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Employers cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years- Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession.
- News of a rapidly weakening job market is sending stocks lower in early trading.
Thailand reopens main international airport- Dancers, drummers and apologetic tourism officials greeted travelers Friday at the official reopening of Thailand's main international airport, which was shut down for a week by anti-government protesters.
US general spells out Iraq mission under new pact- A security pact that sets a timetable for troops to leave Iraq requires a shift in how the U.S. carries out combat missions during its remaining time in the country, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Friday.
- Stock intended to eventually earn taxpayers a profit as part of the Bush administration's massive bank bailout has lost a third of its value - about $9 billion - in barely one month, according to an Associated Press analysis. Shares in virtually every bank that received federal money have remained below the prices the government negotiated.
Auto bailout could be tied to gov't-run overhaul- The government would order a major restructuring of Detroit's struggling Big Three auto companies in exchange for a multibillion-dollar bailout under a plan circulating in Congress.
- Barack Obama, who rewrote the book on presidential fundraising, amassed more than $745 million during his marathon campaign, more than twice the amount obtained by his rival, Republican John McCain.
Hollywood's No. 1 women: Winfrey and Jolie- Oprah Winfrey tops The Hollywood Reporter's Power 100 list, an annual ranking of the most influential women in the entertainment industry.
- Armed robbers - some dressed in drag - made off with euro80 million ($100 million) in loot from a lightning-fast jewelry store theft in central Paris, in what police Friday called one of France's costliest jewel heists.
Giants' Pierce to meet with NYC investigators- Antonio Pierce is finally going to talk to investigators about what he did on the night Plaxico Burress shot himself.
EDS Significantly Expands Global SAP Consulting Practice
By collaborating with SAP on client engagement training and techniques that will drive the long-term growth of its consulting practice, EDS will further enhance its existing SAP capabilities and bring end-to-end SAP consulting and systems integration to the market by early 2008. Additionally, EDS will work closely with SAP's Global Partner and Ecosystem Group for market penetration and value-added customer offerings.
SAP will see an increase in SAP consultants and systems integrators into the global marketplace to help fulfill the current demand for SAP applications. EDS and SAP also expect to work jointly to target EDS' global client base where SAP applications and services can penetrate existing infrastructure or applications accounts.
"We expect our new global SAP consulting practice to further elevate EDS' position in the applications development and IT consulting marketplace to help clients better align their technology systems with their business strategies," said EDS President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Rittenmeyer. "We believe our new tools, training and content, when coupled with our existing applications management and legacy programming expertise, will give us a unique value proposition and competitive advantage as we move up the value chain."
"We are pleased to strengthen our long-standing relationship with one of
the world's leading IT services companies and support EDS in building a global
consulting practice," said
"We look forward to helping EDS create a truly global, industry-based SAP consulting practice which will help customers modernize and manage their IT landscapes," adds Manfred Heil, senior vice president, Global Ecosystem and Partner Group, SAP AG. The global expansion of EDS' practice represents the latest step in the continuing deployment of our strategy and unique commitment to further our capabilities in the marketplace."
"EDS sees a tremendous market opportunity in industry-based SAP
application consulting and systems integration globally and within our own
existing client base," said
Feld added that the enhanced SAP relationship shows EDS is aggressively moving up the value chain in applications services. Earlier this month, the company launched a global software testing services offering. Feld indicated that more announcements in the applications services space should be expected shortly. "EDS made a commitment to expand its presence in high-end applications development and consulting. This announcement is perhaps the strongest proof point to date that we are executing this strategy," said Feld.
EDS and SAP have adopted a strategic plan to build out EDS' global SAP consulting practice in the near term, including extensive training, recruiting and tools development; joint sales opportunities such as leveraging SAP's regional sales, alliances and services resources; joint marketing strategies and plans for field sales and services; and joint sales and pipeline tracking.
According to Gartner, demand for ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) project-based solution implementation services is at a critical inflection point in 2007 as enterprise buyers are faced with difficult choices that will lay the foundation for the user's application life cycle choices.
Gartner estimates the worldwide Consulting and Systems Integration (C&SI)
market will grow from
EDS and SAP's Long-standing Relationship
For more than 17 years, EDS and SAP have partnered to deliver business
software solutions that reduce time-to-market and lower clients' total cost of
ownership. EDS has been a SAP client since 1997, deploying numerous SAP
solutions to a user population of approximately 873,000. Furthermore, SAP
helps deliver best-in-class enterprise applications as an essential component
of the EDS Agile Enterprise Platform and collaborates on industry solutions
and enterprise business applications. As a member of the EDS Agility Alliance
-- a coalition of companies globally recognized for their quality, products
and value to clients -- SAP provides end-to-end enterprise applications
services and the standard underlying applications platform for EDS' leveraged
HR, F&A and Procurement BPO utility. The alliance with SAP has helped generate
more than
About EDS
EDS (NYSE: EDS) is a leading global technology services company delivering business solutions to its clients. EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry 45 years ago. Today, EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries and to governments around the world. Learn more at http://eds.com.
The statements in this news release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding the amount of new contract values, are forward- looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond EDS' control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For information concerning these risks and uncertainties, see EDS' most recent Form 10-K. EDS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT:
Travis Jacobsen -- EDS
972-797-8751
travis.jacobsen@eds.com
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