SAP Helps Resellers Grow Faster With New Partner Program Focused on Business Intelligence for Small and Midsize Companies

Press release:

SAP Helps Resellers Grow Faster With New Partner Program Focused on Business Intelligence for Small and Midsize Companies

BEIJING - July 27, 2012 | SAP - Analytics

ACA Pacific and China National Software & Service Co., Ltd are First Distributors to Join New Global SAP® PartnerEdge™ Program for Authorized Resellers

SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the expansion of the SAP® PartnerEdge™ program to help resellers accelerate profitability with select SAP® BusinessObjects™ business intelligence (BI) solutions, specifically designed for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs). ACA Pacific, a leading Australian distributor of specialist IT solutions, and China National Software & Service Co., Ltd, a Chinese global IT service company with end-to-end service capability, are the first distributors to join the SAP PartnerEdge program for authorized resellers. The announcement was made at China SAPPHIRE, being held July 26-27 in Beijing.

Working with select distribution partners will give SAP access to an even larger base of reselling organizations that can capture the rapid growth in the analytics market. Previously, SAP has focused on selling only SAP® Crystal solutions via the distribution channel. As of today, authorized resellers that are sponsored by an SAP-endorsed local distributor can sell SAP® BusinessObjects™ BI software, Edge edition, as well. The authorized reseller program was launched in the Asia-Pacific region today and will be made available to distributors and resellers on a global basis in a phased approach.

First Distributors to Join Authorized Reseller Program
“As a successful specialist distributor with a reputation for offering best of breed solutions, we are excited to be among the first distributors to join the newly launched SAP PartnerEdge program for authorized resellers,” said HB Tan, director, ACA Pacific. “With more than 23 years of channel experience, we are committed to linking quality products with market needs and to adding value in the form of services and support to both the vendors we represent and the customers we serve.”

“We are proud to be the first distributor to join the SAP PartnerEdge program for authorized resellers in China,” said Xujie, vice president, China National Software & Service Co., Ltd. “This program is in line with our corporate values to create, share and grow our own company as well as the companies with which we work.”

Benefits for Distributors and Authorized Resellers
The SAP PartnerEdge program for authorized resellers will offer new revenue streams to distributor partners through an expanded portfolio. Additionally, they will be able to both offer resellers of BI solutions an entry point into one of SAP’s fastest growing markets as well as be able to expand and further specialize their partner base. Distributors will serve as single points of contact for reselling partners and will be responsible for billing and collecting revenue from authorized resellers.

To join the authorized reseller program, resellers must be sponsored by an SAP-endorsed local distributor partner. They must also meet minimum program entry requirements, which include signing a partnering agreement and fulfilling the product authorization requirements. Resellers that join the program benefit from:

• Reduced entry barriers by gaining membership with no initial or recurring program fees
• Full access to authorized reseller product education at no cost
• Attracting more business and increased profitability with BI solutions priced for SMEs
• Generating revenue with consulting and professional services, receiving certified training on implementing SAP solutions and access to resources to help boost add-on sales and upgrades
• Receiving expert assistance through SAP-endorsed distributor partners
• Gaining access to the SAP® Channel Partner Portal site and online automated tools, including partner-specific resources, marketing tools and collateral to help increase brand awareness and demand generation

“We have identified a surge in demand of smaller organizations for advanced BI solutions as many small companies are moving from reporting to ad-hoc query quicker than before,” said Kevin Gilroy, senior vice president, Global Indirect Channels, SAP. “This represents a huge opportunity for resellers who are the preferred partner for these small businesses. The reach of distributors in the market is very powerful as they touch even more buying centers than we do. By joining forces with ACA and China National Software & Service Co., Ltd., we are once more underlining our commitment to driving our partners’ and customers’ growth through collaboration and innovation.”

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About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 195,000 customers (includes customers from the acquisition of SuccessFactors) to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “should” and “will” and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

© 2012 by SAP AG. All rights reserved.
SAP and the SAP logo are registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries. Business Objects and the Business Objects logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects Software Ltd. Business Objects is an SAP company. Sybase and the Sybase logo are registered trademarks of Sybase Inc. Sybase is an SAP company. Crossgate is a registered trademark of Crossgate AG in Germany and other countries. Crossgate is an SAP company.

Press release:

Parallels Payment Network Expands E-commerce Solution for Hosters with PCI compliant Services from Chase Paymentech and Pinnacle Cart

July 17, 2012

Risk-free deployment for Web hosters enables the resale of secure, easy-to-deploy ecommerce solutions tailored to meet the needs of small and medium busineses

RENTON, WA – July 17, 2012 – Parallels, a global leader in cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization, today announced that the company has expanded the Parallels Payment Network to include industry-leading PCI-compliant e-commerce solutions from Chase Paymentech and Pinnacle Cart. These new services – both without any start-up costs - makes the Parallels Payment Network the smart choice for hosters who want to offer ecommerce solutions to meet the growing demand of their small and medium business (SMB) customers with e-commerce websites.

Chase Paymentech, Parallels’ trusted source for market-trusted PCI-compliant payment processing, is a leading provider ofpayment processing and merchant acquiring. The company’s proprietary platforms enable integrated solutions for all payment types for businesses, including credit, debit, prepaid stored value and electronic check processing; as well as digital, alternative and mobile payment options. Setting up a Chase Paymentech Merchant Account, along with a compatible PA-DSS certified shopping cart such as Pinnacle Cart, is an important step towards becoming a PCI-compliant merchant. As the official payment processing provider for the Parallels Payment Network, Chase Paymentech is offering Parallels Plesk Panel partners the opportunity to obtain a merchant account with no sign up costs or monthly minimum fees.

“We are pleased to be part of the Parallels Payment Network, providing innovative solutions to securely process Card-Not-Present (CNP) payments with ease and efficiency,” said Greg Schaub, executive vice president of Chase Paymentech. “We can assist any hoster, and e-commerce site owners can process payments with a fully PCI-compliant processor.”

Chase Paymentech has uniquely combined proven payment technology with a long legacy of merchant advocacy that creates quantifiable value for companies large and small. In 2011, Chase Paymentech processed more than 24 billion transactions with a value of more than $553 billion, including an estimated half of all global Internet transactions. In addition to the ability to authorize transactions in more than 130 currencies, the company provides business analytics and information services, fraud detection and data security solutions. More information can be found at www.chasepaymentech.com.

Also joining the Parallels Payment Network is Pinnacle Cart, known as an e-commerce enablement pioneer with cutting edge marketing features, an easy to use interface, and with the highest level of security, PA DSS certification. Pinnacle Cart is now offered for free to Parallels Plesk partners who have the Parallels Partner Storefront enabled.

“For large resellers and channel partners, e-commerce shopping carts have been a limited to a selection of open source products without dedicated support, security and other features that help small businesses grow,” said Mike Auger, president and CEO of Pinnacle Cart. “It makes perfect sense to partner with Parallels, who has industry leadership with hosting companies and other channel partners. This is really just the tip of the iceberg for service-related offerings we will be able to bundle together to provide turn-key e-commerce solutions to the small business owner. By offering our e-commerce software for free in the Parallels Payment Network, Pinnacle Cart can easily be bundled with additional small business services, giving channel partners a product they can actively market to their customer base.”

“Enabling our hosting and Web design partners to offer a secure, low risk, no cost e-commerce solution to their SMBs customers will help lower customer turnover and raise revenues over time,” said John Zanni, vice president of Service Provider Marketing and Alliances at Parallels. “Chase Paymentech and Pinnacle Cart are two trusted brands that offer world class service and support SMBs need to securely expand their online presence and their business.”

Parallels Payment Network: Low Fees, Greater Flexibility, and Secure Convenience
Parallels Web hosting partners and their end-user website owners can save hundreds or thousands of dollars by eliminating their start-up costs and lowering their processing fees with the Parallels Payment Network, now even more powerful with the addition of Chase Paymentech and Pinnacle Cart. Because the systems are designed specifically for Card-Not-Present (CNP), secure, online transactions, hosters and e-commerce site owners don’t require a credit card reading machine.

In addition, hosters and their customers can also obtain all of the additional e-commerce services they need via the Parallels Payment Network with the following world-class partners:

• SSL Certificates from enom or OpenSRS - SSL Certificates ensure e-commerce websites have secure, encrypted connections. As a major provider to the hosting industry, Parallels has negotiated special rates for SSL Certificates from OpenSRS and enom, and passes this volume pricing along to our service provider partners and their website customers through the Parallels Domain Name Network.
• PCI Manager from TrustWave TrustKeeper – which helps merchants complete the components required for compliance certification, which includes a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and Network Vulnerability Scanning if applicable. The TrustKeeper Agent, TrustWave’s powerful compliance monitoring tool, also helps ensure compliance is maintained over time. These optional PCI compliance validation services help merchants of all sizes achieve and maintain PCI compliance.

How To Buy
Parallels Plesk Panel Partners interested in offering this secure, risk free ecommerce solution should visitwww.parallels.com/products/plesk/value-added-services-hosters for more information on the Parallels Payment Network; hosters interested in becoming a Parallels Plesk Panel partner should visit www.parallels.com/products/hosting-cloud-enablement/.

About Parallels
Parallels is a worldwide leader in hosting and cloud service enablement and desktop virtualization. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with more than 900 employees in North America, Europe, and Asia.

For information on Parallels Plesk Panel 11, visit www.parallels.com/plesk. For information on Parallels, visitwww.parallels.com/spp, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ParallelsCloud and Like Us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/ParallelsCloud.

Press release:

Parallels Appoints David Dzienciol as Regional Vice President and General Manager Sales, Asia Pacific

May 29, 2012

Former Asia Pacific Regional Vice President and General Manager Jan-Jaap Jager promoted to Vice President of Strategic Account Sales for The Americas

May 29, 2012 - Parallels (www.parallels.com), a global leader in cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization software, today announced the appointment of David Dzienciol as Regional Vice President and General Manager, Sales in Asia Pacific (APAC). Dzienciol will lead sales for Parallels Desktop Virtualization and Service Provider business divisions in APAC. He joins Parallels after successfully working in a similar role at Symantec, where he served as Vice President of Channel and Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ).

“Asia Pacific is an important market where demand for and sales of Parallels products and services has grown significantly year over year,” said Jim Herman, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Parallels. “David Dzienciol’s track record of driving business growth helped establish Symantec as a leading provider of security and makes him a great fit for Parallels. Dzienciol will build upon his proven experience to fuel continued growth of Parallels to benefit our customers and increase market share.”

Dzienciol succeeds Parallels APAC Vice President and General Manager Jan-Jaap Jager, who was instrumental in effectively leading the Parallels APAC team and growing the company’s regional footprint over the last six years. Jager has been promoted to a new role as Vice President of Strategic Account Sales for The Americas, and will now be based in Toronto, Canada, to focus on managing and growing top strategic accounts for Parallels.

Award-winning Parallels solutions include the No. 1-selling software for running Windows on a Mac without rebooting, Parallels Desktop for Mac, which is used by more than half of Fortune 200 companies. Additionally, Parallels hosting and cloud services delivery solutions enable service providers to deliver and profitably grow hosting and cloud services for more than 10 million SMBs worldwide. Parallels is a private, profitable and fast-growing company with more than 900 employees throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

About Parallels
Parallels is a global leader in hosting and services enablement and desktop virtualization. Founded in 2000, Parallels is a fast-growing company with more than 900 employees in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visitwww.parallels.com.

U.S. Chamber Announces Partnership with Best Buy For Business for 2012 Small Business Summit

U.S. Chamber Announces Partnership with Best Buy For Business for 2012 Small Business Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today announced the addition of Best Buy For Business as a Gold level sponsor for the 2012 America's Small Business Summit, set to take place May 21-23 in Washington, D.C.  Best Buy For Business has long championed the cause of small businesses by helping them use technology to succeed, and will continue in this tradition with sponsorship of the Tuesday Evening Reception at this year's Summit. "The U.S. Chamber is proud to partner with Best Buy For Business for this summit to support America's job creators," said Tom Collamore, senior vice president of communications and strategy and counselor to the president at the U.S. Chamber.  "Small businesses are critical to our nation's economic recovery, and the Chamber will continue to fight for the pro-growth policies that will help them succeed. We are pleased to have Best Buy For Business join us in this effort to equip small business owners with tools to help their businesses thrive." The 2012 America's Small Business Summit will bring together more than 700 small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs from across the country to network, learn, and advocate for policies that support small business growth. "Best Buy For Business is proud to support America's small businesses," said Brian Hutto, vice president of Best Buy Services.  "We join the U.S. Chamber today in honoring small businesses across the country for putting Americans back to work." To learn more about America's Small Business Summit, visit www.uschambersummit.com. Best Buy For Business is a Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) services unit that provides business professionals with customized technology product and service solutions, personal assistance from account managers who are trained to address the needs of all types of businesses, and specialized technology set-up and installation services for mobile, computing and home theater products.  More information can be found at www.bestbuybusiness.com. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

Cloud Computing Security Benefits Dispel Adoption Barrier for Small to Midsize Businesses

News release:

Cloud Computing Security Benefits Dispel Adoption Barrier for Small to Midsize Businesses

May 14, 2012

Cloud services reduce time and money spent managing security and increase protection against cyberthreats, Microsoft study shows.

inShare13

REDMOND, Wash. — May 14, 2012 — Research released today by Microsoft Corp. shows that small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are gaining significant IT security benefits from using the cloud, according to a new Microsoft study in five geographies.

Cloud Security Benefits for SMBs (U.S.)

May 14, 2012

Cloud security is a key topic of discussion for many considering the cloud. Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group conducted research in the small and midsize businesses (SMB) sector in the U.S.

Download: Web | Print

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The study shows that 35 percent of U.S. companies surveyed have experienced noticeably higher levels of security since moving to the cloud.1 In addition, 32 percent say they spend less time worrying about the threat of cyberattacks. U.S. SMBs using the cloud also spend 32 percent less time each week managing security than companies not using the cloud. They are also five times more likely to have reduced what they spend on managing security as a percentage of overall IT budget.

“There’s a perception that security is a barrier to cloud adoption,” said Adrienne Hall, general manager, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing. “Yet when companies embrace and invest in cloud services, they find the benefits far outweigh previous concerns.”Time and money spent managing security prior to using cloud services is being reinvested by SMBs to grow their businesses and be more competitive. The survey shows the following in the U.S.:

•Of SMBs that use the cloud, 41 percent said they were able to employ more staff in roles that directly benefit sales or business growth, 39 percent invest in more product development or innovation, and 37 percent experienced improved agility and competitiveness.

•More than half of those surveyed (52 percent) said using the cloud enabled them to add new products and services that benefit their business more quickly and securely.

•Of those surveyed, 42 percent said the cloud made it easier for them to scale their business to explore new markets.

“Any solution that helps SMBs’ bottom line has to be good for them and the economy,” said Ryan Brock, vice president of Worldwide SMB Cloud & Channels at Access Markets International Partners. “When it comes to security, the cloud offers SMBs a level of expertise, specialist resources and investment that they cannot hope to match. This translates into cost and time savings and better protection against cyberthreats, which gives them the freedom to innovate and grow their business.”

An example of a company that has realized the security benefits of the cloud is SkyWire Media Inc., a small business in Nevada that helps other businesses personalize and distribute rich content to mobile devices. As a small business, it was a challenge for SkyWire to keep up to date with security management. After transitioning to Windows Intune, a cloud-based management and security solution, the company no longer faces the same problem.

By simplifying software distribution and streamlining the security upgrade process, Windows Intune helped SkyWire save $90,000 (U.S.) in IT costs over a span of six months, a savings of $15,000 (U.S.) per month. By retiring third-party antivirus and antimalware tools, the company was able to redeploy the cost of overseeing these processes.

“Since we started using Windows Intune, support calls are down by 70 percent,” said Thomas Castleberry, chief operating officer, SkyWire. “We can now prevent malware before it interferes with the productivity of our salespeople — and this means they can go out and win new business.”The study, commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by research company comScore Inc., polled companies with between 100 and 250 PCs in the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, India and Hong Kong.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

¹ For the purpose of this research, cloud users were defined as companies that used a cloud service via a subscription model.

VMware View™ Leads the Small and Mid-sized Business Segment with the Majority of Desktop Virtualization Installations

VMware News Releases

VMware View™ Leads the Small and Mid-sized Business Segment with the Majority of Desktop Virtualization Installations

Spiceworks Study Finds Desktop Virtualization Market Poised to Grow Among SMBs in 2012

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 8, 2012 — VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today announced the results of a recently commissioned study conducted by Spiceworks that investigated desktop virtualization industry trends among small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). The research revealed that more than 60 percent of SMBs who responded to the survey plan to roll out or evaluate desktop virtualization in 2012. In addition, the study showed that VMware View™ is the leading desktop virtualization solution deployed by SMBs.

“It’s clear that SMB customers want virtual desktop solutions that are both easy to implement and can scale with them as they grow,” said Vittorio Viarengo, vice president, End-User Computing, VMware. “Customers choose and deploy VMware View™ because of its proven ability to simplify their desktop deployments, improve security and manage IT more efficiently.”

Spiceworks, a leading social business network of more than 1.9 million SMB IT professionals worldwide, conducted the proprietary study on desktop virtualization industry trends. The research included data from 4,800 members of the Spiceworks Community, along with survey responses from 249 SMB IT professionals.

According to the results of the “Trends around Desktop Virtualization for Small and Mid-sized Organizations” study (April 2012), 53 percent of desktop SMB virtualization installations were deployed using VMware View. Citrix installations represented 27 percent of virtual desktop installations, with an additional 3 percent accounted for by Kaviza (recently acquired by Citrix).  Desktop virtualization installations from other vendors accounted for 8 percent or less individually.

“Our study clearly shows that desktop virtualization is a growing trend among SMBs,” said Jay Hallberg, co-founder and vice president of marketing, Spiceworks. “We’ll continue to follow the evolution of virtualization closely in our ongoing review of technology adoption and purchasing trends among SMBs.”

Desktop Virtualization within SMBs
The survey also found that 88 percent of respondents would implement an on-premise solution if they move to desktop virtualization and cloud computing, while 12 percent said they would consider a hosted virtual desktop offering.

Survey respondents also highlighted maintenance of security and compliance and lack of people/resources as the two biggest challenges SMBs face in managing end users. Desktop virtualization enables IT to centrally manage and secure desktops, applications, and data, which can enable IT to protect data more easily. Desktop virtualization also enables small IT teams to deliver desktops and applications to any device, anywhere, making it simple to support geographically diverse teams. 

For more information on this research and for a complete outline of results, can be found in the Spiceworks white paper.

Related Links and Additional Information

• Download the Spiceworks Whitepaper – Trends around Desktop Virtualization for Small and Mid-sized Organizations
• Read moreabout how Myron Steves and Company have transformed their Small Business IT environment
• WatchRuss Stockdale, vice president and general manager, SMB Products, VMware, outline how SMBs can simplify IT and focus on growing their business.
• Learn more about the VMware end-user computing portfolio in the VMware EUC Online Press Kit
• Learn moreabout VMware solutions for SMBs
• Read the VMware SMB Blogfor more on solutions for small and mid-size businesses
• Follow the VMware SMB team on Twitter, Facebook and Spiceworks.

About VMware
VMware is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2011 revenues of $3.77 billion, VMware has more than 350,000 customers and 50,000 partners. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

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VMware and VMware View are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.