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Increased profitability, a more stable revenue base,
and greater depth in terms of financial resources –
they were the ambitious goals we set for fiscal
2004. And we left no stone unturned in their pursuit:
Our strategic orientation, service portfolio, and
internal organizational structures are all now more
clearly focused on and driven by customer requirements.
The changes are already paying dividends.
Software AG today offers its customers outstanding
added value. And we have significantly consolidated
our market position. Allied with improvements in
the economy as a whole, this has laid the groundwork
for successful future growth.
Consolidating and leveraging solutions expertise
At the same time as optimizing our Enterprise
Transaction Systems offering, we have also been
working hard to develop the XML Business Integration
Portfolio, successfully adding complete integration
solutions: At the beginning of the year, the
portfolio consisted solely of Integration Services
and the EntireX and Tamino XML Server product
lines. In the first half of the year, we added Integration
Packages, and during the third quarter, Integration
Solutions. These were based on concepts first
developed in the regions and adapted for the international
market. Each one embodies outstanding
best practices and draws on our in-depth project
experience. All the new solutions leverage existing
strengths and apply them on a global level.
International demand for integration
Companies are increasingly looking to achieve tight
integration. To succeed in today’s marketplace, they
need to react rapidly to changing requirements.
And to do this, they need to exchange information
between a diverse range of systems and applications
– not only internally, but also with customers,
suppliers, and partners. E-government, too, is playing
an increasingly prominent role, with official
bodies placing greater emphasis on data transfer as
a result. In both areas, systems integration is central
to effective collaboration, accelerated processes,
and optimized costs. As a result, it is a major success
factor – in both the private and public sectors.
The enhancement of our Integration Portfolio
expands our footprint in this promising market.
Software AG is already beginning to exploit some
of the opportunities for sustainable growth in this
area. We are convinced that XML will make an
increasing contribution to our development. And
the initial response to our broader portfolio confirms
these positive expectations.
Focus on market leadership
The success we are witnessing in systems integration
is indicative of the performance of Software AG
as a whole. In the future, market leadership will
remain a major challenge, which we will tackle
head on. And our status as a cutting-edge technology
company with a firm customer focus, international
presence, and healthy business foundations
means that we are exceptionally well placed to
make great strides toward this goal in 2005.
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