SAP and Infineon Introduce Scalable Solution to Ease Integration of
RFID Hardware and Software New Offering to Help Retail,
Manufacturing, Aerospace and High Tech Companies Reduce Costs and
Risks Associated with Deploying Heterogeneous RFID Components SAN
DIEGO and MUNICH, Germany, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP AG
(NYSE:SAP) and Infineon Technologies AG (NYSE: IFX; FSE) today
announced a new radio frequency identification (RFID) offering to
meet companies' needs to connect and manage RFID hardware and
software from multiple vendors. Based on the SAP NetWeaver(TM)
technology platform and Infineon's RFID You-R(R) OPEN (OPerating
ENvironment) device integration platform, the new offering will
help companies deploy RFID hardware, devices, tags and software
components for RFID-enabled business processes while accelerating
return on investment and reducing integration costs and risks. The
announcement was made at SAP TechEd(R) '04, the largest SAP
developer education conference of the year being held in San Diego,
California, October 5 - 8 at the San Diego Convention Center; and
at the RFID & Contactless Technology Forum, being held today at
the Marriott Hotel in Munich, Germany. Due to the rapidly growing
and changing RFID solutions market, companies are facing the
challenge of selecting, integrating and deploying a heterogeneous
collection of RFID hardware and software components. SAP and
Infineon are now offering companies a platform to accelerate
deployment and reduce the costs and risks associated with managing
RFID components from multiple sources. The platform can manage a
full range of RFID implementations from tags to enterprise
applications, including RFID device management, related hardware
and software products and services. SAP and Infineon will be
offering the platform for pilot implementations in retail
organizations as well as more complex installations in the
industrial manufacturing, high tech and aerospace industries.
Available today, the offering will help companies meet current RFID
mandates and scale to support future RFID-enabled business
processes. In addition, companies will be able to undertake
incremental rollouts, beginning with basic compliance scenarios,
scenarios relating to logistics, vendor-managed inventory and
collaborative manufacturing and, as needs arise, moving to RFID
industry solutions and full-scale RFID-enabled business processes.
By providing an end-to-end, integrated hardware and software
solution, SAP and Infineon are offering companies a well-aligned
path to meet their requirements. "The combination of SAP's
competence and outstanding customer base in leading business
software solutions and Infineon's expertise in RFID technology,
system integration as well as tailor-made RFID applications will
help to accelerate RFID implementations throughout various
industries," said Peter Bauer, chief sales & marketing officer,
Infineon Technologies AG. "The new scalable solution, which
Infineon is already using within its own supply chains, is easy to
implement and can grow with the RFID needs of our joint customers,
from a simple pilot implementation to a full-scale RFID business
process." Built on the open SAP NetWeaver technology platform,
SAP's RFID offering includes SAP(R) Auto-ID Infrastructure, SAP(R)
Event Management, preconfigured EPC (Electronic Product Code)
reports in SAP(R) Business Information Warehouse and out-of-the box
integration into enterprise resource planning-based supply chain
execution and asset management processes. SAP's open auto-ID
infrastructure, the first of its kind, helps customers automate
their RFID implementations and incrementally implement RFID-enabled
business processes with backend systems. In addition to the device
integration platform offered by Infineon, SAP's RFID solution can
be integrated into device management solutions provided by SAP's
device integration partners. Infineon's RFID solution You-R OPEN is
an operating environment that links a company's existing
non-RFID-based logistics IT infrastructure to its newly installed
RFID-supported logistics infrastructure. You-R OPEN supports the
entire RFID hardware landscape -- including smart labels, readers,
PLCs (Programmable Logic Control), automation devices, PCs,
servers, hardware components and IT networks -- and also supports
EPC global and other RFID standards. You-R OPEN allows
configuration, installation, operation and maintenance of a
complete RFID infrastructure by offering a flexible device
management interface for all existing RFID reader and printer
devices. "With this offering, companies can accelerate their return
on investment in RFID hardware, software and business processes,"
said Claus Heinrich, member of the executive board, SAP AG. "The
combined solution from SAP and Infineon will help companies reduce
integration costs while giving them the flexibility to rapidly
adapt to new processes and changing standards. SAP and Infineon's
proven track record gives companies the stability they need to
support a long-term investment in RFID technology and
applications." Next Major Event SAP TechEd '04 Munich will be held
from October 12 to 14 at the International Congress Centre in
Munich, Germany. About SAP SAP is the world's leading provider of
business software solutions. SAP(R) solutions are designed to meet
the demands of companies of all sizes -- from small and midsize
businesses to global enterprises. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver(TM)
open integration and application platform to reduce complexity and
total cost of ownership and empower business change and innovation,
mySAP(TM) Business Suite solutions are helping enterprises around
the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner
collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains
and business operations. The unique core processes of various
industries, from aerospace to utilities, are supported by more than
25 SAP industry solutions. Today, more than 23,400 customers in
over 120 countries run more than 79,800 installations of SAP(R)
software. With subsidiaries in more than 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/ ) Information on SAP solutions for RFID is
available at http://www.sap.com/rfid About Infineon Infineon
Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system
solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for
applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile
solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence,
Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific
region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2003
(ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.15 billion
with about 32,300 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the
DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock
Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at
http://www.infineon.com/. Information on Infineon's RFID product
portfolio is available at http://www.infineon.com/rfid 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 2003 filed with the SEC on
March 23, 2004. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their
dates. NOTE: SAP, R/3, 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. Data contained in this
document serves informational purposes only. National product
specifications may vary. For customers interested in learning more
about SAP products: Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1-800-872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727) For more
information, press only: SAP Roland Edwards, SAP, +49 (6227)
7-44425, , CET Jason Loesche, SAP, +1-610-661-8541, , EDT SAP Press
Office, +1-610-661-3200, , EDT Alla Ruggaber-Mast,
Burson-Marsteller, +49 (69) 23809-54, , CET Jason Wyse,
Burson-Marsteller, +1-305-283-7469, , EDT Infineon Monika Sonntag,
Infineon Technologies, +49 89 234-24497, , CET Christoph Liedtke,
Infineon Technologies, +1-408-501-6790, , PDT Kaye Lim, Infineon
Asia-Pacific, +65 6840 0689, , SST Hirotaka Shiroguchi, Infineon
Japan, +81 3 5449 6795, , JST DATASOURCE: SAP AG CONTACT: Roland
Edwards, +49 (6227) 7-44425, or , CET, or Jason Loesche,
+1-610-661-8541, or , EDT, or SAP Press Office, +1-610-661-3200, or
, EDT, all of SAP AG; or Alla Ruggaber-Mast, +49 (69) 23809-54, or
, CET; or Jason Wyse, +1-305-283-7469, or , EDT, both of
Burson-Marsteller for SAP AG; or Monika Sonntag, +49 89 234-24497,
or , CET, or Christoph Liedtke, +1-408-501-6790, or , PDT, or in
Asia-Pacific, Kaye Lim, +65 6840 0689, or , SST; or in Japan,
Hirotaka Shiroguchi, +81 3 5449 6795, or , JST, all of Infineon
Technologies AG Web site: http://www.infineon.com/ Web site:
http://www.sap.com/
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