Dear all, for ERP Users & Recruiters..



SAP AG today launched Business Suite 7, pitching the software as a more flexible and cost-effective option amid lean economic times.



The suite includes more than 150 new "functional innovations" in areas such as customer relationship management, supply chain management and industry-specific applications. It also continues SAP's emerging "enhancement package" strategy, which allows users to add functionality they want without the pain of a full upgrade.



Business Suite 7 is a major watershed for SAP because it aligns the vendor's various modules for the first time on a single underlying platform, according Forrester Research Inc. analyst Ray Wang.



SAP "had to" do this, Wang said.



"People have had this perception that it's this one integrated system, but the reality is the [systems integrators] have been tying all these [modules] together, making them work," he said.



SAP's move is also meant to lure customers on older SAP systems, such as R/3, to adopt its NetWeaver platform, which is required for Business Suite 7, Wang added.



SAP will reveal more about the release, which also features improved user interfaces and blends in business intelligence functionality that the company got with its acquisition of Business Objects SA, during an event later today in New York.



- Rajeev.