SAP offices in the US and internationally needed a fax solution that would meet integration and scalability criteria. When SAP installed RightFax e-document delivery solutions, it exceeded requirements while lowering TCO.
So far, the company estimates savings in migration, maintenance and paper costs, supplies and machines. Expanding the savings, SAP also reports less user complaints and administrative issues.
Background
Headquartered in Waldorf, Germany, SAP is the world`s largest inter-enterprise software company and the world`s third-largest independent software supplier overall. SAP is the recognised leader in providing collaborative business solutions for all types of industries and for every major market. Today, more than 22 600 customers in over 120 countries run more than 76 100 installations of SAP software. The company is listed on several exchanges and runs subsidiaries in more than 50 countries.
SAP Labs North America develops software products for the mySAP Business Suite family of solutions. Based in California, SAP Labs North America is an integral part of the SAP solution global development network, primarily focused on developing applications for use by SAP customers in the Americas.
The challenge
SAP employees in several locations rely on inbound and outbound faxing: nearly 3 000 sales professionals in the Philadelphia office handle quotes and marketing information; 575 developers in the Palo Alto SAP Labs North America fax technical documentation; while another 200 employees in Argentina and others in the Asia Pacific region manage business information. Together, these offices handle close to 25 000 faxes every month.
With faxing as a method for distributing business-critical information, SAP employees needed an efficient, but convenient fax process. "Employees required the tools to conveniently send and receive faxes from their workstations and laptops," Daniel Larot, Systems Engineer at SAP Labs, said. Employees who are often mobile also require an easy method of handling faxes while on the road.
Fax machines require paper, toner, phone lines and periodic maintenance: a costly combination at the enterprise level. For instance, employees in Philadelphia are spread across three buildings.
"If we purchased 20 fax machines," Larot said, "we see the capital expenditure plus recurring consumables, phone lines and it adds up quickly."
To defray costs, SAP implemented an electronic fax solution. But, by the late 1990s it needed a change. "It was during the dot-com timeframe. Due to growth, we required more inbound lines and were migrating to Microsoft Exchange," adds Larot. SAP looked for a fax solution that would easily integrate with Exchange and SAP`s enterprise R/3 software suite.
SAP conducted research and tested three products to replace its existing fax system. The solution coming out on top would do so by spanning critical requirements: integration, scalability and ease-of-use.
The solution
In 1999, SAP exceeded requirements while saving money with Captaris RightFax, the market leading enterprise fax and e document delivery solution. RightFax is used in several remote SAP locations, including various offices in the US, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region. SAP continues with plans to extend RightFax to all of its US employees.
With a RightFax Enterprise Server and RightFax Microsoft Exchange Module in both Philadelphia and Palo Alto, SAP expanded capacity and completed integrations. Thanks to RightFax certified integration with SAP R/3, SAP has even benefited from automated delivery of documents from its own software.
"Integration of RightFax with SAP has saved time and expense. Once we implemented RightFax, the automated faxing required less human effort and saved on consumables and provided an ROI in a short time," he adds.
As an industry leader, SAP is careful to choose proven technologies. "RightFax was our number one choice, it is the market leader." In fact, RightFax holds a market share nearly three times higher than the next vendor and is installed in all of the Fortune 100 companies.
Integration - The company chose RightFax so inbound and outbound faxes could be handled at the desktop and with automated R/3 processes. The RightFax Microsoft Exchange Module enables SAP employees to send, receive, view and manage faxes directly from Microsoft Outlook. The result: in addition to cost-savings, professionals streamline workflow and are more productive.
"For example, it allows our users in Palo Alto to focus on customers. Employees from all locations don`t have to go out and fight for a fax machine, then worry if the transmission was received. When office workers are on the road, integrated access continues to be helpful. It allows our mobile sales force quick access to fax documents which would normally have to be retrieved from onsite locations," Larot said.
Scalability - RightFax Enterprise Server allows businesses of all sizes to start where they are and expand, up to 1 024 ports, as usage or needs increase. SAP connected a T1 line to its PBX to handle fax traffic - the setup is scalable and easier to manage than dozens of phone lines for dozens of fax machines.
Ease-of-use - RightFax has resulted in less user complaints and administrative issues. Compared to SAP`s previous fax solution, RightFax provides the functionality users need in a familiar interface. Also, as a system engineer, Larot and other administrators appreciate centralised, easy-to-use administrative features. "I like how simple the interface is," Larot said. "For example, adding a user requires just three or four steps in the fax manager, and you`re done."
Says Kevin Hurwitz, Managing Director of AmVia: "RightFax assists companies in seeing real process-driven value, as the returns it demonstrates are completely measurable. Enterprises like SAP don`t only benefit from the centralisation of their fax environment but from cost reduction, productivity gains and a more transparent business environment."
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