SAP sees opportunity in MCA mandate

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Business management software major SAP is optimistic about its recently unveiled Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) 10.0 release in India and said that the government's new regulation on financial disclosures will take it to new heights. The company claims this new release addresses organizational pain points and facilitates planning, budgeting and forecasting.

SAP, which introduced EPM 10.0 for automation of business processes, believes that organizations are looking at the company for filing financial statements in order to demonstrate adherence to the government's mandate on extensible business reporting language (XBRL) submissions.

Speaking to CIOL, Maneesh Sharma, head - Business Analytics and Technology at SAP India, said that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issued a circular that urges all the companies to file their profit-and-loss accounts and balance-sheets in XBRL format.

"With the onset of new government guidelines, we are confident and optimistic for EPM 10.0 release which is regulatory- compliant and facilitates flexible process for disclosure management and corresponding XBRL submissions," Sharma said.

A step towards standardization of financial disclosures

This notification, which was issued on March 31, seems a step towards the standardization of financial disclosures. This move by the government is expected to aggressively facilitate adoption of XBRL in the country. This regulation is applicable to all the listed companies operating in India and their overseas subsidiaries.

The government agencies and undertakings are also looking at BI reporting tools, said Sharma. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is an ardent user of SAP BI analytics solution, and the company is also working with several PSUs in the country. The business management software major said that the adoption is across the board and it offers customized tools for various verticals.

The company is betting big on its solution's key differentiators that include in-memory analytics, which it claims to be an innovation. “With in-memory computing technology, no vendor has a solution of this kind. Technical architecture and mobility are some of the key factors that keep us ahead of our competitors,” said Sharma.

SAP is looking at growth similar to its ERP's phenomenal response. SAP has 35.5 per cent market share in BI segment in India and the company is witnessing 16.8 per cent growth. SAP said that its BI portfolio is one of the fastest growth areas for the company and it will continue to prosper with double-digit growth. According to industry sources, the EPM market worldwide stands at US$ 10.6 billion.