Logica Plc : Logica teams with SAP, Software AG and DigitalRoute to change the face of customer care and billing

Logica, in cooperation with SAP AG, Software AG and DigitalRoute, today launched a Mass Data Billing (MDB) system that enables organisations to increase revenue while dramatically reducing their total cost of doing business by deploying a usage-based billing approach.

The MDB system is available via a multi-tenant, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, through which users access the system remotely over the internet. It aims to solve the many unique billing and compensation challenges - such as issues related to mass data collection, transactional volumes and varying tariffs - faced by clients in industries including telecommunications, utilities, transportation and logistics.

The agile MDB system removes the need for multiple billing systems while delivering the flexibility necessary for organisations to develop new revenue streams without incurring painful overhauls to legacy IT landscapes. Instead of paying upfront for the software and then incurring incremental support fees, buyers will pay a subscription fee to access the system. It can be deployed as a standalone system or integrated with other back-office applications. The MDB system will also have the capability to rate and bill many more events than traditional systems. As a consequence, it can be used to help clients create a much more agile, flexible and client-oriented billing structure.

"Billing is a hot topic. We see many clients looking to consolidate platforms, reduce costs including revenue leakage and to align their costs with their revenues," said Andrew De Cleyn, outsourcing global strategy director at Logica. "In addition, businesses wish to re-purpose their billing systems to provide agility in the market place, launch new products and give their customers consolidated invoicing around the multiple products they wish to bring to market."

Logica has many years of experience in building, integrating and operating systems for the transportation, logistics, telecommunications and utilities industries, and the MDB system has been designed to meet the need for new models that are changing the face of billing. For example, it could be used alongside smart meters in the utilities industry, in smart ticketing and toll-road charging in the transportation, or postal/logistics pricing and delivery.

Logica has integrated solutions from SAP, Software AG and DigitalRoute with its MDB system to create packages optimised for different industry sectors.

DigitalRoute's MediationZone reduces the integration points required to manage usage data on networks with a configurable workflow that lets users quickly and visually change business processes, for example to cope with rapidly increasing data usage volumes as well as better understanding of activity on the network.

"MediationZone has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to reduce the overall load on and increase the efficiency of Business Support Systems," said Arnaud Lassalle, Chief Marketing Officer at DigitalRoute. "We are delighted to join the MDB partnership and contribute our market-leading mediation technology to a comprehensive solution that will deliver considerable experience and benefits to end users across vertical industries."

The SAP® Convergent Charging application, the SAP Convergent Invoicing package and the SAP Customer Financial Management package, part of the consume-to-cash business processes in SAP software, help users streamline complex rating and billing processes; efficiently manage accounting, payments and collections; and optimize financial customer care for high volumes of customers and transactions.

"Teaming up with SAP, Logica and its partners Software AG and DigitalRoute will bring together a wealth of experience and expertise in this field, which clients can leverage for competitive advantage," said Luis Murguia, senior vice president, Ecosystem & Channels, SAP EMEA. "This cooperation underscores the value of SAP's ecosystem strategy, which delivers game-changing co-innovation to clients."

Software AG's webMethods suite provides MDB's integration and service management layer, allowing clients to tie the system closely to their unique processes and monitor high-volume activities.

"MDB is a key project with a cloud-based solution," said Kamyar Niroumand, Chief Operating Officer of the DACH region at Software AG. "We are very happy that we could bring this solution to the market together with Logica as a strategic partner, as well as with SAP."

About Logica
Logica is a business and technology service company, employing 41,000 people. It provides business consulting, systems integration and outsourcing services to clients around the world, including many of Europe's largest businesses. Logica creates value for clients by successfully integrating people, business and technology. It is committed to long term collaboration, applying insight to create innovative answers to clients' business needs.

Logica is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext (Amsterdam) (LSE: LOG; Euronext: LOG).

More information is available at www.logica.com.

The company is a public company incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of its registered office is 250 Brook Drive, Green Park, Reading RG2 6UA, United Kingdom.