SAP(R) TechEd '06 Sets Sights on Bangalore

by SAP AG

Rapidly Growing Ecosystem Underscores Interest in SAP's Open, Standards-Based Platform and Enterprise Service-Oriented Architecture - Photos Available

SAP Empowers Its Ecosystem to Turn Enterprise SOA Innovations Into Superior Customer Value

SAP AG today announced that the SAP(R) TechEd '06 conference makes its final stop on November 8 in Bangalore, India. Over the last two months, more than 15,000 software developers, business process experts, consultants, IT managers and SAP partners from throughout the SAP ecosystem have participated in the various SAP TechEd '06 conferences around the globe to deepen their knowledge and build relationships. The event theme, "Empowering an Ecosystem of Innovation," reiterates SAP's commitment to execute on its enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA) road map and to foster co-innovation across its customer base, partner organizations and SAP itself. Numerous events are designed to empower the more than 3,300 participants expected in Bangalore.

In-depth lectures and hands-on workshops cover a wide range of technical and business topics. A major focus of the 350 hours of educational sessions is on enterprise SOA and SAP NetWeaver(R), the open, standards-based platform for modeling, developing and implementing state-of-the-art business processes. Further topics include analytics, custom Java EE 5 development and mySAP(TM) ERP 2005 as the "go to" release for SAP(R) R/3(R) customers.

SAP TechEd '06 Bangalore also features a keynote presentation byClaus E. Heinrich, member of the executive board, SAP AG, on SAP's product strategy and how the company continues to focus on furthering innovation and simplifying solution consumption.

"SAP TechEd provides an excellent opportunity for industry experts, customers and partners to engage in the process of mutual exchange, collaboration and education that is essential for an ecosystem to drive innovation in the industry," said Heinrich. "SAP is committed to building, nurturing and supporting a broad ecosystem of partners around its solutions and welcomes customers and partners from around the world to bring their experience and offerings to the table in Bangalore."

In addition to the official SAP TechEd '06 agenda, further activities in Bangalore are designed to empower the thousands of SAP developers, consultants, partners, enterprise architects and business process experts in attendance. These activities include Demo Jam and the SAP Developer Network Day, which combines last year's successful "SDN Meets Labs" events with the SDN Clubhouse, blending the SDN virtual online community (at http://sdn.sap.com/ ) with live and in-person events to create a real-world SDN experience for conference delegates. SDN Day attendees will participate in networking, technical education and hands-on demo sessions directed at developers and other technologists on Tuesday, November 7th.

SAP TechEd '06 attendees can also participate in the SAP consultant certification program. SAP consultant certification is a demanding, process- oriented exam to certify the abilities of developers to work on SAP technologies. SAP-certified consultants and users get direct access to SAP's vast network of resources and have access to the latest, most up-to-date information on SAP solutions.

A Growing Commitment to India

SAP has located one of its SAP TechEd conferences in India in recognition of the country's rapidly growing enterprise software market and as a demonstration of SAP's commitment to serving companies of all sizes in the region. In August, SAP announced that it has elevated India to the status of a strategic hub and has inaugurated a new office in Gurgaon to help SAP sustain and build on its current market share momentum. With more than 1,150 customers and 2,500 installations in India, SAP currently possesses 54 percent of the ERP market and anticipates further growth in many regions of the country. Therefore, SAP plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years to further expand its footprint in the region, enhance operations and service to new and existing customers and utilize the talent in the region to increase the research and development contribution.