SAP Targets Professional Services Firms With New Offering

SAP AG, the Walldorf, Germany-based enterprise software leader, has added another arrow to its industry-specific applications quiver. The software company last month began offering SAP Service Provider, an industry-specific version of its popular R/3 system aimed at professional services firms including consultants, auditing firms, outsourcing firms, and recruitment firms. "The most critical element for a service provider is its ability to effectively manage, track, and report its people and their work," says Werner Sommer, vice president and general manager of the Service Provider Business Unit at SAP. The software enables professional service firms to monitor projects, revenues, open items, and costs incurred both internally and externally, and to enhance decision-making and profitability analysis. It also offers flexible billing capabilities, including fixed-price, resource-related, and mark-up billing. Companies already using the tailored R/3 system include KPMG Australia; IVM, a German technical engineering firm; Origin International, a systems integration and consulting firm in the Netherlands; and Interim Technology, a consulting outfit in the UK.