United VARs and NEC Jointly Expanding the Cloud Business / SAP Business ByDesign

NEC Corporation joins United VARs alliance as strategic business partner / Focus on Southeast Asia / Cloud-based ERP solution SAP Business ByDesign increasingly in demand by upper midmarket companies and global subsidiaries

Filderstadt, 14 September 2015 – United VARs, in its own estimate the largest global alliance of SAP channel partners, has for the first time concluded a strategic business partnership agreement with NEC Corporation, a global leader in the integration of IT and network technologies. The objective of this agreement is to actively promote the marketing of the SAP® Business ByDesign® cloud ERP solution for the upper midmarket and among the worldwide sales, service and national subsidiaries of globally operating companies, particularly in Asian market. After having joined the elite group of SAP global resellers (SAP Global VAR) in late July, the United VARs alliance is now leveraging its enhanced position to accelerate the expansion of its cloud business.

»Many of our customers, such as those in Europe, North America, Canada, Russia and Australia, are converging on these growth markets. With NEC we have gained an extremely strong and effective strategic partner for Asia«, said a pleased Detlef Mehlmann, director (and spokesman) of United VARs and Head of Business Development International at All for One Steeb AG. »We are excited about now working with United VARs. We started our SAP Business ByDesign activities in 2014 after signing an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with SAP. Since then we have developed fully localized country versions for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Hong Kong and finished some highly successful projects. Our global localization packages for SAP Business ByDesign cover country-specific legal regulations and business practices«, emphasized Yutaka Noguchi, General Manager, Global Products and Services Development Division, NEC Corporation.

Not including NEC, United VARs currently comprises 34 channel partners from more than 73 countries. The alliance’s partners are all powerful local players firmly anchored within the business networks of their respective countries and are working successfully for more than 5,500 clients from what is mostly the midmarket sector. Meanwhile, even major multinational corporate groups are increasingly turning to United VARs for assistance with such operations as opening up and developing new foreign markets. This alliance enjoys the decisive advantage of providing the appropriate »cultural fit« together with solutions, services and support delivered in the local language along with a solid understanding of the local business rules, regulations and laws. Beyond its global localization packages, NEC Corporation’s contribution to this strategic partnership with United VARs will also include a highly capable on-site organization for consulting, services and support as well as for the development of add-on solutions for SAP Business ByDesign.

Michael Schmitt, Senior Vice President & General Manager SAP Business ByDesign: »United VARs and NEC are a great additional power for our global customers, and help us leverage our cloud solutions line of business, including Concur, Ariba and SuccessFactors. We count on our rich partner ecosystems and their knowledge of corresponding add-ons and additional functionalities.«