UC4 Partners With SNP to Optimize SAP System Copies

BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire - Oct 9, 2012) - UC4, the world's largest independent provider of software for IT process automation, has entered into a strategic partnership with software company SNP AG. The goal of the partnership is to boost the level of automation in SAP environments. The partnership has already produced an add-on for the UC4 solution Automated System Copy for SAP. The SNP technology in this solution allows SAP data in system copies to be masked and sliced. Since the two solutions are integrated, SAP customers can immediately mask their data when creating system copies or significantly reduce their database volumes.

"Our solution for automating SAP System Copy has drawn enormous interest from the SAP community," says Randy Clark, CMO of UC4 Software. "Thanks to the SNP Data Provision & Masking add-on, our customers have a convenient solution to another problem: Masking data and reducing data volume. Volume reduction is also an important factor in cloud integration, since databases that are several terabytes in size can be difficult or even impossible to transfer to cloud environments via the network or over the Internet."

SAP customers have to make copies of their SAP systems at regular intervals. These system copies also allow customers to do development work, tests and training under real-life conditions. Such jobs are often outsourced or handled by outside consultants. To ensure data privacy and security, customers cannot use the original data. However, masking existing system copies or reducing data volumes is a very time-consuming process. With SNP Transformation Backbone®, this step can be easily automated.

"The products of UC4 and SNP complement each other perfectly: UC4 tackles all aspects of automation, while we specialize in transformation and change," says Dr. Andreas Schneider-Neureither, CEO of SNP AG. "We mesh smoothly when it comes to SAP system copies. We see a lot more potential for combining our products and look forward to working together."

SNP Data Provisioning & Masking is able to scramble data so that it retains the necessary logic but cannot be unmasked. The solution can mask certain parts of data records (such as fields containing names) and leave other parts alone. Slicing allows databases to be scaled down in any number of ways, for example, by creating time slices (e.g., last year's financial data) or object-specific slices (e.g., by product category). This allows customers to load only specific parts of a database. For example, they may need to create a system copy as a separate client, for example during company takeovers when they need to transfer only one part of a database.

About SNP
SNP AG increases the speed with which companies can implement changes, and supports them in adapting their IT landscape more quickly and economically to changing market conditions. With its SNP Transformation Backbone®, the software company has developed the world's first standard software solution for automated analysis and standardized implementation of changes in IT systems. The transformation platform is based on the experience of the more than 1,500 projects it has completed worldwide. The company, founded in 1994, gained this experience with its software-related services for Business Landscape Transformation®. More than 200 employees in Europe, South Africa and the USA achieved sales of EUR 26.7 million in 2011. SNP AG, headquartered in Heidelberg, has been listed in the General Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2000.

About UC4 Software
UC4 Software is the world's largest independent IT process automation software company. UC4's ONE Automation platform delivers IT process automation for organizations facing increasingly dynamic applications and infrastructures, and those migrating to next generation service models for cloud, DevOps, and big data. ONE Automation unifies workload, application release, application process, run-book, data transfer, and VM automation, with predictive analytics based on complex event processing technology (CEP). Unified process automation is proven to help IT Operations gain greater control and significantly improve both service delivery and cost savings. With 25 years of experience, UC4 automates tens of millions of operations a day for over 2,000 customers worldwide. Rethink IT Automation at http://www.uc4.com.