, they standardise on software and systems. Thirdly, they build their business processes on platforms that allow for interoperability and information sharing along their value networks.
In Saudi Arabia, Sap solutions support Saudi Aramco, along with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) and countless small businesses and midsize companies from Khobar to Jeddah.
“Sap innovates in close collaboration with its partners and customers based on an in-depth understanding of their business challenges and aspirations. Innovation must be built on a solid and efficient IT infrastructure to empower companies to become market leaders in their industries,” says Kagermann.
Gartner has positioned Sap in the leaders quadrant in the “Magic Quadrant for Horizontal Portal Products, 2007” report, based on completeness of vision and ability to execute. Gartner defines leaders in the Magic Quadrant as companies that “have a full range of capabilities to support all portal deployment scenarios, and have demonstrated consistent product delivery over a considerable period to meet customer needs, significant product innovation and continued success in selling to new customers.”
Companies worldwide have been using Sap NetWeaver Portal to unify critical information and applications, giving users role-based views that span the enterprise and IT silos. As a result, companies are able to take full advantage of their information resources and empower employees to make better business decisions.
By leveraging enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA), Sap NetWeaver Portal helps organisations quickly and securely integrate their Sap solutions, third-party applications, legacy systems and databases – and maximise their return on existing IT investments.
Sap also recently announced enhancements to Sap NetWeaver Portal, including new efficiencies for collaborative project work and updated Web 2.0 tools including wikis and social networking, to support enterprise-wide collaboration while also helping customers ensure security and compliance.
“We consider our positioning in the leaders quadrant by Gartner further confirmation of Sap’s commitment to delivering a world-class portal solution,” says Elvira Wallis, senior vice president, Sap NetWeaver Product Management, Sap. “An increasing number of organisations across industries are selecting Sap NetWeaver Portal to integrate and aggregate information across their enterprises. We will continue to innovate and grow the portal component to give our customers further opportunities for business efficiencies and competitive differentiation.”
Meanwhile, Sap had acquired the software licence and maintenance business of Sap Arabia, its exclusive long-term partner in the region. Under the terms of the agreement, Sap will acquire selected existing assets, including all existing software license and maintenance customer contracts, and trademarks from Sap Arabia. Aligned with Sap’s global go-to-market strategies, Sap will first establish subsidiaries in Dubai and Saudi Arabia to reinforce its ongoing commitment to deliver value and continuous innovation to customers in the region.
“Sap Arabia has created a good foundation, which we intend to build upon in our goal to meet growing market demand in the region,” says Ernie Gunst, president, Customer Solutions Operations Europe Middle East and Africa, Sap. “This acquisition brings Sap closer to its customers and partners, enabling us to offer them greater business value and innovation.”
Sergio Maccotta, who was formerly managing director in charge of the Sap Arabia relationship, has been named managing director of Sap in the Middle East and North Africa. In his new role, Maccotta will be responsible for strategic planning, operational excellence, sales and field operations, professional services and overall performance for the region. Maccotta will report into Bernd Kraus, who has overall responsibility for the South East Europe and Middle East market unit.
As part of the agreement, the formerly named Sap Arabia will continue to work with Sap as a strategic partner and non-exclusive value-added reseller within the scope of the Sap Partner Edge programme.
“This important step in the overall Sap business strategy has been part of our ongoing discussions with Sap to bring product development closer to the region,” says Essam Enany, president of Sap Arabia. “With over 13 years of experience we have acquired a deep understanding of the local market and are well positioned to become one of Sap’s strongest partners. In the future, we plan to focus our resources on the emerging markets and specialised sectors such as SME, public sector and education.”
Financial terms of the all cash transaction were not disclosed.
Sap is the world’s leading provider of business software. Today, more than 46,100 customers in more than 120 countries run Sap applications-from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organisations. Powered by the Sap NetWeaver technology platform to drive innovation and enable business change, Sap software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. Sap solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector.