Accenture and SAP to Deliver IT Solutions to Banking and Insurance Companies Globally
Alliance Dedicated to Development and Delivery of Comprehensive Portfolio of Business Applications for Banks and Insurance Companies
WALLDORF, Germany and NEW YORK; Sept. 25, 2003 – Accenture and SAP AG have signed an agreement to develop and deliver information technology (IT) solutions for banks and insurance companies worldwide. Together, the two companies will offer financial services companies expanded options for the delivery of IT products and services, including standard solutions, custom solutions and business process outsourcing.
The agreement combines the strengths of two market leaders with complementary skills, bringing together Accenture’s knowledge of the financial services industry and experience in building custom software packages with SAP’s experience in developing its portfolio of cross-industry and industry-specific standard software for banking and insurance.
Under the agreement, Accenture and SAP will develop and sell a comprehensive portfolio of solutions and services designed to help banks and insurance companies increase efficiency, reduce operational costs and improve business performance. Initially, the portfolio will consist of SAP’s and Accenture’s existing banking and insurance solutions, which support a broad range of business functions, including insurance claims management, insurance policy administration, core banking operations and risk management (e.g. Basel II compliance).
SAP and Accenture will work together to market the portfolio of financial services solutions to clients, establishing sales and support teams with members from both companies. The two companies will also market and implement SAP’s cross-industry solutions for managing business processes such as financials and human capital management (HCM).
Accenture will become a preferred integration partner for SAP’s financial services solutions and the two companies will establish an implementation team for the portfolio. In addition, SAP will leverage Accenture’s industry experience to enhance its training programs for clients on the SAP financial services software solutions in its education centers.
Accenture will also become SAP’s largest development partner in financial services, and the two companies plan to assign approximately 800 people—to be based in the United States, Spain and Germany—to a combined development effort. These professionals will work together to enhance and expand the portfolio of solutions to better meet the requirements of banking and insurance clients on a country-specific basis. The two companies will agree to a development schedule that will include, for example, enhancing policy administration solutions for insurance companies and enhancing country-specific functionality in banking.
Accenture and SAP will also work together to integrate their respective software solutions leveraging SAP NetWeaver™, SAP’s open integration and application platform, to drive down implementation costs and accelerate return on investment for their clients. SAP and Accenture will also maintain their existing relationships with other organizations serving the financial services sector.
Under the agreement, Accenture plans to offer business process outsourcing (BPO) services based on the portfolio of solutions, enhancing its current BPO capabilities for banks and insurers.
“SAP and Accenture are building on their success in delivering value to banking and insurance companies and combining their strengths to create compelling offerings that will enable financial services customers to run their businesses more efficiently and gain a competitive edge,” said Henning Kagermann, chief executive officer, SAP AG. “By expanding our relationship to jointly serve banking and insurance companies, SAP and Accenture will offer customers unparalleled industry-expertise combined with a broader range of solutions, greater implementation flexibility and lower risk.”
“This agreement builds upon our long-standing relationship with SAP, and further enhances the value we can jointly deliver to financial services clients worldwide,” said Joe Forehand, chairman and CEO, Accenture. “SAP and Accenture are setting a new standard by offering a flexible portfolio of options that better position banks and insurance companies to manage their businesses for long-term success. Through these innovative solutions and services, we continue to help our clients become high-performance businesses.”
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills, and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 80,000 people in 47 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$11.6 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2002. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software solutions. Through mySAP™ Business Suite, people in businesses around the globe are improving relationships with customers and partners, streamlining operations, and achieving significant efficiencies throughout their supply chains. The unique core processes of various industries, from Aerospace to Utilities, are supported effectively by SAP’s 23 industry solution portfolios. Today, more than 20,000 companies in over 120 countries run more than 64,500 installations of SAP® software. With subsidiaries in over 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." (Additional information at http://www.sap.com) The product portfolio of SAP for Insurance contains the modules Policy Management, the Product Manager and the SAP for Reinsurance solution as core elements developed by msg systems.
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 Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2002 filed with the SEC on March 21, 2003. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
Copyright © 2003 SAP AG SAP, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
###
Janet A. Sparre
+1 (917) 452 0710