Energy ICT Innovative ICT Solutions for the Energy Sector ... · SAP Offerings for Market...

35
8 th German African Energy Forum 2014 13.-15. April 2014 Hamburg Energy ICT Innovative ICT Solutions for the Energy Sector in Africa Hamburg, 15.04.2015

Transcript of Energy ICT Innovative ICT Solutions for the Energy Sector ... · SAP Offerings for Market...

8th German African Energy Forum 201413.-15. April 2014 Hamburg

Energy ICT – Innovative ICT Solutions for the

Energy Sector in Africa

Hamburg, 15.04.2015

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 2

Energy ICT – Innovative ICT Solutions for the Energy

Sector in Africa

The Panel setup, Agenda

SAP, Fritz Schwarzländer

Energy market unbundling and liberalization in the EU –

Applicable for Africa?

Moderation

Panelists and breakdown topics/examples

T-Systems

Helena Herselman

Flexible Smart Metering with

a Focus on Pre-Paid

Solutions for the African

Market

Rolta

Pankit Desai

Driving business

outcomes through

Operational Excellence for

the Energy Sector

8th German African Energy Forum 201413.-15. April 2014 Hamburg

Energy ICT – Innovative ICT Solutions for the Energy Sector in Africa

Energy market unbundling and liberalization in the EU –

Applicable for Africa?

Fritz Schwarzländer, Industry Advisor Utilities, EMEA/MEE

Hamburg, 15.04.2014

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 4

Agenda

History of Unbundling and Market Liberalization in the EU

Existing Models, Lessons learned

Common Characteristics & Requirements, Trends

Applicable for Africa ?

SAP Offerings for Market Liberalization and Unbundling

History of Unbundling and Market Liberalization in the EU

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 6

History of Legislation for the Internal EU market

The liberalization of the energy market in the EU started in 1996 with the Directive on the electricity internal market 96/92/EC followed by the corresponding gas directive 98/30/EC in 1998 (" the 1. Package")

This was followed by the so called "Accelaration Directives" in 2003: 2003/54/EC for electricity and 2003/55/EC for gas

Ending up so far in the "3th package" today consisting of 5 directives/ regulations:

• ACER Regulation (EC) No 713/2009

• Electricity Cross-Border Regulation (EC) No 714/2009

• Gas Cross-Border Regulation (EC) No 715/2009

• Electricity Directive 2009/72/EC

• Gas Directive 2009/73/EC.

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 7

Laws and Regulations within the Utility Industry Result in

Identical Requirements, but Different Solutions

1992 1995 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20071991

Strom-

einspeisungs-

gesetz

Mineralöl-

steuer-

gesetz

Dritte

Wärme-

schutz-

verordnung

Neufassung

Energiewirt-

schaftsgeset

z

(EnWG)

Novelle

Heizungsanlage

n-

verordnung

Stromsteuer-

gesetz

Anpassung

Mineralöl-

steuer-

gesetz

Einstieg in

Ökologische

Steuerrefor

m

Gesetz zur

Förderung der

Kraft-Wärme-

Kopplung

Gesetz für

den Vorrang

Erneuerbarer

Energien

(EEG)

Änderung

Mineralöl-

steuer-

gesetz

Energiespar-

verordnung

(EnEv)

Nationales

Programm zur

Reduktion von

Luftschadstoffe

n

Novelle

Atomgesetz

Gesetz zur

Fortentwicklung

der

Ökologischen

Steuerreform

Gesetz zur

Erhaltung,

Modernisierung

und Ausbau

der Kraft-

Wärme-

Kopplung

(KWKG)Erste Novelle

EnWGÄnderung

Mineralöl-

steuer-

gesetz

Erste Novelle

EEG

Erste Novelle

EnEV

Gesetz über

den Handel mit

Berechtigunge

n zur

Emmission von

Treibhaus-

gasen

(TEHG)

Zweites

Gesetz zur

Neuregelung

des EnSTG

Niederdruck-

anschluss-

verordnung

(NDAV)

Gasgrund-

versorgungs

-verordnung

(GasGVV)

Energie-

steuergesetz

(EnSTG)

Stromgrund-

versorgungs

-verordnung

(StromGVV)

Nieder-

spannungs-

anschluss-

verordnung

(NAV) Anreiz-

regulierungs

-

verordnung

(AregV)

Kraftwerks-

Netzanschluss

-verordnung

(KraftNAV)

Quelle:

BMWi (2008)

2009

Dynamic gas

consumption

billing (G685)

2010

Meter

Operator

(IDEX-GM)

Example Germany

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 8

Forms of unbundling Organizational implementation Distinguish from

Accounting and year-

end closing of

divisions

Information within an

organizationInformation-related

unbundling

Departments within an

organization

Organizational

unbundling

Organization and

decision management

Management-

related unbundling

Companies for different

divisions

Legal unbundling

Owner of divisional

company

Property rights-

related unbundling

Sta

tus q

uo

2003

Fro

m 1

.7.2

007

Degree of unbundling State intervention

Accounting-related

unbundlingHolding

Distributor Supplier

HoldingDistributor Supplier

HoldingDistributor/Supplier

HoldingDistributor Supplier

HoldingDistributor Supplier

The progress of Unbundling in the EU

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 9

General Situation in the EU today

The markets for commercial and industrial customers (C&I) are all open; for household customers to a very far extend. Germany also has liberalized metering (also UK and NL to some extend)

The switching rate – the activity of the markets – is completely different mainly due to still regulated prices for household customers (57% of all households in the EU) and still missing detailed rules for market communication in some countries.

The rules for market processes and communication differ from country to country. There is only one common approach among the members of the ebIX-group but with different implementation per country (only CH is using 100% „pure“ ebIX). Only the nordics countries decided to harmonize their rules so far (until 2015)

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 10

„Going live“ of Liberalized Markets

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 11

Levels of Switching Activity 2012

Classification of retail market

According to VaasaETT

Classes of Switching rates

Dormant <1%

-Cool Active 1-3 %

Active 3-7%

-Warm active 8-14%

Hot>15%

-Super hot >20%

Existing Models, Lessons learned

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 13

How the Utilities World is Changing…Understanding Unbundling I

Dimensions

• Processes (e.g. change of supplier, billing of grid usage, balancing)

• Communication (intra- and intercompany, network processes, communication-hubs)

• System architecture (1 and 2 contract models, split clients, split systems)

• non discriminating access to data, compliance, regulatory reporting

Different extend of unbundling per country

• account-, informational/ organizational-, legal-, ownership unbundling

• deminimis rules

Concerned Market roles/-participants

• Supply, Distribution, Transport, Metering, (Generation)

• liberalized / regulated and non regulated lines of business

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 14

How the Utilities World is Changing…Understanding Unbundling II

Different national stages of maturity concerning processes and communication

• weak, e.g. Italy (no elaborated standards for processes, minimum dataexchangeformat = csv; currently under way to build a clearinghouse)

• elaborated, e.g. Germany (mandatory standard process descriptions for most relevant processes and corresponding dataexchange messages – EDIFACT)

• high sophisticated, e.g. UK (300 processes and corresponding data formats)

Different approaches to communication and process execution

• peer to peer (or network with new market roles) in most countries

• first countries with central market systems (usually not enforced by regulator, but set up by an association of utilities). Countries differ strongly in their coverage of tasks

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 15

Level of complexity of market requirements in comparison SAP’s point of view

lower

higher

IDEX-CH Switzerland

IDEX-NL Netherlands

IDEX-IT Italy

IDEX-AU Austria

IDEX-GE/GG GermanyIDEX-ES Spain

IDEX-CZ Czech Republic (Clearing house)

IDEX-UK United Kingdom

IDEX-SK Slovak Republic

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 16

European influence on Energy solutionsExpectations on the Harmonization Roadmap

Central South Liberalization Hub

(Connecting markets)

Central East Central West

Baltic UK & Ireland

Northern South West

ERGEG’s 8 Regional Markets (currently only Electricity)

time

today Mid-term outlook(according to ERGEG)

1 ~ 10 years from now (est.)

Long-term outlook

~20 years from now (est.)

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 17

Harmonization challengesAccording to ebIX Organization

Several bodies are involved in making e-business standards in the European energy market

The rules, legislation, organization and level of deregulation differs between countries and regions

Complex and changing business processes

• Electricity and gas

• Whole-sale (upstream) and retail (downstream)

Cooperation across boundaries:

Moving towards ONE European energy market

Special planning requirements for electricity

Huge data volumes

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 18

Standardization at EU level – The ebIX organization

CuS

EMVR

National

ebIX groups

National

projects ETCMembers:

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Norway

Netherlands

Switzerland

Sweden

ETC ebIX Technical Committee

EMD ebIX Exchange of Metered Data project

CuS ebIX structuring of the energy market (Customer Switching) project

EMVR ebIX and ETSO Metered Value Report project

Observers:

Austria

Bulgaria

Estonia

Finland

France

Greece

Nord Pool

EMD

Eurelectric/ebIX

Liaison group

ebIX, EFET and ENTSO-E

Harmonisation group

New meber in 2010:

Slowenia

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 19

1. Harmonization of vocabulary

2. Definition of terms

3. Identification of roles and domains

4. Shows responsibilities

Identification of

Roles of actors

Identification of geographical

and functional

domains

ebIX, EFET and ENTSO-EHarmonized Role Model

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 20

Harmonization: The Example of the Nordic Market

NordREG has formulated its vision for

development of electricity markets:

All Nordic electricity customers will enjoy

a free choice of supplier, efficient and

competitive prices and reliable supply

through the internal Nordic and

European electricity market.

(Source: NordREG publication)

Objective of the Nordic end-user market

integration is:

The roles and responsibilities of different

market actors and the processes

between them are adequately

harmonized in the Nordic countries to

make it smooth and feasible for the

suppliers to start operating also in the

other Nordic countries. Also the

framework of customer empowerment

should be adequately secured so that

the customer can buy electricity from any

supplier with a confidence.

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 21

Harmonization: Nordic Market Principles

Definition of the market model

Definition of the processes

Contracts between the market participants (including also customers)

Involved processes

• Creating and ending contracts

• Billing

• Supplier switching

• Moving

• Balance settlement

• Metering

• Information exchange during supply

• Access to customer data

Common Characteristics & Requirements, Trends

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 23

Prerequisites for Competition and a Functioning Retail Market

Unbundling (up to legal unbundling) across the value chain including separation of retail and distribution (so far the case in EU with a few exceptions regarding retail and distribution)

Clear definition of roles and responsibilities of market roles and market participants (a task for the regulator)

Clear codes / decrees on (a task for the regulator) for- Grid access - Grid fees

Clear definition of market processes and relevant (automated) market communication (data formats, use cases - a task for the regulator)

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 24

IT Solutions for Liberalized Markets

… cover the communication between (deregulated and regulated) market participants, such as the communication between Retailer, Distributor, Meter Operator etc. – aiming at national legal compliancetowards:

• message formats

• the market communication process

… over the process management

• message-triggered processes such as change of supplier, move-in, move-out, device disconnection, distributor invoicing, supplier payments etc.

… maximize the automation of market message processing, so that the Utilities‘ call center staff can be minimized and can concentrate on working on the message exceptions only.

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 25

DGO

“meter operator”

metering

service

Supplier

Example market setup (roles and market participiants)

Point of

delivery

mp

Balance Responsible

Party

Trade Responsible

Party

Party Connected

to Grid

Grid Operator

Meter Administrator

Meter Operator

Meter

Register

Metered Data

Collector

Metered Data Responsible

Balance Supplier

Metering Point

Admin

Grid Access

Provider

Metered Data Aggregator

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 26

Example processChange of Supplier

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 27

Typical Business Processes Across Roles

Contract Management

Change of Supplier

Move-in / Move-out

Customer / Contract Change

Start of supply / End of supply

Quotation

Quotation processing (triggered from

Supplier)

Technical Services

POD technical changes

Device Exchange

Disconnection / Reconnection

request

Other master data changes

Other service requests

Energy Settlement

Forecasting (Supplier)

Profile Aggregation (Distributor)

Meter to cash

Meter reading result transmission

Distributor invoice

Supplier payment

Grid usage

billing

Internal processes

Error management

(Process) Monitoring

Statistical / history reportingRegulatory reporting

How often does the regulator change

the rules?

Smart Meter

Tariff table setup

Disconnection / Reconnection

Other home automation services

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 28

Trends in Grid Usage Billing Country Analysis

Legal Invoice per PoD Legal Invoice per Retailer

Consumption based The DSO sends

for each point of

delivery a bill to

the retailer

Tax statement

on Retail level

Calculation

details on PoD

level

Calculation on

aggregated

consumption per

PoD group

Capacity based (Fixed charges only) Billing details on

PoD level

Calculation on

aggregated

number of PoDs

per capacity

class

(S)

A D

B

F

IRL

P

SK

NL

GB

NL

20

09

NL2012(?)

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 29

Trend for Clearing HousesReduction of Complexity

OTE, Czech Republic

Emix, Sweden

Nubix, Norway

ESDN (ECH), NL

MRSO, Ireland

“energinet”, DK

“DCC”, UK

Belgium, Atrias (planned)

Italy (in implementation)

Poland (in preparation)

Germany (rising hub discussion – SM-Gateway)

NEMMCO Australia

Texas

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 30

High level Functionality of a Clearing House“Generic max. Approach”

The staggered elements of a Clearing House in general

Allocation

Settlement

Reconc.

(Infeed)(Data preparation)

Consumption

Grid fee(calculation only)

Meter data

Energy Data Management

Metering Point

Administration (PoD, Device, Customer,

Supply Szenario …)

Structuring

(CoS, Move..)

Analytics, Statistics, Business Intelligence

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 31

Customer Example ArchitecturesSystem split

Variant 1:

Integrated System R/3 – IS-U

1 System, 2 Clients

Variant 2:

Integrated System R/3 – IS-U

2 Systems

Variant 3a:

Integrated System R/3 – IS-U

1 System, 2 Clients, Core in LIEF

Variant 6 (3b):

Integrated System R/3 – IS-U

1 Systems, 2 Clients, Core in NETZ

Variant 4:

Separated System R/3 – IS-U

2 Systeme, 3 Clients

Variant 5:

Separated System R/3 – IS-U

2 Systems, 4 Clients

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

SAP-System

Mandant LIEF

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U IS-U

Mandant NETZ

Controlling

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSGSEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

SAP-System

Mandant LIEF

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U IS-U

Mandant NETZ

Controlling

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

SAP-System NETZ SAP-System LIEF

Mandant LIEF

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U IS-U

Mandant NETZ

Controlling

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSGSEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

SAP-System NETZ SAP-System LIEF

Mandant LIEF

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U IS-U

Mandant NETZ

Controlling

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Mandant LIEF

Core + IS-U-System

IS-U

Mandant NETZ

Minimal-Core

Buchungskreis

Lieferant YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Buchungskreis

Netz XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U

Buchungskreis

Netz XXXX

BuKr-übergreifendes

Controlling möglich

ALE - Schnittstelle

Kommunikation zwischen

Marktpartnern

Intercompany Abbildung

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSGSEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Mandant LIEF

Core + IS-U-System

IS-U

Mandant NETZ

Minimal-Core

Buchungskreis

Lieferant YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Buchungskreis

Netz XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U

Buchungskreis

Netz XXXX

BuKr-übergreifendes

Controlling möglich

ALE - Schnittstelle

Kommunikation zwischen

Marktpartnern

Intercompany Abbildung

IS-U IS-U

Mandant LIEF Mandant NETZ

IS-U – System

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern Minimal Core Minimal Core

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Core-System

Mandant Core

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

ALE - Schnittstelle

IS-U IS-U

Mandant LIEF Mandant NETZ

IS-U – System

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern Minimal Core Minimal Core

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSGSEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Core-System

Mandant Core

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

ALE - Schnittstelle

Core-System

IS-U IS-U

Mandant LIEF Mandant NETZ

IS-U – System

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern Minimal Core Minimal Core

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Mandant LIEF

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

ALE - Schnittstelle

Mandant NETZ

Controlling

Core-System

IS-U IS-U

Mandant LIEF Mandant NETZ

IS-U – System

Kommunikation

zwischen

Marktpartnern Minimal Core Minimal Core

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSGSEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Mandant LIEF

Lieferant – BKRS

YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Netz – BKRS XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

ALE - Schnittstelle

Mandant NETZ

Controlling

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Mandant NETZ

Core + IS-U-System

IS-U

Mandant LIEF

Minimal-Core

Buchungskreis

Netz XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Buchungskreis

Lieferant YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U

Buchungskreis

Lieferant YYYY

BuKr-übergreifendes

Controlling möglich

ALE - Schnittstelle

Kommunikation zwischen

Marktpartnern

Intercompany Abbildung

SEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSGSEM/ BW (CORE) CRM BW (IS-U) REG BW (IS-U) VSG

Mandant NETZ

Core + IS-U-System

IS-U

Mandant LIEF

Minimal-Core

Buchungskreis

Netz XXXX

FI

Logistik-Module

Buchungskreis

Lieferant YYYY

FI

Logistik-Module

Controlling

IS-U

Buchungskreis

Lieferant YYYY

BuKr-übergreifendes

Controlling möglich

ALE - Schnittstelle

Kommunikation zwischen

Marktpartnern

Intercompany Abbildung

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 32

Applicable for Africa ? (Authors view)

Unbundling of Transmission – Yes, as an independent grid access provider and

system operator

Unbundling of Generation – Yes, to attract foreign investors also approach on

VPP’s for renewables could make sense.

Unbundling of Distribution (incl. retail) –

Partial / remaining part as a consequence – not competitive (regional, regulated monopole)

Depending on market structure, reasonable sizes are required for appropriate grid

maintenance. In some case mergers or shared services might work better

Unbundling between Distribution and Retail – definitely no, may be in some

countries in 10 years

Unbundling of Metering – no (even for EU – complexity too high)

SAP Offerings for Market Liberalization and Unbundling

• SAP Utilities Competence Center

• IDEX Country Solutions

• Add-Ons for Liberalized Markets

• Clearing houses

• System Landscape Optimization team (SLO – Unbundling architecture)

• Regulatory reporting

Thank You!

Contact Information:

Fritz Schwarzländer

Industry Advisor Utilities

SAP Deutschland AG & Co. KG

Hasso-Plattner-Ring 7

69190 Walldorf

eMail: [email protected]

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 35

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without the express permission of SAP AG. The information contained herein may be changed without prior notice.

Some software products marketed by SAP AG and its distributors contain proprietary software components of other software vendors.

Microsoft, Windows, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

IBM, DB2, DB2 Universal Database, System i, System i5, System p, System p5, System x, System z, System z10, System z9, z10, z9, iSeries, pSeries, xSeries, zSeries, eServer, z/VM, z/OS, i5/OS, S/390, OS/390, OS/400, AS/400, S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server, PowerVM, Power Architecture, POWER6+, POWER6, POWER5+, POWER5, POWER, OpenPower, PowerPC, BatchPipes, BladeCenter, System Storage, GPFS, HACMP, RETAIN, DB2 Connect, RACF, Redbooks, OS/2, Parallel Sysplex, MVS/ESA, AIX, Intelligent Miner, WebSphere, Netfinity, Tivoli and Informix are trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM Corporation.

Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, PostScript, and Reader are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.

UNIX, X/Open, OSF/1, and Motif are registered trademarks of the Open Group.

Citrix, ICA, Program Neighborhood, MetaFrame, WinFrame, VideoFrame, and MultiWin are trademarks or registered trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc.

HTML, XML, XHTML and W3C are trademarks or registered trademarks of W3C®, World Wide Web Consortium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

JavaScript is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc., used under license for technology invented and implemented by Netscape.

SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, StreamWork, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries.

© 2014 SAP AG. All rights reserved

Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, and other Business Objects products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects Software Ltd. Business Objects is an SAP company.

Sybase and Adaptive Server, iAnywhere, Sybase 365, SQL Anywhere, and other Sybase products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sybase, Inc. Sybase is an SAP company.

All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.

The information in this document is proprietary to SAP. No part of this document may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without the express prior written permission of SAP AG.

This document is a preliminary version and not subject to your license agreement or any other agreement with SAP. This document contains only intended strategies, developments, and functionalities of the SAP® product and is not intended to be binding upon SAP to any particular course of business, product strategy, and/or development. Please note that this document is subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time without notice.

SAP assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document. SAP does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links, or other items contained within this material. This document is provided without a warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

SAP shall have no liability for damages of any kind including without limitation direct, special, indirect, or consequential damages that may result from the use of these materials. This limitation shall not apply in cases of intent or gross negligence.

The statutory liability for personal injury and defective products is not affected. SAP has no control over the information that you may access through the use of hot links contained in these materials and does not endorse your use of third-party Web pages nor provide any warranty whatsoever relating to third-party Web pages.