SAP(R) BusinessObjects(TM) Planning and Consolidation Will Transform Budget Forecasting From Lengthy and Resource Intensive to Fast and Seamless CARPINTERIA, Calif., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) announced today that CKE Restaurants (NYSE:CKE) has selected the SAP® BusinessObjects(TM) Planning and Consolidation application to produce its monthly forecasts and annual budget. CKE is comprised of several well-known chains - including Carl's Jr., Green Burrito, Hardee's and Red Burrito - and has more than 3,000 locations in 42 states and 14 countries. SAP's unified planning, budgeting, forecasting and consolidation application proved to be the winning solution, as it works across the Microsoft platform that was already being used by CKE. With a single user interface, SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation provides the data the company needs to complete its budgets, forecasts and consolidated financial reports. The deal marks a win over a number of other software vendors, including Oracle/Hyperion. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a) "We began implementation of the SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation application after being impressed by its ease of use, business process flows that drive process consistency, flawless demos and strong references," said Tom Lindblom, CTO, CKE Restaurants. "Prior to that, we were using large Excel spreadsheets against a third-party back end to complete annual budgets and monthly forecasts. It was a lengthy and time-consuming process that required shuttling data into and out of PeopleSoft. The new SAP solution will allow us to quickly model new business scenarios while minimizing risk, giving us a shorter route to compliance." Closing the Books Faster Today, businesses like CKE Restaurants are expected to meet financial planning deadlines while completing consolidated financial reports in a short period of time. In addition, statutory reporting requirements such as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) add to the complexity of closing the books. Planning, budgeting and forecasting are more cumbersome and resource intensive than ever, which is why businesses seek out solutions that can help streamline planning, budgeting and forecasting and help deliver a faster, compliant financial close. Financial Data Helps Drive Decision-Making "Many companies around the globe, like CKE, have selected SAP BusinessObjects enterprise performance management solutions over its competitors because of their superior usability, and our ability to deliver planning, forecasting, budgeting and consolidation capability from one unified application," said Sanjay Poonen, executive vice president and general manager, Worldwide SAP BusinessObjects Sales. "Designed for today's finance professional, and optimized both for SAP and non-SAP environments, this is an application that can offer rapid ROI and lower TCO than alternatives in the market." About SAP SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 92,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit http://www.sap.com/. (*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, and related applications. 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 most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Copyright © 2009 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 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 serve 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: Scott Behles, +1 917-494-2009, , EST SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; +1 (610) 661-3200, EST; Jeff Shadid, Burson-Marsteller, +1 (214) 224-8419, , CST http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: SAP AG CONTACT: Scott Behles of SAP AG, +1-917-494-2009, , EST, or SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET, +1-610-661-3200, EST, ; or Jeff Shadid of Burson-Marsteller, +1-214-224-8419, , CST, for SAP AG Web Site: http://www.sap.com/

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