Heidelberg (Germany) I Singapore, July 29, 2021 – SNP Schneider-Neureither & Partner SE, a world-leading provider of software solutions for digital transformation processes and automated data migrations, signed an agreement today to acquire 100{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the shares in Datavard AG. The software and consulting company with around 170 employees specializes in transformations and data management in SAP landscapes and generated total revenues of around EUR 17.6 million in the 2020 fiscal year. The initial consolidation is expected to take place on August 1, 2021.

The acquisition of Datavard AG plays an important role in the implementation of SNP’s platform strategy, which allows companies to generate maximum value from their data transformation using just one software solution.

Gregor Stöckler, co-founder and CEO of Datavard AG, will join the Board of Managing Directors of SNP SE as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO). He will be responsible for the sales regions USA and UK-Ireland as well as globally for analytics, platform strategy, technology partners and partner marketing.

“With this acquisition, we are expanding our software portfolio to include Datavard’s solutions in the areas of SAP data management and analytics. In both the software and the consulting business, the two portfolios complement each other perfectly. Until now, SNP and Datavard have acted as competitors and partners in the market; in the future, we will use the newly gained strength from the merger of both companies to serve our customers and partners even more comprehensively,” says Michael Eberhardt, CEO of SNP SE.

Datavard has been active in the market for over 20 years and focuses on transformations and data management in SAP landscapes. In the area of transformation, Datavard supports companies in migrating to SAP S/4HANA, modernizing their analytics and data warehouse landscape, and carrying out mergers and acquisitions, carve-outs, and company splits. In the area of data management, Datavard offers solutions for data lifecycle management, business intelligence and analytics, and innovative cloud connectivity solutions that enable SAP customers to integrate and utilize SAP data in applications for artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of things. Over 50 of the Global Fortune 500 and numerous DAX 30 companies are Datavard customers. In addition, the company has an outstanding partner network consisting of national and international players such as Accenture, AppDynamics, Google, Microsoft, SAP and more.

“We are very pleased to now be a part of the market leader for data transformation software solutions in the SAP world,” says Gregor Stöckler, founder and CEO of Datavard AG. “It opens up many new opportunities for our employees, customers and partners. SNP and Datavard have known and appreciated each other for many years as competitors and as partners. In addition, we are successfully collaborating in the “SAP S/4HANA Selective Data Transition Engagement” working group. Together, we will be able to support our customers and partners in their digital transformations even better.”

In addition to its headquarters in Heidelberg, Datavard has two large locations in Slovakia and a strong location in Switzerland. Furthermore, Datavard is also represented in the USA and Singapore in the Asia Pacific Japan region. “We are looking forward to welcoming the new employees, who will strengthen and expand our core business,” says Prof. Dr. Heiner Diefenbach, CFO of SNP SE.

From a regional perspective, Gerald Faust, Managing Director & CEO, Asia Pacific and Middle East, SNP Transformations SEA Pte Ltd., commented,” We are enthused about unifying our capabilities for end-to-end data migration offerings for the SAP eco-system in the strategic and fastest growing Asia Pacific Japan region. Our software platform centric and cultural synergies make us a leading provider for digital data transformation and data management resonating across all major markets.”

Financing

As consideration for the acquisition of all shares in Datavard AG, a cash component of around EUR 20 million and the issue of 173,333 new shares from a capital increase through contributions in kind are planned. An independent valuation has confirmed the appropriateness of the total purchase price. Taking into account Datavard’s double-digit growth expectations for the current year, the purchase price represents 15 times Datavard’s currently expected operating profit for 2021. The new shares will be issued indirectly to Gregor Stöckler and two additional shareholders of Datavard AG, and all three will remain with the company after the transaction. The shares issued will be subject to a 36-month lock-up period.

About Datavard

Datavard is an innovative provider of intelligent solutions and consulting services for SAP data management, SAP S/4HANA migrations, data warehouse modernization, legacy system decommissioning, SAP data integration, big data and system landscape transformations. As a trusted SAP partner with over 20 years of expertise, Datavard helps companies worldwide run their SAP systems leanly, efficiently and profitably. Datavard is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, with offices in EMEA, the US and Asia. For more information, visit www.datavard.com.

About SNP

SNP is a world-leading provider of software for managing complex digital transformation processes. Instead of traditional IT consulting in the ERP environment, SNP offers an automated approach using specially developed software: The Data Transformation Platform CrystalBridge^® and the SNP BLUEFIELD^TM approach allow companies to restructure and modernize their IT landscapes much more quickly and securely as well as migrate to new systems or cloud environments more securely. This gives customers clear qualitative advantages while at the same time reducing their time and costs.

The SNP Group has around 1,600 employees worldwide. The company is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, and generated revenue of around EUR 144 million in the 2020 fiscal year. It serves multinational companies in all industries. SNP was established in 1994, went public in 2000, and has been listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since August 2014 (ISIN DE0007203705). Since 2017, the company has been trading as a European company (Societas Europaea/SE).

More information is available at www.snpgroup.com

Contact:

This article is sponsored by SNP

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Data-Driven Decisions

Board International, the # 1 decision making platform for organisations of any size, has announced that Taylors Wines is using BOARD for integrated planning, analysis and reporting as part of its strategy to become a data-driven business.

Taylors Wines, a family-owned winery that crafts great Australian wines in the Clare Valley, South Australia, wanted to make a greater amount of information available to its management, sales, marketing, and finance teams. The business utilises data to support sales growth in stores, restaurants and bars that stock Taylors Wines; to better understand demand and use that to manage stock levels and production; to measure the impact of winning international wine competitions on sales; and to accurately track rebates it paid out to customers.

Prior to the BOARD deployment, Taylors Wines was running its business off just three reports: a direct sales report updated daily, a monthly P&L, and a static PDF produced monthly for its area sales team. All the reports had limitations: the direct sales and P&L reports could only be interrogated by finance, meaning many emails from people trying to understand what data sat behind the results in front of them. The static PDF report, meanwhile, was hard to read on iPads used by the area sales team.

“Finance was spending so much time creating reports rather than analysing them,” said Hamza Jinwala, Finance Manager, Taylors Wines.  “Our main goal was to make information available to people on the go, as and when they need it, without relying on us. Instead of relying on a sales analyst or finance team members if and when they wanted to get the information, we wanted to let them just go and get the information themselves.”

Streamlined Reporting Across the BOARD

The BOARD reporting tool primarily runs on top of Taylors Wines’ data warehouse and also links directly to other internal data sources such as customer relationship management (CRM) and various Excel worksheets.   The organisation has increased the number of reports it produces from three to over 100, unlocking latent demand for data and value for the organisation.

Where area managers were previously only measured on revenue, now they also use BOARD to track who sells what ranges and brands, where they are running in-store promotions and retail displays, and other metrics. They use BOARD to identify gaps, opportunities and to create a shortlist of customers to visit. These are all new capabilities. In addition, we have a dashboard and get the information updated to sales managers every week or more frequently if we want to.”

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Improved Data Management Solutions

Snowflake Computing, the data warehouse built for the cloud, today announced that Snowflake has been positioned as a Leader in Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant for Data Management Solutions for Analytics report. Snowflake’s zero-management, cloud-built data warehouse equips today’s organisations with unique and powerful features to get all the insight from all their data by all their users. These features include Secure Data Sharing (without moving or copying data), instant elasticity, per-second pricing, and the ability to deploy on multiple clouds. Snowflake expects these and other product attributes to continue to enable modern data management, data warehousing and data analytics.

According to Gartner, “The Leaders quadrant includes a mix of traditional large vendors that have, in general, adapted to the changing market conditions which continue to drive the DMSA market. All of them have a cloud strategy, and all of them have a vision that allows them to address the broader DMSA market beyond traditional data warehousing. Notably, each vendor in the Leaders quadrant has a credible, well-developed strategy for addressing all four defined DMSA use cases, as well as breadth of coverage as defined in Gartner’s DAIM. Within the Leaders quadrant, there is a significant spread of scores in both vision and execution. This reflects different strengths for each vendor regarding where they are focusing their effort and attention. In most cases, the perennial Leaders have capitalized on the “foundational core” strengths, while simultaneously addressing new market demands for innovative pricing models, new deployment models such as cloud, and an increased scope that includes a modern DMSA platform. New entrants to the Leaders quadrant this year exhibit a strong vision, as well as success in executing within this market — as reflected in their customer growth, retention and market mind share.

Data Driven Solutions

Rob Smoot, Snowflake VP of Product Marketing, believes Gartner’s findings align with Snowflake’s mission to enable every organisation to be data-driven. The features that enable and expand Snowflake’s active customer base, which has more than tripled in 2018, are all unique attributes of its cloud-built architecture. Those features combine the flexibility of big data platforms and the instant and infinite elasticity of the cloud, all at a fraction of the cost of other solutions. At the same time, Snowflake harnesses the power of traditional data warehousing with its SQL-based solution. This preserves the tools, knowledge and processes organisations have relied on for years.

“We’re pleased Gartner has recognised Snowflake’s completeness of our vision and our ability to execute,” Mr. Smoot said. “Today, the demand for data-based insights is omnipresent. The Data Economy is growing and organisations want a solution to easily and securely load, integrate, analyse and share all of their data. We believe this report reaffirms our commitment to put customers first.”

Gartner’s report evaluated 19 vendors based on their ability to execute and the completeness of their vision for its Magic Quadrant for Data Management Solutions for Analytics. Gartner’s ability to execute axis comprised seven evaluation criteria: product or service, overall viability, sales execution/pricing, market responsiveness/record, marketing execution, customer experience, and operations. The other axis, completeness of vision, comprised eight criteria: market understanding, marketing strategy, sales strategy, offering product strategy, business model, vertical/industry strategy, innovation, and geographic strategy.

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Executive Placement for the New Year

BackOffice Associates, a leader in solutions that solve complex data transformation challenges, their executive placement with Zarina Lam Stanford as Chief Marketing Officer. Stanford joins this innovative. company as it extends its leadership.  BackOffice Associates also plans to expand their reach into new industries and geographies worldwide with the help of Zarina Lam Stanford’s expertise. Reporting to CEO David Booth, Stanford will oversee all aspects of the company’s global and corporate brand and marketing strategy and operations..

Zarina Lam Stanford was formerly Chief Marketing Officer of SAP Asia Pacific and Japan. Prior to SAP Asia Pacific and Japan, she was Vice President at IBM, serving global, North America, and growth markets in IBM’s Systems and Software business units. Stanford was named a CMO Fellow by a UK-based Marketing Academy and received the distinction of “Woman of the Decade in Technology and Innovation” at the Women Economic Forum in 2018. A champion for diversity and inclusion initiatives, Stanford also serves on the Board of Directors at Beyond Diversity Foundation.

Data Driven Leadership

“Data as a currency is a global phenomenon that presents unprecedented challenges and opportunities for businesses of all sizes. I look forward to working with our regional presidents, the world-class BackOffice team of consultants, and the entire BackOffice team to advance our customers’ business goals and data journey to bring relevance and drive engagement along the way. With Dave and the executive team, as well as our blue-chip Board and fellow associates, I am in good company.”

“We are ecstatic to have Zarina join the BackOffice family and are eager to leverage her passion, creativity, industry knowledge, and proven leadership to deliver exceptional business growth and customer experience,” said Booth.

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The new version extends its use of serverless compute technologies through container deployment options, provides extended management options for resource and application management, and increases options for on-premise deployment, in addition to private and public cloud deployment.

According to SAP, a workflow-based redesign will simplify onboarding of new data sources, as well as the development and management of complex data pipelines across the enterprise.

One customer which has already embraced SAP Data Hub to ingest and integrate IoT data with equipment and customer data from SAP S/4HANA and the SAP HANA platform, resulting in improved product support and design, and higher customer satisfaction.

“Our old architecture was not suited for large, targeted data volumes, and the processing of IoT data required a lot of effort,” Kaeser Compressors SE CIO Falko Lameter said. “SAP Data Hub solves this with the scalability and flexibility of a serverless architecture and powerful data pipeline modeling for high visibility and control without the large expense of moving data. By integrating IoT data with our customer data, we operate like an intelligent enterprise that provides real value to customers.”

Also announced at SAP TechEd this week was a hybrid cloud solution jointly developed by Cisco and SAP, the Cisco Container Platform for SAP Data Hub.

To be generally available from Cisco from November 2018 and from the SAP App Center in the first quarter of 2019, the solution will provide a choice of two different consumption models – a software-only version for customers to install on their own on-premise infrastructure, or a software and hardware bundle. According to the vendors, the new offering will enable customers to run production-grade SAP Data Hub environments on premise and in public clouds, in a secure and consistent manner without having to worry about container complexity.

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The SAP Data Hub solution enables data orchestration, pipelining, governance, and agile sharing of all data across a connected data landscape.

From a single location, SAP Data Hub and Virtustream Enterprise Cloud enable organisations to speed and expand the flow of data throughout the enterprise. Virtustream enables organisations to get up and running quickly, providing a comprehensive solution installed, managed, and maintained by Virtustream, which frees up IT teams to focus on solving strategic business problems.

“We are evolving our solution through the addition of SAP Data Hub, which brings the latest in big data management capabilities to the cloud experience our customers know and love,” said Christina Colby, SVP, Alliances, Virtustream. “Our partnership with SAP means customers can now manage mission-critical big data workloads and cloud native workloads easier than ever before, which allows them to scale their big data solutions.”

“With this deepened partnership, we’re looking forward to extending our big data capabilities to an even wider customer base so enterprises can take advantage of simple, scalable data operations and management,” said Michael Eacrett, VP, product management, P&I big data, SAP.

Virtustream customers are now able to leverage SAP Data Hub to build and bring to market scalable, data-driven applications and services, as well as the single location for data management and visibility. Virtustream Enterprise Cloud delivers a true enterprise-class cloud environment, a consumption-based cloud pricing model, and a comprehensive IT security infrastructure.

Designed to run complex, mission-critical enterprise applications, Virtustream Enterprise Cloud provides a full suite of professional services coupled with high availability and performance speeds, all backed by industry-leading service-level agreements and sophisticated security.

In addition, Virtustream’s MicroVM technology provides fine-grained measurement of compute, memory, network, and storage consumption and, since customers pay only for the resources they use, organisations eliminate overhead from unused virtual machines, reducing inefficiencies and expense.

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Among these new features is the expansion of discovery, cleansing, masking and encryption of personal data to more sources. Archiving, restriction and deletion of personal data can be managed holistically across data in applications and associated content, such as purchase orders, invoices and HR documents.

SAP has also released a trial service of new data anonymisation capabilities that enable companies to address privacy requirements while creating meaningful data sets for analysis and processing.

Other innovations are designed to simplify data management, particularly for SAP S/4HANA, with additional functionality for data quality, master data management, content management and information lifecycle management capabilities. SAP Master Data Governance on S/4HANA provides consolidation, mass processing, central governance and master data quality analytics.

The updates also include new and expanded support for Amazon Redshift and Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute, Microsoft Azure Cloud and SQL Data Warehouse, and Google Cloud Platform.

“Information is the foundation of a digital business,” said Greg McStravick, ‎SAP ‎president, database and data management.

“Whether companies are looking at digital transformation from a business network, IoT or big data and analytics perspective, information governance is crucial to their success. Our portfolio updates help our customers run a live business by making data trusted, complete, secure and relevant for their business processes and analytics.”

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