SAP in Brazil

Expanding its presence in Brazil, SAP AG announced the opening of a new SAP Global Service Center in São Leopoldo, with a planned expansion of eighty employees by the end of 2006. The SAP Global Service Center is the latest addition to SAP Brazil, a legacy which began in 1995 to grow to its present day size of 450 employees and 600 customers. The São Leopoldo site also serves as part of a worldwide network of nine SAP Global Service Center locations, the largest of which are in China, Germany, Hungary, India and Japan.

No less than the Rio Grade do Sul state governor came out to thank the SAPers: “I would like to express, on behalf of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and its scientific and technological community, our deep satisfaction with the decision made by SAP to deploy its SAP Global Service Center in our state.” Meanwhile, a bit more pragmatic was SAP AG executive board member Gerhard Oswald, who said, “The new SAP Global Service Center will support our long-term global growth plans and localization efforts and is an important affirmation of our commitment to Brazil and the Americas region.”

SAP Latin America regional managing director José Duarte sees much potential in Brazil, as do many international market players these days, painting a picture of the country as such: “A strong university infrastructure that provides high-quality development resources, coupled with the region’s high standard of living, fluency in English and Spanish and a competitive cost structure makes São Leopoldo a very attractive location for SAP.”