SAP America Public Sector Adopts New Name: SAP Public Sector and Education

Business Wire, Feb 25, 1999

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 1999--SAP America Public Sector, Inc. today announced that its name has been changed to SAP Public Sector and Education, Inc.

The name change is the latest example of the on-going SAP(tm) commitment to deliver the world's leading business application software to governments, non-profits and school systems across the United States.

With the creation of SAP America Public Sector, Inc., in December 1997, SAP America strengthened and re-invigorated its commitment to the public sector market place. Now, the official name-change reflects the fact that SAP Public Sector and Education's 200 employees and software development center engineers focus specifically on public sector and education solutions that meet the needs of that special market.

SAP Public Sector and Education opened its headquarters last summer in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. to focus on public sector-specific functionality enhancements to SAP(tm) R/3(R), the company's leading-edge software solution.

"By changing our name we have achieved two very important goals," said Robert M. Salvucci, president of SAP Public Sector and Education, Inc. "First, we are letting our customers know that we have taken yet another step to ensure that our software solution continues to meet the unique requirements of higher education and K-12 organizations. And second, we are demonstrating our enthusiasm for the accomplishments of our first - and very successful - year of working with public sector and education customers."

SAP and Education

The power of information technology to improve the way teachers teach and students learn is imperative. In the hands of trained teachers and receptive students, technology has proven to be an invaluable tool.

Technology also plays a vital role in improving the business operations of schools and colleges, and in streamlining interactions with vendors and suppliers. Implemented enterprise wide, or in stand-alone segments with legacy or other existing systems, well-planned and carefully implemented software solutions enable greater effectiveness and efficiency with an integrated processing system.

With better access to mission-critical information across departments, enterprise-wide software solutions can help organizations:

-- Establish more effective long-term planning;

-- More easily update programs;

-- More rapidly meet objectives; and

-- More accurately measure and track progress.

By providing educators and their staffs with more time for strategic long-term planning, enterprise-wide software solutions help ensure that education organizations at every level meet their commitment to provide students with a first-rate education.

SAP Education Customers

MIT

SAP Public Sector and Education customer Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world's leading research universities, is organized into five schools that contain 21 academic departments. The scope of MIT's work extends beyond traditional departmental boundaries, creating a complex environment and demanding strategic decisions on how to run and operate more effectively.

"SAP's three tier-architecture and system flexibility ensured that we not only improved our operation and functionality across our complex campus structure, but also protected our previous technology investments," said Katie Cochran, executive director of information services at MIT. "Integrating legacy systems and hardware platforms is a critical issue in higher education."

At MIT the challenges of platform independence and the R/3 thin client architecture created a solid opportunity to showcase the unique strength of the SAP solution in multiple platform environments. The selection of R/3 was reliant on capability and functionality, allowing administrative staff, students and faculty to continue their daily operations on the machines on which they were familiar.

Houston Independent School District

SAP Public Sector and Education customer Houston Independent School District (HISD), the seventh largest school district in the United States and the largest employer in Houston, chose SAP R/3 to streamline its business operations, increase operational efficiencies and improve the procurement of goods. The HISD solution allows principals, administrators and authorized personnel to verify the availability of funds and to purchase equipment, services and supplies on-line, at the desktop. Real time requisitions take less than one hour, and will eliminate time-intensive purchase orders that previously took weeks or months to complete. HISD is productive with nine R/3 modules including plant maintenance, financials and materials management implemented on a Windows NT system.

"SAP is a known market leader in providing software solutions to meet core business objectives in all segments of private industry, and in the education community around the world," said Dr. Rod Paige, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District.

HISD draws a parallel between its information and data management needs and the similar needs of the many businesses that currently operate with SAP R/3. Putting information technology and enterprise solutions to work, SAP Public Sector and Education extends best business practices to higher education, government, utilities and non-profit organizations. By helping employees work more efficiently and operations run more effectively, the SAP solution helps ensure that less time is spent on administrative tasks and more time is spent creating value.