IBM Middle East shares successes at Sug-Mena

IBM was represented by regional and global executives including: Nigel Milton, SAP Alliance Executive, IBM Europe, Middle East & Africa and Ahmed Samy, SAP Services Line Leader, IBM Middle East and North Africa.

The SAP and IBM alliance which reflects more than 35 years of leadership is based on continuous collaboration, innovation and service for smarter outcomes. On the first day they discussed 'IBM & SAP: Welcome to the Future' where Nigel Milton focused on the IBM strategic business alliance and on IBM's portfolio offerings to SAP Customers.

The IBM and SAP portfolio addresses the ever-changing requirements of global business - including convenient, cost-effective access to expert skills and delivery centers worldwide, the right infrastructure, an understanding of cultural and language sensitivities, and knowledge of changing economic conditions. Equally important is the ability to deliver solutions and services rapidly, reliably and economically - onsite or offsite.

"IBM can face the future with more confidence - equipped with hardware, software, middleware and the support of IBM Global Business Services' dedicated consultancies, industry-based best practices, and a wealth of service options, including application management services and business process outsourcing," said Nigel Milton, SAP Alliance Executive, IBM Europe, Middle East & Africa. "The IBM and SAP alliance also enables the advantage of IBM Global Financing - from simple leases and loans to complex, customized transactions for IT projects of any scope, worldwide. Services include financing for IBM and non-IBM hardware, software and services."

On the third day IBM Middle East co-delivered a presentation with KAPCI, the title of which was 'KAPCI & IBM: A Real Success Story'. KAPCI Coatings, based in Port Said, is Egypt's largest manufacturer of automotive refinishing products; the company produces a wide range of clear coats, hardeners, fillers, thinners, putties and primers for vehicles, as well as decorative paints and wood finishes.

To provide a reliable, high-performance platform for the new SAP software environment, KAPCI invested in three IBM System i 520 machines. Working with IBM Global Technology Services, the company implemented the new solution in three phases:

- The hardware and the SAP ERP applications for financial accounting, sales and distribution, materials management and quality management
- The asset accounting controlling and production planning applications
- The human capital management application and Business Intelligence.

Besides its well-known reliability, KAPCI's System i platform has a number of other advantages. The main i520 production server contains two active IBM POWER5+ processors, while the other two machines (for quality assurance and high availability) have a single active processor each. If the company's SAP software environment requires more processing power during periods of peak activity, KAPCI can utilize the System i On/Off Capacity on Demand feature to temporarily activate the spare processors in these two machines and deal with the excess workload.

The i5 operating system includes IBM DB2, offering access to the preferred database platform for SAP suite of applications at no extra cost. The tight integration of DB2 with both i5/OS and SAP suite of applications simplifies database administration significantly, reducing workload for IT staff.

IBM DB2 is the leading database choice because DB2 is optimized for SAP software. In fact, DB2 for SAP software can ship integrated as one product. IBM pioneered data management technology that can help reduce the total cost of SAP ownership and improve performance. That means users are more productive. Today, these ground-breaking technologies—some are unique to SAP applications—are incorporated into DB2.

The SAP and DB2 teams have developed a synchronized roadmap for the next several years, ensuring that customers will receive one stop-service and support for their SAP environment.

With every department using the same platform, KAPCI's 135 SAP users have already seen a number of benefits from moving to a centralized ERP solution as business data flows instantly across the company, enabling fast, accurate reporting on every aspect of the company's operations.

"Working together with SAP in such an advanced way will enable our customers to develop new capabilities and build long term collaboration that gives value for both the customer and the vendor," said Takreem El Tohamy, general manager of IBM Middle East and North Africa. "We are honored to be part of such an alliance that will help organizations to work smarter, be more efficient and provide high level services to their customers."