Micro Focus Launches Silk for SAP Solution to Help Organizations Accelerate SAP Software Delivery

The business-critical nature of SAP deployments puts quality concerns firmly on the CIO’s agenda and heightens the need for testing across all SAP lifecycle phases. To address this Micro Focus® (LSE: MCRO.L), the leading provider of enterprise application modernization, testing and management solutions, today announced the availability of its Silk for SAP solution – a set of integrated modules that provide application lifecycle support for SAP applications, as well as all other industry requirements for testing in a heterogeneous world. The solution optimizes the availability, accuracy, performance and scalability of SAP applications by embedding quality activities throughout the SAP application lifecycle.

Industry statistics show that over 86% of SAP customers are concerned about the risks caused by a lack of comprehensive testing and 75% of customers cite that testing is the major cost and time factor during SAP application implementation. Approximately one in four SAP applications changes within a single year due to ongoing modifications or customizations. This constant evolution increases the risk of project failure as layers of complexity are added with each change.

Archie Roboostoff, Borland Solutions Portfolio Director at Micro Focus, said: "Organizations can mitigate these risks, which can destabilize the system by jeopardizing day-to-day operations and ultimately the bottom line, by taking an advanced approach to software Lifecycle Quality Management (LQM) initiatives. This involves integrating people, processes and technologies across the entire software application lifecycle and enables enterprises to reduce the cost and realize the full potential of their SAP investments.”

Continuing, Roboostoff said: "Our Micro Focus Silk for SAP solution offers today’s fast-paced enterprises deploying SAP with choice, flexibility and speed. It delivers deep integration into SAP Solution Manager, including certification for SAP eCATT and NetWeaver applications, for complete test automation of SAP lifecycle quality. It also enables organizations to shrink the time from concept to production, maximizing return on investment and helping keep their SAP projects on time, on budget and delivering the right levels of business value back to the enterprise.”

Micro Focus Silk for SAP delivers a highly automated process covering all aspects from blueprint changes – reflecting changes in requirements – testing and managing incidents, and one which incorporates reports and dashboards to provide visibility of the overall processes. The component modules include:

• SilkCentral Test Manager for managing the testing process throughout the lifecycle phases of an SAP deployment
• SilkPerformer for load and performance testing of the SAP (SAP eCATT certified)
• SilkTest for the functional testing of SAP NetWeaver applications, SAP Enterprise Portals and SAP GUI
• Silk Integration Hub for SAP Solution Manager

"Today’s CEO expects demonstrable business value from every technology investment decision,” concluded Roboostoff. "Large and complex application projects carry risk, and the size, scope and complexity of SAP deployments makes eliminating that risk a business necessity. The Micro Focus Silk for SAP solution‘s holistic approach to software quality helps organizations reduce the cost and realize the full potential of their SAP investments.”

Roboostoff will be showcasing the Micro Focus Silk for SAP solution at SAP TechEd, Las Vegas, tomorrow, 13^th September 2011, at 16.30 (PDT). For more information on Micro Focus’ Silk for SAP solution visit: http://www.microfocus.com/products/silk/silkforsap/index.aspx.

About Micro Focus

Micro Focus, a member of the FTSE 250, provides innovative software that allows companies to dramatically improve the business value of their enterprise applications. Micro Focus Enterprise Application Modernization, Testing and Management software enables customers’ business applications to respond rapidly to market changes and embrace modern architectures with reduced cost and risk. For additional information please visit www.microfocus.com.

Notes to Editors:

SilkCentral Test Manager is a comprehensive test management solution that builds quality and efficiency into each step of the testing process of an SAP deployment. It handles requirements management, test planning, text execution, defect/issues management and results reporting. It works with various test engines to make it easy to integrate component and unit tests written with third party or open source testing tools like JUnit or functional tests written with SAP eCATT.

SilkPerformer is an enterprise-class load testing solution supporting all current enterprise application technologies, including Web, .NET, J2EE, XML, SOAP, WSDL and SAP applications. SilkPerformer is especially optimized for SAP applications supporting SAP R/3 and SAP ERP applications, emulating SAPGUI clients, as well as for applications built on the SAP NetWeaver platform, such as SAP Enterprise Portals, and including support for Adobe’s Flex application framework. SilkPerformer enables organizations to emulate all the activities of hundreds or thousands of users from just a few load testing agents running multiple virtual users.

SilkTest is the leading functional testing product for enterprise applications, supporting enterprise application client-technologies such as Web, .NET, Windows and Java, including support for SAP. SilkTest provides the capabilities, flexibility and ease of use needed to functionally test any SAP system. Silk test scripts are based on the SAP GUI scripting API and provide the full feature set delivered by SAP GUI scripting. Both SilkPerformer and SilkTest are tightly integrated into SilkCentral Test Manager, ensuring an organization’s testing activities are coordinated through a central point of control.

Silk Integration Hub for SAP Solution Manager connects application lifecycle management capabilities of SAP Solution Manager with all test planning and test execution capabilities:

• Business process from business blueprint into requirements in SilkCentral Test Manager
• Requirements can be converted into test cases in a test plan
• Test case execution in SilkTest for SAP
• Test results are updated and in sync with SAP Solution Manager