SAP to construct NAB backbone

SAP has just released its results for the year to 31 December 2009, pointing to a new deal with the National Australia Bank (NAB) as one of its most recent wins.

Tim Ebbeck
(Credit: SAP)

NAB signed a deal with SAP in December to update existing SAP software and roll out the company's new systems, according to SAP president and managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Tim Ebbeck.

NAB was carrying out a complete program of works in its back office, front office and core banking, Ebbeck told ZDNet.com.au. The deal was part of the overall revamp, not core banking.

SAP will create a single ledger for all the elements of the bank. "This provides backbone financials ability for the bank to then build upon with core banking and treasury and all their other systems on top of that," he said. The deal also covered HR and procurement systems.

"I think it's a strategic decision for the bank," Ebbeck said. "There's a foundation element to the decisions made here that involves SAP and the continuation of our long-term involvement with the bank."

The work has already begun on governance and designing the systems. Implementation would occur this year, he said.

Ebbeck declined to say how much the deal was for or how long it would run.

SAP grew its revenue this year in Australia and New Zealand by 11.3 per cent, according to the company. Ebbeck said that the region had been the most outstanding SAP hub in the world for the second year running.

The focus on different industries had pulled SAP through, according to Ebbeck, as while some industries such as government cut back on spending, others were still strong. He also pointed to SAP's strategy of no longer delivering on time and on budget, but on time, on budget and on value.

In a coup for Ebbeck, revenues from its subsidiary Business Objects, bought in 2007, have increased by 126 per cent.

"I think we finally got the integration of SAP and Business Objects together," he said.

Ebbeck said that Business Objects had been a special case in Australia, because although in other countries customer overlap had been around 30 per cent, in Australia it had been 70 per cent. It had been an additional challenge, but SAP had aligned its strategies to look at different capabilities the integration could bring, such as the product Business Objects Explorer.

Officeworks, Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co. Limited, Energy Australia, Queensland Office of State Revenue and Queensland Motorways had all gone live on SAP this year, he said.

SAP recently won five years' worth of work with Queensland Rail following another win earlier in the year. SAP will provide a complete platform for the rail's operations.