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SAP Targets Global Demand for Social Services Innovation with Danish Public Sector IT Specialist KMD |
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Strategic Partnership Taps 600-strong Developer Team of Denmark’s Public Sector Software Leader to Expand SAP Portfolio with Standard Software for Social Services and Social Security
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - April 26, 2005 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and Danish IT leader KMD today announced a strategic partnership to develop standard software covering social services and social security processes, an immediate need and major growth area for public sector organizations around the world. The partnership combines the expertise of SAP, the world’s leading provider of enterprise software to the public sector, with that of KMD, a long-standing SAP customer and leading provider of software, services and hosted SAP® solutions to the public sector in Denmark—the country topping the world rankings in e-government initiatives. SAP CEO Henning Kagermann and KMD Managing Director Lars Monrad-Gylling formally sealed the agreement today at SAPPHIRE® ’05 Copenhagen, being held in Denmark’s capital city, April 26–28.
The partnership with KMD complements SAP’s existing alliances in the public sector space, such as the recently announced global agreement with IBM to develop and market solutions for the global social services and social security marketplace, initially focusing on child welfare agencies. SAP and KMD will direct their initial strategic development efforts toward software supporting delivery of illness and maternity leave benefits—two high-demand scenarios involving process flows that can also be applied to other key areas of social services and social security.
Leveraging SAP NetWeaver™ as the underlying platform, software development will build on the existing integrated case-management capabilities of the mySAP™ Customer Relationship Management (mySAP CRM) solution and will tap mySAP™ ERP to cover the related human capital management processes. New software functionality, expected to be available in 2006, will flow into the SAP for Public Sector solution portfolio and will be marketed globally by SAP and its worldwide reseller channel. KMD, which already runs the largest hosted SAP solution for human resources in the public sector, will continue to act as a reseller and application service provider (ASP) for SAP’s public sector solutions in Denmark.
Social Services and Social Security – Booming Global Demand
In partnering with KMD, SAP aims to expand its market-leading position in the public sector space by targeting the demands of a worldwide market in which many public sector organizations run social services and social security programs on home-grown systems. Demographic factors such as increasing claimant/worker ratios and aging populations are driving an urgent need among governments to modernize social security and social services software systems, which typically account for 25 percent of total government IT budget.
Whereas increasingly technology-savvy citizens demand easy access to information and faster response from government agencies, raising taxes to cover the costs of upgrading aging IT systems or investing in custom-developments is not a politically viable option. SAP and KMD aim to raise the bar in standard software solutions, helping public sector organizations transform their operations to deliver state-of-the-art constituent services while lowering IT operating costs and increasing return on investment.
Danish Design and Know-how on a Platform for Public Sector Innovation
As Denmark’s leading IT provider to the public sector, KMD brings more than 30 years of expertise in a country whose emphasis on efficient constituent services is underlined by a number-one ranking in IDC’s most recent Informational Society Index. Denmark is also rising rapidly on the global innovation scale, from an average position in the 1980s to a predicted rating of fourth most innovative nation in 2005, according to the Innovation Index of the US Council of Competitiveness (UCC).
Danish Minister of Science Helge Sander sees the SAP and KMD cooperation as an opportunity to initiate the establishment of SAP development activities in Denmark, where there is already unique know-how both in e-government initiatives and ERP innovation.
“The stage is set for exciting cooperation between SAP and KMD—a partnership between one of the leading international software companies and the largest IT provider for the Danish municipalities,” said Helge Sander, Danish minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. “This agreement paves the way for development of new, interesting software offerings for the public sector. I look forward to more open systems that will further the Danish government’s recommendations regarding public IT architecture and the use of open standards.”
As social services and social security are often delivered through a combination of state and local programs, SAP NetWeaver will deliver the integration capabilities to enable users across various agencies to work within a uniform workflow. The platform allows for easier integration with third-party systems and external networks to help governments grow their IT landscapes to scale with increasing organizational mergers and cross-agency cooperation.
“We are proud of KMD’s involvement in Denmark’s pioneering public sector IT initiatives and look forward to breaking new ground with SAP,” said Lars Monrad-Gylling, managing director, KMD. “Our development team is well-versed in the complexities of public sector processes and SAP offers the best architecture, vision and development platform for next-generation software to drive these processes forward. Building on SAP NetWeaver, we will be able to offer off-the-shelf social services solutions that are based on international standards and that meet today’s demands for scalability and openness.”
Comprehensive Software Framework for Social Services Programs
Leveraging SAP NetWeaver and mySAP CRM, SAP and KMD aim to create a comprehensive framework of integrated software applications that enable smooth, cross-departmental process flows for social service programs. For example, a constituent’s claim for illness or maternity leave benefits is received via various input channels. The claim is checked and is assigned to a case as well to the appropriate case worker, a process supported by rules engines embedded in the software. These rules also support the case worker in selecting the appropriate benefits and validating the recipient’s eligibility for the claim. The solution is based on integrated case-management applications that are accessed via SAP® Enterprise Portal. The application framework also enables the calculation of the benefit amount, the payment and the posting to accounting.
“The partnership with KMD represents an important pillar in SAP’s strategy and continuing investment in innovation to enhance the core business and value chain of the public sector,” said Henning Kagermann, CEO, SAP. “Denmark offers an excellent environment for accelerating public sector innovation and adding strategic value for SAP’s solution portfolio and its customers. Danish companies are well known for their strengths in design and innovation, and KMD is a leading example in the Danish IT industry. With this partnership, SAP is even more strongly positioned to help public institutions around the globe transform successfully to deliver state-of-the-art constituent services.”
About KMD
With revenue of approximately DKK 2.4 billion (EUR 400 million) and approximately 2,500 employees, KMD is the largest Danish-held information technology (IT) enterprise. KMD is owned by the National Association of Local Authorities. KMD develops efficiency-enhancing information technology solutions for the public sector, trade and industry and individual citizens. The IT solutions provided by KMD enable public sector employees to handle current legislation as efficiently as possible.
In addition, KMD serves as one of Denmark’s main providers of IT management and application service providing (ASP), facilitating the day-to-day administration and control of resources in the public and corporate sectors. KMD also provides outsourced IT services as well as consulting services on business process development and implementation of IT systems. Via the Danish self-service portals Netborger.dk and e-Boks, KMD provides the general public in Demark with greater flexibility in accessing government services.
About SAP for Public Sector
SAP for Public Sector provides comprehensive solutions to help governments and public organizations improve economic viability and increase process efficiency and transparency while better serving the needs of the public. With more than 1,080 customers in 65 countries, SAP is the leading provider of enterprise business solutions to the public sector. |
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