realTech obtains 51 percent of GloBE technology
Walldorf/Sandhausen, September 24th, 1999
Joint venture between realTech AG and SVC AG starts
operations under the name IT-GO!
Walldorf/Bielefeld, August 25th, 1999
Movement in the Market for Operating Systems
Walldorf/Baden, August 1999
realTech reports an increase in revenue of 58 percent in the first half of 1999
Walldorf/Mannheim/Frankfurt am Main, August 16th, 1999
realTech acquires software and IT consulting firm DB-Online
Walldorf/Mannheim, August 2nd 1999
realTech expanding SAP™ R/3© interface certified-tools and IT services
Philadelphia, 1999
realTech obtains rights to Interface Management Software
for SAP R/3 from Hewlett-Packard
Frankfurt am Main/Walldorf/Boeblingen, July 28th,1999
realTech obtains 51 percent of GloBE technology
A majority share in development company that specializes in Internet-based workflow solutions allows realTech to position itself as a leader in the Intranet market – An additional step in the company's plans for expansion through strategic acquisitions and cooperative endeavors
Walldorf/Sandhausen, September 24th, 1999 --- realTech AG of Walldorf, registered on the Frankfurter Stock Exchange in the Neuer Markt and specialist for technical SAP R/3 consulting, IT/Intranet services, and application management tools obtained 51 percent of GloBE technology GmbH. GloBE is located in Sandhausen near Walldorf. The purchase price is kept private. The company specializes in the conception, development, and implementation of integrated workflow solutions in Internet and Intranet infrastructures. The company was founded in 1998 and had sales of approximately 700,000 DEM in fiscal year 1998/99 and anticipates sales of 1.2 million DEM in the current fiscal year. The customers of GloBE technology consist primarily of groups from the financial services sector.
Markus Adam, Chairman of the board at realTech AG, stressed when announcing the majority control of GloBE technology, that this represents an important step in expanding the business area of IT/Intranet services and is part of the continuing fulfillment of the company's plans for expansion through strategic acquisitions and cooperative endeavors. Additionally, the expertise available to realTech will be expanded in the area of workflow solutions. Market watchers anticipate exponential growth in this area in the future. Especially mid-sized companies are establishing themselves more increasingly with workflow solutions, which enable an efficient control of decentralized companies. This again is a prerequisite for a successful existence in global markets. Thus, realTech AG has again increased it's palette of services for mid-sized companies as it did by founding a cooperative endeavor in August 1999 for the outsourcing of R/3 services for mid-sized companies.
Konrad Juli, business manager responsible for the areas company consulting and sales at GloBE technology, anticipates high growth potential for GloBE technology thanks to the expansion of software development resources and due to the combining of technology know-how as made available by both parties. The emphasis in the next few months will be the transfer of the experience gained in countless customer projects in which Internet-capable workflow products were put into practice. This allows mid-sized companies entry into this technological market at an attractive price. Here, support is available for internal application fields such as resource and project management as well as the setup of a knowledge base and e-commerce capabilities such as lead management, sales, service, and logistics control. The technical components are effectively geared towards existing standards in the Internet technology environment. With the existing expertise of realTech in the technical R/3 environment, the connection of GloBE products to R/3 Systems is ensured.
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Joint venture between realTech AG and SVC AG starts business under the name IT-GO!
R/3 outsourcing specialist for mid-sized companies with headquarters in Walldorf / Company expected to break even in first year
Walldorf/Bielefeld, August 25th, 1999 --- The joint venture, IT-GO!, between SAP R/3 specialist realTech AG of Walldorf and SVC AG of Bielefeld opened for business yesterday as agreed upon in June of 1999. The listing with the commerce department in Heidelberg with be completed in August 1999. The company, which offers complete SAP R/3 services for outsourcing solutions to mid-sized companies, will have its headquarters in Walldorf next to SAP AG.
The directors of the new company will be André Fischer, previously responsible for remote services at realTech, and Markus Kellermeyer, previously responsible for IT at SVC. IT-GO! already has eight customers under contract and is currently in contact with additional interested parties. SVC AG and realTech AG both have a 50 percent stake in the new company and anticipate that IT-GO! will break even in its first year of business.
By founding IT-GO!, the two founding companies expect to meet the increasing demand of small and mid-sized companies for outsourcing services in the SAP R/3 environment. As an outsourcing expert for mid-sized companies, the new company will concentrate on providing high-quality and innovative outsourcing services to R/3 customers at competitive prices using modern, high-performance technology.
Considering the comprehensive expertise that SVC and realTEch both have in the SAP R/3 field, IT-GO! will have a high amount of synergy that will be made fully available to the customers of the new company.
Based on the prognosis that the demand for outsourcing solutions in the R/3 environment will increase by an average of fourty percent per year in Europe, the founding companies anticipate high profit margins with a large number of customers.
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Movement in the Market for Operating Systems
Windows 2000 and pilot projects for R/3 using Linux provide companies with new perspectives when making IT-related decisions. Linux still has to establish itself before it can seriously threaten the market shares of Unix and NT. Heated competition will benefit the customer once all providers have to fight for their share
Walldorf/Baden, August 1999. What is the best operating system to use when implementing SAP R/3? Clear answers to this question have been in high demand ever since Shooting-Star Linux became a potential competitor to Unix and NT a few months ago. The Linuxlab that was set up by SAP has drawn a lot of interest with its pilot projects and first customer shipment of R/3 for Linux. The version will be available this fall. Experts predict that this operating system definitely has possibilities in the R/3 market. In the long run, it could effect the market share of NT.
Linux on the move
An IDC study determined that Linux was able to increase its market share in 1998 from 7 to 17 percent. This corresponds to an increase of 212 percent. In comparison, Windows NT had a market share of 36 percent and a percentage increase of 27 percent in the same year. Based on this development, leading software companies have reacted by offering solutions and projects for Linux. The argument that there was no application support for the server side of the equation is thus no longer valid. High performance, stability, and security are additional advantages that have been brought into play for Linux. At least some of the popular benchmark studies of our time have come to the result that Linux and NT are comparable to each other. Notwithstanding, other studies have noted significant deficiencies in the scalability of Linux when operating symmetrical multiprocessors (SMP). However, these problems are currently being dealt with intensively. This takes place on a voluntary basis by countless programmers in the world. They ensure a fast, continual development of Linux. It remains to be seen if this model can function over time, since many providers are making a lot of money with their Linux distributions and books. This commercialization is, however, in demand by the large producers, since they want to see clear goals as to future development and reliable support. Linux will surely find a place with R/3 users. The question that remains is how many of them will actually select this operating system as a strategic platform and whether the past growth in market share will continue on in a similar fashion.
Awaiting Windows 2000
Windows NT, on the other hand, is already a well-positioned giant in the R/3 market and is the first choice by more than 70 percent of the new R/3 customers in the market for mid-sized companies. Even so, the weaknesses in comparison to Unix Systems are continually being discussed in regards to scalability, stability, and security. Professionals also complain about the extensive administration requirements. Here, Windows 2000, the successor of NT, is expected to provide relief. Most important for R/3 users are the new features for administration, software distribution, user management, and security. With Microsoft Management for example, you can display consoles, applications, and even network functions, and you can use these tools for administrative functions. One tool should take care of the integration with the R/3 System, so that the administration of R/3 servers is simplified in one Windows 2000 environment. According to Microsoft and SAP, the Active Directory will help simplify the management of R/3 under Windows 2000. Via all objects in the company's network, this program provides the administrators with the information they need. Additionally, it allows the company to set up their company structure including all affiliates. Joern Haase, certified technical SAP consultant, an employee of SAP consulting partner realTech commented, "Especially relevant for R/3 users is that Windows 2000 will allow you to prioritize network transactions. With this, SAPGUI data can be listed as having priority over file or e-mail transfers." The automatic installation of applications such as SAPGUI is interesting when considering software distribution: With this, the administrator can determine which applications always have to be available for certain users. If one of these applications is not available, it is automatically installed on the system.
New applications: Available first for NT
According to Haase, many realTech customers decide to use NT because NT know-how in mid-sized companies is more common and easier to obtain than Unix know-how. "For our customers, NT systems are less-costly to obtain, implement, and operate than Unix. Additionally, the switch to an NT server is easier, since the administrators already have experience with Windows from the client side and can thus put this information to use." In mixed system environments - with Unix servers and NT clients - a migration to NT creates an homogenous IT landscape. Another plus for NT is that SAP AG provides plenty of support for Microsoft systems, since new components for SAP R/3 are almost always made available for NT a few months prior to being available for Unix. An example of this is the Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO), which has been available for NT since the start of 1999 and will not be available for Unix until the Fall of 1999. The R/3 Internet connection with the Internet Transaction Server (ITS) is currently only available for NT. As a result, companies that plan to implement these products are advised to go with NT. Also, SAP strongly supports Windows 2000: As was the case with the forerunner version NT 4.0, the release of the new operating system should be available at the same time as the new R/3 version for this operating system.
Mr Haase sees the increased competition as a positive trend for R/3 users. He noted, "The new developments in Windows 2000 and R/3 for Linux have dealt the market for operating systems new cards. Providers need to refocus their product development to meet the needs of the market." It is always advisable to take advantage of competent technical consulting, especially for new customers, so they can obtain the solution that is best for them.
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realTech reports an increase in revenue of 58 percent in the first half of 1999
Especially strong growth with the sale of its software products – Continued strong growth expected for the second half of the year – Implementation of first strategic acquisitions and cooperative alignments, completed within two months of initial public offering – Spanish subsidiary profitable in first year
Walldorf/Mannheim/Frankfurt am Main, August 16th, 1999 --- realTech AG of Walldorf, specialist for technical SAP R/3 consulting, IT/Intranet and application management tools and listed on the Frankfurter Stock Exchange outdid revenues of the first half of 1998 by 58 percent, better than the planned revenue increase of 45 percent. The company's revenue is based on US GAAP standards. The company achieved revenues in the first six months of 1999 of 23,8 million German marks and thus obtained already 70 percent of last fiscal years revenues of 33.7 million marks.
More than satisfactory was the development of its software product sales. In the first half of the reporting year, the company achieved sales of 1,1 million marks in this division (0,5 million in the first six months of 1998) and thus nearly achieved the same volume of sales as reached in the entire fiscal year 1998. In July, 1999, this division obtained an additional large order to supply software in the value of 300.000 marks.
Increase in profit as well
The operating profit, that is, the income before interest and tax considerations (EBIT), was 3,18 million marks in the six months of the reporting year, compared to 5,48 million marks for the year 1998. The net income was 1,85 million marks compared to 1,62 million marks for fiscal year 1998. This corresponds to a profit per stock of 0,37 marks – based on a volume of five million stocks. The results were achieved despite the higher expenses incurred for developing new business areas. They included: the founding of a joint venture company with SVC AG for the marketing of R/3 outsourcing to mid-sized companies, obtaining of rights to the Interface Management Software for SAP R/3 IM/3 from Hewlett Packard, the acquisition of the software company DB-Online, and the start-up of a subsidiary in Spain. Since this new business center and the acquisitions were not expected, they were not considered in the company‘s planning for 1999.
Markus Adam, CEO of realTech, and Daniele Di Croce, CFO, announced these figures to the press today. They emphasized that they expect the second half of 1999 as well as the year 2000 to continue to show growth in sales and profits. Additionally, they expect the have considerably less interest expense for the entire year 1999 than in 1998, due mainly to short-term loans taken in 1997.
Quick implementation of acquisition and cooperative strategies
As part of the company's strategy for consistent growth, realTech acquired development and support responsibility for Hewlett-Packard's Interface Management Software for SAP R/3 (HP IM/3), joined with SVC AG to form a joint venture company for marketing SAP R/3 outsourcing in mid-sized companies, and acquired software and IT consulting firm DB-Online. All of this was accomplished within two months of the company's successful initial public offering on the Frankfurter Stock Exchange in the Neuer Markt.
Acquisition of rights to Hewlett-Packard's Interface Management Software for SAP R/3
By acquiring the rights to the Interface Management Software for SAP R/3, the future marketing of the software will be accomplished by realTech and Hewlett Packard together using the new name realTech InterfaceManager IM/3. Working closely together with SAP R/3 consulting and implementation partners will also be an important element of the company's marketing strategy for this software. The current system support for existing and new customers is guaranteed by realTech's international presence. With extensive expertise in the SAP R/3 sector, realTech has the ability to continue the technological development of the interface software using the most current SAP R/3 technology. Under its new name, the certified software tool will remain a part of SAP AG's Complementary Software Program.
Joint venture for R/3 outsourcing for mid-sized companies
Based on the increasing demand by mid-sized companies for complete business software solutions from one source and in combination with the growth of R/3 outsourcing, realTech formed a joint venture with SVC AG in June 1999. SVC AG is also a SAP consulting specialist. Both companies hold half of the newly formed company. The new company, which should start business in the third quarter of 1999, will be an outsourcing expert for mid-sized companies and will concentrate on demanding and innovative services for R/3 users at attractive prices. The short-term goal for the company is a place under the leading outsourcing providers for mid-sized companies in Germany. One emphasis of the newly formed company is to access the smaller mid-sized company market, since R/3 business software is now within reach for them as well.
Acquisition of software company DB-Online Also in line with its strategic growth goals, realTech acquired DB-Online GmbH of Mannheim. The acquisition, which was announced in August 1999, is retroactive to October 1st, 1998, the beginning of DB-Online's current fiscal year. The software company has 38 employees and expects sales of seven million marks and a pre-tax profit of 0.5 million marks for the current fiscal year.
Additional focuses of the company in the area of technical SAP R/3 consulting are SAP R/3 application development and the development of system-related tools for the areas of database administration, tuning, and system development with DUO/2000 being its most important product in this category. This product is an easy to use, platform independent instrument for database administration and enhances the product palette of realTech. Another business area of DB-Online is the development of Oracle database application systems and application consultation in this sector.
Number of employees grows faster than anticipated
In consideration of the demands of the market, realTech has increased the number of employees through July 1st, 1999 by 85 employees, raising the number to 270 worldwide. This corresponds to a growth rate that is 12 percent higher than planned.
Spanish subsidiary profitable in initial year
The 100% subsidiary of realTech system consulting S.L. with headquarters in Madrid opened for business on April 1st, 1999. After a smooth start, the subsidiary already has about 30 customers. These customers include Iberdrola (largest power producer in Spain), Leche Pasqual (larger milk supplier in the country), Maesa Hella, Henkel, Seat, and SAP. Within two months of starting operations, the business center already had eight employees. The Spanish subsidiary expects a constant growth in sales from July 1999 on. For July, 1999, the Spanish subsidiary expects sales to increase and to show a profit for the first time.
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realTech acquires software and IT consulting firm DB-Online
Strategic acquisition to strengthen planned growth
Walldorf/Mannheim, August 2nd 1999 --- realTech AG of Walldorf, specialist for technical SAP R/3 consulting, IT/Intranet services, and application management tools acquired software and IT consulting firm DB-Online GmbH of Mannheim. realTech is listed on the Neuer Markt of the Frankfurter Stock Exchange. The acquisition is effective retroactively as of October 1st, 1998, the beginning of the current fiscal year 1998/99 for DB-Online. To confirm the unified effort to provide continuity in the company, realTech paid one-fourth of the purchase price in the form of stocks. Both parties agreed to keep the purchase price private. DB-Online expects around seven million German marks in sales revenue for the current year with an estimated pre-tax income of one-half million marks. In the following fiscal year, sales revenue is expected to increase to ten million marks with a pre-tax income of three-quarters of a million marks.
The company, founded in 1990, is much like realTech, in that it specialized in technical SAP R/3 consultation. Additional focuses of the company are SAP R/3 application development, and the development of system related tools for the areas of database administration, tuning, and system development with DUO/2000 as the most important product in this category. DUO/2000 enhances the product palette of realTech with software tools for the operation of computer centers. Since DUO/2000 is programmed using the computer language JAVA, it is an especially easy to use, platform independent instrument for database administration. This will also ensure a problem-free integration of these tools in future operating systems that are oriented towards network computing. An additional business area of DB-Online is the development of Oracle database application systems as well as application consultation in this sector.
Markus Adam, CEO of realTech, pointed out the synergies gained for both companies when announcing the acquisition of DB-Online. Especially important for realTech is the access to the large customers, who were serviced of by DB-Online. Additionally, realTech will put to use the expertise of DB-Online in the area of SAP R/3 application development for optimizing support and continuing development of Software InterfaceManager IM/3, a software tool, which the company recently obtained.
Gerhard Schaefer, manager of DB-Online, stressed the possibilities that can be reached with the increased access to capital and know-how for the future development of DB-Online. The managers and employees of DB-Online have welcomed the acquisition of the company by realTech without any hesitation. The 38 employees of the company will become realTech employees.
DB-Online, which will for now continue to operate as an independent company, expands and enhances the product and service spectrum of realTech and the acquisition is part of the company's strategy of planned growth. The acquired company has its headquarters in Mannheim and business centers in Munich, Dusseldorf, and in the near future in Hamburg. These business centers will continue to operate independent of realTech’s business centers in these cities. In spite of the present independence, synergy will be created through the close cooperation of both companies business centers, allowing joint projects to be carried out.
Customers of DB-Online include ABB, Bilfinger & Berger Bau, Boehringer Ingelheim, Deutsche Post, Henkel, Oracle, SAP, and Siemens Business Services.
In 1997 realTech had reached sales of 17 million German marks and had nearly 100 employees in five countries at the end of the year. realTech was quickly able to compete in the international market: in 1995, the first subsidiary in the United States was founded. Continuing with their success, they founded subsidiaries in Italy (1996), Australia and New Zealand (1997), and England and Singapore (1998). By the end of the year 2000, 350 employees and 20 different sites will represent realTech worldwide.
The success of the company is based in part on the R/3 know-how of the founders, this knowledge being passed on to the employees, and on the lean organizational structure. Only every twelfth employee works in management or administration. The main mission and recipe of success for realTech is to provide the highest level of customer orientation at the lowest possible cost.
At the end of 1997, all company activities were brought together at the headquarters of realTech AG in Walldorf. This allows REALTECH to let its employees participate in their targeted success. In 1999, realTech plans to join the new market in order to achieve their lofty plans for expansion.
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realTech expanding SAP™ R/3© interface certified-tools and IT services
SAP TechEd ’99 Philadelphia : realTech AG presents first new features of theGuard! 2.0 — Alert Engine now as a stand-alone solution for monitoring SAP™ R/3© solutions - new intranet and SAP Knowledge Warehouse services
Philadelphia, 1999. realTech AG, market leader for technical SAP R/3 consulting, is going to present its new services for intranet and SAP Knowledge Warehouse and the first new features of theGuard! 2.0 at SAP TechEd in Philadelphia (August 29 - September 2 in Booth 408). The SAP R/3 implementation partner has taken the alert engine out of the architecture of theGuard! and developed it into the new stand-alone solution, called CommCenter. It alerts system administrators without delay if the agents or the monitoring console of theGuard! discover any issues within R/3. The advantages of the modular design are the scalability of this product, additional alerting options, e.g. via ISDN, and load balancing. Several CommCenters can now be used, processing the responses in parallel. Also, CommCenter as a stand-alone solution can be integrated into enterprise management tools and MS Exchange, making its alert features available also on systems provided by 3rd parties.
All IT services provided by the same source
Another highlight is the new service for major IT projects and the development of eCommerce solutions. realTech implements integrated solutions on various platforms. IT consulting is focused on technical project management, the implementation and administration of web servers, MS Exchange servers, and internet access and firewalls.
SAP Knowledge Warehouse (Info DB 4)
Since 1996, realTech has installed more than 250 Information Databases for SAP customers and partners. Our services include the implementation of the SAP Knowledge Warehouse from the planning stage to go live. In addition to performing the installation we also offer migration services for customers of previous releases of Info DB.
SAP R/3 migration training
In addition to its effective migration services covering all current R/3 operating system platforms and all databases, realTech supports in particular R/3 database migrations from the MS SQL Server 6.5 to 7.0. In cooperation with SAP AG and Microsoft, realTech provides conversion training courses exclusively for SAP Basis consultants.
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realTech obtains rights to Interface Management Software for SAP R/3 from Hewlett-Packard
Agreement between Hewlett-Packard and realTech for the development and marketing of Interface Management Software IM/3
Frankfurt am Main/Walldorf/Boeblingen, July 28th,1999 --- realTech AG of Walldorf, specialist for technical SAP R/3 consulting and IT/Intranet services, and developer of application management Tools, and Hewlett-Packard GmbH of Boeblingen, worldwide leading provider of products, solutions, and services for information and print processing in the commercial and private sectors, announced today the transfer of development and support responsibilities of HP Interface Management Software for SAP R/3 (HP IM/3) to realTech. Hewlett-Packard has thus found a partner in realTech, who, thanks to its strong SAP R/3 back- ground, can ensure the continued technological development of the interface software using the most current SAP R/3 technology.
The product will be marketed by realTech and the Complementary Products Organization of Hewlett-Packard, with the product being know as "realTech InterfaceManager IM/3". An important element of realTech‘s marketing strategy for realTech InterfaceManager IM/3 will be to continue to work closely with SAP R/3 consulting and implementation partners. System support for existing and new customers will be ensured by realTech with its international presence.
The software tool will be sold under the new name as a BAPI validated software, part of SAP‘s Complementary Software Program. With this solution, many of Hewlett-Packards customers were able to successfully use IM/3 during the implementation of SAP R/3 Systems.
Since the SAP environment is one of Hewlett-Packard‘s main areas of focus, realTech IM/3, as part of Interface Management, will continue to play an important role in this area. For realTech, working together with Hewlett-Packard means a strategic enhancement of its own product portfolio, especially since realTech is continually working on solutions for interfaces between R/3 and other applications as part of its consulting activities. The agreement with Hewlett-Packard also avails access to SAP Enterprise Accounts for realTech‘s other complementing products. Thus, realTech will be able to strengthen its growth strategy by achieving strong growth with its products, in addition to its consulting business.
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