SAP and Siemens Financial Services Expand Partnership to Meet Growing Demand for Affordable, Flexible IT Financing Tools

SAP and Siemens Financial Services Expand Partnership to Meet Growing Demand for Affordable, Flexible IT Financing Tools
Strong Initial Success Leads to Program Expansion into Five Additional Countries


HANOVER, Germany - March 09, 2006 - Building upon a long tradition of offering value-added services to their customers, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and Siemens Financial Services GmbH (SFS) today announced the expansion of their financing partnership for SAP® solutions into five new markets: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. SAP Financing services offer a range of affordable financing options for companies and public sector organizations of all sizes who are investing in IT solutions as part of their growth strategies. The announcement was made at the CeBIT 2006 trade fair, being held in Hanover, Germany, March 9-15.

Marketed through “SAP Financing” and operated by SFS, the financing offerings for SAP solutions are now offered in a total of 18 markets, with availability expected in a total of 41 countries by mid-2006. The rapid expansion plans are in response to strong market demand at the outset of the offering: After 150 days on the market, customers in 13 countries have requested financing with a total volume of 67 million euros. By expanding the offering to further markets, SAP and Siemens Financial Services aim to meet an increasing global demand for IT: According to a current survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit1, more than two-thirds of executives of small and midsize businesses in Europe, Asia Pacific and the United States singled out IT as central to their growth strategies.

Launched in October 2005, SAP Financing services are tailored to meet the specific cash-flow requirements of customers choosing SAP solutions (see press release titled “SAP and Siemens Financial Services Make Financing SAP® Solutions Easier and More Affordable,” at: “http://www.sap.com/Company/Press/Press.epx?PressID=5052). These services conveniently cover all costs of SAP and partner software on the SAP price list as well as hardware, internal and external services and maintenance during project installation for SAP solutions. Offered through all SAP sales channels, including value-added resellers, independent software partners and implementation partners, SAP Financing offers businesses and public sector organizations of any size an affordable IT road map to help spur business growth.

Germany-based Raiffeisen Waren-Zentrale Rhein-Main eG (RWZ), an agricultural production tools and organic goods supplier, is now leveraging a preliminary financing phase of 12 months for its implementation of mySAP™ Business Suite.

“There are a lot of factors to weigh in making any purchase decision and all too often the financing process gets bogged down in red tape or takes a back seat to running the day-to-day business,” said Manfred Schorn, head of the Finance service unit, RWZ. “SAP and Siemens Financial Services created a sound financial plan, fast and free of hassle, and a customized implementation concept, addressing both our budgetary and business needs with a viable solution.”

“Tailor-made financing packages facilitate technology investments for all sizes of companies,” said Joachim Diers, international program manager, SAP Financing, Siemens Financial Services. “By using SAP Financing to spread the costs over time, existing credit lines can be preserved and cash flow improved. As the total costs of the IT solution can be predicted and planned up to seven years, companies gain a competitive edge.”

“Our partnership with SFS has yielded tremendous early results,” said Thomas Baur, head of SAP Financing, SAP AG. “In only five months since its inception, we’ve seen a growing demand for our offering with SFS because it provides existing and prospective SAP customers of all sizes with simple, affordable and all-inclusive financing options. We look forward to collaborating with SFS to accelerate the reach of our partnership into five new markets.”