Gazprom and SAP AG sign Corporate License Agreement
RELEASE
Release
Led by Andrey Kruglov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee – Head of the Finance and Economics Department of Gazprom, the Company’s delegation paid a working visit to Germany.
As part of the visit, Andrey Kruglov met with Jim Hagemann Snabe, Co-Chief Executive Officer of SAP AG. Based on the meeting results, the parties signed a Corporate License Agreement.
The Agreement stipulates special purchasing terms and conditions for the SAP software utilization rights and support services, taking into account the functional and organizational scope of the informatization projects implemented by Gazprom. The signed Agreement will substantially optimize the total ownership cost of SAP software solutions and ensure flexibility in fulfilling the key initiatives of the Gazprom Informatization Strategy.
The parties stated that the signed Agreement confirmed the reliability and constructive nature of the partnership relations, as well as opened the prospects for deepening cooperation between the companies.
A number of meetings was also held with top executives of SAP AG, during which the parties discussed the interaction pattern when implementing the Gazprom Informatization Strategy and outlined the prioritized cooperation areas for 2010.
Particular attention was paid to the prospects for reshaping the Company’s business activities associated with utilization of SAP software products, standardization of business processes, introduction and replication of typical solutions to provide their automation.
In addition, the negotiators addressed the quality control issues related to Gazprom’s informatization projects and establishment of the integrated IT-infrastructure of the Gazprom Group in the aim of deploying business applications based on SAP software solutions. An emphasis was placed on potential support in using and developing SAP applications and setting up a Competence Center for SAP software products on the basis of Gazprom inform, a subsidiary IT service company.
Based on the meeting results, Jim Hagemann Snabe underlined that SAP AG management was highly interested in cooperating with Gazprom as a global energy company in state-of-the-art IT solutions deployment.
Background
The Informatization Strategy was adopted by the Gazprom Management Committee’s Resolution of January 17, 2008. The Strategy defines key development directions for the Company’s IT solutions ensuring the achievement of its strategic goals.
The target system architecture outlined in the Gazprom Informatization Strategy relies on the maximum standardization of systems for the purpose of solving typical problems and unification of the software used. At the same time, the Gazprom Group has identified the software platform developed by SAP AG as a basis for the target system architecture.
The Strategy is implemented in compliance with annually approved plans. The approved portfolio of informatization projects stipulates performance of works in the following key areas:
- shaping vertically-integrated information and management systems (IMS) based on the Corporate Data Bank to support the corporate management processes in the gas business;
- creating typical IMS for subsidiary gas companies with due regard to Gazprom’s business activities;
- introducing system-wide solutions ensuring information and technological integration of functional modules within the target system architecture.
The Information Analysis Systems Directorate of the Company’s Finance and Economics Department was entrusted with assuring the information and technological integration of IMS being created within the Gazprom Informatization Strategy.
In the aim of creating a unified responsibility center to implement the Strategy’s main initiatives on the operational level, the Gazprom Board of Directors adopted the decision to set up Gazprom inform, a subsidiary IT service company, through the restructuring of Informgazinvest and Informgaz subsidiaries.