A1S turned into SAP Business ByDesign

SAP Business ByDesign is positioned as the solution for the companies of medium business which staff totals from 100 to 500 employees. It can be the companies growing and developing "in breadth" at the same time not having any difficult and specific business processes. As a rule, activity of such companies is automated only partially and the used software became outdated and does not meet the current requirements. However the companies have no opportunity to invest considerable means in complete reorganization of IT infrastructure and keeping of IT personnel.

According to estimates of SAP, only in Germany there are more than 60,000 potential clients for this system, and together with similar target segment in the USA the company expects to gain about 15 billion dollars of income from sale of a new system. By 2010 the number of clients of SAP Business ByDesign should make 10,000.

SAP Business ByDesign is developed entirely according to the principles of architecture of enterprise SOA and on the SAP NetWeaver platform. According to the developer, a system is based on four principles – completeness, ease of use, flexibility and low total cost of ownership. It covers eight main functional areas – finance, customer relations, personnel management, supply chains, vendor relations, project management, compliance to the regulating requirements (compliance), support of management decisions.

The present version of a system, according to the developer, will be improved further. The first service pack should appear at the end of this year. It will allow to expand systems capabilities for 20-30%, remaining, nevertheless, within already available functional areas. Industry solutions for this system, according to representatives of SAP, are not provided as in a system opportunities for production management (including the PLM elements) and some industry business processes are already implemented. Separate add-on functional units of a system can be developed, if necessary, by partners of SAP (now are ready to be engaged in a system, including to extend and finish, about 20 partners).

The cost of a system is 149 dollars a month on each individual user (provided that such there will be not less than 25) and 54 dollars a month on group of 5 users (such groups can form when a system is used for the solution separate, few demanded tasks, for example as the tool for self-service of personnel). The company especially notes that in this price cost of both software, and infrastructure and service is put.

By preparation for an exit, a system was tested 40 companies in the USA and Germany, and 20 companies used it "alive", i.e. having brought into commercial operation. After these two countries a system will appear in Great Britain, France and China. In 2008 a system will become available in Australia and India (Pacific Rim), Italy, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries, Spain and South Africa (EMEA), Canada and Mexico (America). In other countries a system will appear not earlier than 2009.