SAP enhances SME strategy in the Middle East

by Andrew James

SAP Arabia, exclusive distributor of SAP AG, has announced that small and midsize enterprises are selecting business management solutions from SAP and its partners in increasing numbers to drive their strategies for growth. As a result of this recent increase, SME’s are emerging as the fastest growing market segment for SAP in the Middle East.

The increasing adoption at the global level further reinforces the feeling that SAP is the provider of choice among small and midsize enterprises seeking a fast return on investment, industry best-practice processes, implementation expertise and rapid, predictable deployments.

This year in Dubai, SAP Arabia will unveil a new release of business management software which has been designed to address the needs of rapidly growing small and midsize enterprises. The software allows helps them adapt to changing market demands such as increasing globalization and more stringent compliance requirements. The software will enable SME’s to automate and connect their core operations-including sales, finance, purchasing, inventory and manufacturing-and to better interface with their ecosystems of customers, suppliers and distributors in one integrated solution,

'Many small businesses start with accounting software as they develop and implement their IT strategy, but this can complicate life as point solutions are added to meet different needs,' said Raymond Boggs, vice president of SMB research at IDC. 'Having an integrated business management solution can help small businesses benefit from a consolidated view of different operations, giving them the information they need to make informed decisions, rather than having just the rear view mirror to track past results.'

With industry-specific software from SAP and its partners, small and midsize enterprises can deploy the IT functions they require. Supporting previously configured software and a phased approach, SAP SME customers will average around four months for ERP implementations although this will be lowered for most qualified mySAP All-in-One partner solutions.

'The conversation with small and midsize companies has evolved since we introduced innovative SAP solutions for the midmarket a focused effort to serve their needs,' said Essam Enany, president, SAP Arabia. 'Small companies that might not have thought of SAP in the past now clearly recognize that SAP can offer unequaled domain expertise, fast implementation and lower overall cost of ownership for companies of their size. Together with our partners, we are establishing the small and midsize enterprise space as the fastest-growing segment of our business and changing the game in industry solutions for small and midsize enterprises.'