SAP and Nortel Networks Enter Strategic Alliance To Take CRM to the Next Level of Collaboration With mySAP.com

Business Wire, May 2, 2000

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

WALLDORF, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2000

SAP to Resell Clarify E-Business Applications to

Integrate Contact Centers and Enable Collaborative

Virtual Service Communities for mySAP.com

SAP AG (NYSE:SAP), the leading provider of inter-enterprise software solutions, today announced a strategic alliance with Nortel Networks(NYSE:NT)(TSE:NT) to develop and integrate industry-specific customer interaction solutions that will extend the scope of collaborative customer relationship management (CRM).

As part of the agreement, SAP has embedded within mySAP.com(TM) customer interaction applications from the Nortel Networks Clarify eBusiness Applications unit to provide extended customer-service functionality and new levels of information access and use to businesses.

This cooperation will result in a more competitive option for customers that require a highly integrated and scalable customer interaction solution within their mySAP.com environment. It provides companies with a new level of customer relationship management by leveraging real-time information across the enterprise from within and beyond its walls. SAP and Nortel Networks will further extend their cooperation by creating Internet-based service solutions that enable virtual communities where vendors, partners and suppliers can present themselves to their joint corporate customers as one unit.

"The alliance with Nortel Networks is a manifestation of our commitment to providing businesses with flexible, open solutions for a collaborative work environment, freeing users from technological limitations," said Peter Zencke, member of the executive board of SAP AG. "Enabling collaborative virtual communities of companies to present one face to their joint customers, SAP and Nortel Networks will deliver a new quality in customer relationship management."

With the embedded Clarify eFrontOffice applications from Clarify eBusiness Applications accessible through personalized workplaces, mySAP.com will provide a robust contact center that delivers a comprehensive and seamless customer experience. The unique SAP(TM) integration technology allows customer information from all available sources -- including Web, phone, fax, person-to-person interaction and handheld devices -- to be leveraged by all employees with a customer-facing role. Tailored initially to the unique business needs of the banking, insurance, high-tech and communications industries, the combined solution will provide a single view into a broad, rich set of company and market information, processes, relationships and interactions among companies, suppliers, partners and customers.

Open Internet-Based Service Solutions Will Enable Inter-Enterprise Collaboration

While state of-the-art CRM solutions today focus on bilateral scenarios between one company and its customers, enterprises are increasingly demanding a cross-enterprise, Internet-based approach to e-business that enables communities of vendors to collaboratively meet the needs of their joint customers.

Based on mySAP.com and enhanced by Clarify eFrontOffice applications from Nortel Networks, the new solutions will enable communities of partners and suppliers within a specific industry, such as the computing industry, to collaborate with one another to serve their joint customers through a single point of contact. Today, when a problem arises, customers must often navigate between multiple vendors and experience accountability finger-pointing among partners, resulting in long series of inquiries, self-service dead-ends and a frustrating overall experience. The new virtual communities of vendors will help ensure that customer issues can be addressed immediately by a single point of contact, regardless of where the problem resides.

"Nortel Networks and SAP will provide businesses with the ease and flexibility required to build mutually loyal relationships beyond the walls of a single organization," said Tony Zingale, president, Clarify eBusiness Applications, Nortel Networks. "With the combined industry and Internet expertise of both companies, businesses will be able to collaborate in new ways and achieve greater levels of return on relationship."

Customer Relationship Management With mySAP.com

Customer Relationship Management with mySAP.com enables employees, partners, suppliers and customers to collaborate and leverage integrated information from throughout and beyond an organization, tying CRM functionality with e-commerce and supply chain management for a holistic circle of commerce. The industry-specific joint solution offered by SAP and Nortel Networks complements the broad range of existing industry-specific applications from SAP and enables employees, particularly in such industries as banking, insurance, technology and communications, to seamlessly access and take advantage of the Clarify eFrontOffice service and support capabilities via mySAP.com Workplaces. Today's agreement is aligned with the previously demonstrated open strategy for complementing mySAP.com solutions with tightly integrated applications from SAP partners for marketing planning and campaign management, catalogs, push technology and Internet connectivity solutions.