German enterprise software vendor SAP is making tracks into Asia with its first cloud carrier partnership in the region.
The firm is teaming with SingTel to provide a cloud-based business management service to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. The agreement sees SAP’s Business one application hosted on SingTel’s cloud infrastructure, offering remote control of sales, logistics, inventory, and CRM functions.
Users will be able to access the SAP services via internet-enabled mobile devices, and an application is also available for iPhone and iPad users.
SingTel’s business group EVP Bill Chang says the service is aimed at more established SMEs across all verticals. Chang revealed SingTel’s cloud customer base had grown 50% over the past 11 months to 150,000 users and added the carrier hoped to leverage its successful cloud collaboration with Google to attract more cloud customers.
The proliferation of mobile devices and SingTel’s upcoming move to LTE constituted a suitable environment for cloud services for mobile workers, Chang said.
SMEs can expect to save up to 60% on operating costs with the joint service, compared to a traditional ‘on-premise’ deployment. The cost for a typical five user deployment starts at S$13,248 (€7,605) per annum, inclusive of fiber connectivity and S$4,800 set-up cost.
SAP’s president for Southeast Asia Tim Moylan said templates for the wholesale and trade verticals are available for deployment.