New IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager

ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced a new service aimed at helping businesses automate the flow of
information across IT service desk operations, resulting in faster incident
management and issue resolution, higher employee productivity and lower
operational costs.


(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )


Many large enterprises have several IT service desks to support both internal
and external organizations, sometimes spanning multiple divisions and
geographies. One service desk might handle reports of IT incidents related to
the broader IT infrastructure of a company, while another may manage specific
business applications. This IT environment often requires manual processes to
route incidents to the right organizations.


IBM is addressing this issue for users of IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager
and the IT service desk of the SAP® Solution Manager application management
solution. The new offering from IBM Software Services for Tivoli helps
customers design and implement a complete incident management strategy. As
part of the service, customers can use IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager
version 7.1 software, now SAP-certified for integration with SAP Solution
Manager 7.0 via the service desk interface scenario (SMG-SDI 4.0), to
automatically route incidents to the appropriate groups across the enterprise,
regardless of the environment in which the incident originated.


As a result, the new services can provide a quicker resolution to incidents
related to the SAP environment, improving its availability and the quality of
related business services. The services can also help companies reduce
operating costs through centralized support coordination and data
consolidation.


"Businesses are looking for new ways to improve the effectiveness of their IT
service delivery organizations and lower costs," said Al Zollar, general
manager, IBM Tivoli Software. "The use of IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager
integrated and used in combination with the service desk software from SAP can
help our joint clients respond to their customers' needs faster, eliminate
manual processes, and drive more value out of service desk data."


Customers who currently use Tivoli Service Request Manager and the IT service
desk of SAP Solution Manager can take advantage of this new service. For
example, if an incident opened in Tivoli Service Request Manager pertains to
an application in the SAP environment, all the information about the incident
will be automatically sent to the IT service desk that handles those issues in
SAP Solution Manager. The issue can be tracked and managed centrally; there
is no re-entry of data, and no manual hand-off between the groups.


"The certified integration of IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager with the IT
service desk of SAP Solution Manager is a significant step forward for our
joint customers," said Dr. Matthias Melich, vice president, Application
Lifecycle Management, SAP Active Global Support. "The integration allows
Tivoli users to also benefit from the integration of SAP Solution Manager with
SAP's support infrastructure, which in turn provides fast access to SAP's
world-class global network of support consultants. The results are tangible:
Joint SAP and IBM Tivoli customers receive higher support quality and faster
responses through the integration if problems occur."


IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager provides an integrated service desk and
catalog for a "one touch" IT experience. This integrated service desk software
unifies and automates key service support and asset management processes. This
level of integration is made possible by IBM and SAP taking a leadership role
in the development of open architectures.


The SAP Solution Manager application management solution facilitates lifecycle
support for heterogeneous SAP solutions, with functionality that covers all
key aspects of solution deployment, operation, and continuous improvement. SAP
Solution Manager combines tools, content, and direct access to SAP support
services to increase the reliability of solutions and lower total cost of
ownership.


For more than 35 years, IBM and SAP have collaborated to bring joint customers
offerings to improve business efficiency at more than 13,000 client sites for
their millions of users.


For more information, visit www.ibm.com/software/tivoli/services/consulting.


SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in
Germany and in several other countries.


All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their
respective companies.


SAP Forward-looking Statement
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.


Leigh Ann Schmidt
IBM Media Relations
914-766-1362
leighanns@us.ibm.com





SOURCE IBM

Leigh Ann Schmidt of IBM Media Relations, +1-914-766-1362,
leighanns@us.ibm.com

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