HP Announces New Data-Warehouse Solutions for SAP R/3 Environments; Enables Customers to Reduce Costs by Lowering Risk and Shortening Implementation Time for Data Warehouses in SAP R/3 Environments.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 1997--Building on its leadership position in data warehousing, HP today announced an enhancement to its OpenWarehouse program that focuses on the data-access and reporting requirements of SAP R/3 users. The enhanced solutions allow R/3-based data warehouses to be implemented faster and with lower risk, helping to provide a quicker return on investment for HP customers.

The OpenWarehouse Suite for SAP R/3 is designed to help build a data warehouse from R/3 transaction data, with an emphasis on decision making for sales and marketing, finance and customer service. The solution, targeted at customers with sophisticated business requirements in midsize R/3 environments, is based on best-in-class components chosen by HP and will be available through HP-certified resellers. The certification process, designed by HP, reduces risk for customers by allowing the SAP data-warehouse implementation methods developed by HP's Professional Services Organization to be used by resellers certified by HP for their SAP and data-warehouse expertise.

"We are very enthusiastic to be supporting R/3 with our data-warehousing efforts," said Jim Murphy, solutions marketing manager for HP's Enterprise Systems Division. "HP and SAP have a strong partnership and share a common vision to provide integrated business solutions incorporating strong data-warehousing architectures. This new OpenWarehouse Suite for R/3 will allow our customers to implement their data warehouses with unparalleled speed and efficiency."

OPENWAREHOUSE SUITE IS PRE-TESTED AND PRE-CONFIGURED

HP's OpenWarehouse Suite for SAP R/3 consists of pre-tested and pre-configured data warehouse components selected by HP. The solution will provide proven extraction routines; a starter set of standard decision-support reports; and an easy-to-use query, reporting and analysis interface. HP-certified resellers will provide the expertise to implement this data-warehouse solution for an R/3 environment. HP intends to expand the list of certified components as they become tested and configured. The complete solution will run on HP 9000 business servers.

The solution initially will consist of the following components -- all available from the HP certified resellers:

-- HP-certified R/3 data-warehouse implementation services

-- a specific set of services to develop R/3-based

access and reporting, designed by HP's Professional

Services Organization and delivered by HP trained and

certified resellers.

-- HP DataMart Manager -- a data-warehouse-management

product that improves query performance and

ease-of-use.

-- Oracle Warehouse Toolkit for SAP -- an easy-to-use

interface to the SAP data repository, allowing

information-systems professionals to extract data and

populate an Oracle7-based data warehouse. The Oracle

Warehouse Toolkit for SAP uses Oracle's Designer/2000

and Oracle Developer/2000.

-- Oracle Designer/2000 and Oracle Developer/2000 -- the

industry's only second-generation client/server design

and development tools that enable developers to build

complex and scaleable systems.

-- Oracle7 Enterprise Server -- a product that provides

efficient, reliable, secure data management for

applications ranging from high-volume, online

transaction systems to query-intensive data-warehouse

applications.

-- Cognos' Query and Reporting Tools -- "Impromptu," an

interactive reporting interface that enables users to

query a database and create sophisticated reports all

within the same module, and "PowerPlay," a

business-intelligence tool for multidimensional 

analysis of corporate data, giving users the ability to

explore corporate data.

An optional add-on component to the suite, the Oracle ROLAP option delivers the online analytical processing (OLAP) with advanced decision-support capabilities that include forecasting, what-if scenarios and financial modeling.

"Success in building a data warehouse in an SAP environment is dependent on two things: successful products and deployment," said Adam Their, senior research analyst, META Group. "This mix of data-warehousing products from HP, Oracle and Cognos provides a solid foundation for successful deployment by best-in-class certified resellers."

"We are excited that HP has chosen the Oracle Warehouse Toolkit for SAP, a clear leader in its category, as part of the HP OpenWarehouse Suite," said Marc Hebert, vice president of Oracle's Design and Migration Services. "We see the OpenWarehouse Suite as a way to extend our joint leadership in the data-warehousing arena that will benefit our common SAP installed base to significantly shorten time in deploying their data warehouses."

THE EXPERTISE OF HP'S PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ORGANIZATION

"HP is the leading platform for R/3 and has an established and successful SAP Consulting Practice focused on infrastructure," said Michael Galane, marketing manager of HP's Worldwide Professional Services Organization. "We are leveraging the skills and expertise of our SAP Consulting Practice, the expertise of our data-warehousing consultants and our relationships with key partners to build SAP data-warehouse solutions for enterprise customers."

HP's Professional Services Organization provides a range of technology-consulting, systems-integration, education and training services to support enterprise customers implementing SAP data-warehouse solutions. The organization has leveraged this experience and has developed a tested methodology that is a key component of the certification program targeted for resellers addressing the midsize SAP market.

HP CERTIFIED RESELLERS

HP's OpenWarehouse Suite for SAP R/3 was developed specifically for HP-certified resellers. Resellers go through an HP certification program that includes training on both data-warehouse and R/3 implementations. The expertise of the certified resellers is intended to reduce the time it takes to implement effective SAP R/3 data access and reporting, and lower the risk, both of which contribute to reduced costs for HP customers. HP has begun the certification process with ten of its most-qualified resellers. Additionally, HP, Oracle and Cognos already will have tested the compatibility and interoperability of their products -- saving product-evaluation time and pilot-project experimentation.

"We are very excited to be one of the first resellers HP will certify to sell their innovative data-warehouse solutions for SAP environments," said Bob Hartz, vice president of sales and marketing at Infoworld, Inc. "Our consulting and enterprise implementation expertise, coupled with HP's OpenWarehouse Suite, significantly reduce data-warehouse implementation risks for SAP environments."

AVAILABILITY OF SOLUTIONS

The OpenWarehouse Suite for SAP R/3 is expected to be available through HP-certified resellers in North America this summer. Worldwide distribution for the suite is planned, with localization to occur as demand develops.

HP's relationship with SAP AG spans more than eight years. During that time, HP has become a leading hardware platform for R/3.

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global manufacturer of computing, communications and measurement products and services recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 112,800 employees and had revenue of $38.4 billion in its 1996 fiscal year.

Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com .

CONTACT: Hewlett-Packard

Candie Watkins, 408/447-6285

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Scott Hauan, 408/447-1415

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