Protera Takes Integration to New Level with Fax Services for SAP® from Esker

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Esker, the international leader in document process automation solutions, today announced its partnership with Protera Technologies, a premier SAP^® applications provider, to modernize customers’ faxing capabilities with an SAP-integrated, cloud-based solution.

As Protera was searching for a solution to automate all of their customers’ faxing requirements, NB Coatings, a Protera customer and the leader in the North American plastic automotive coatings market, was looking for a new fax service of their own. “NB Coatings came to us seeking a solution to their fax problems,” said Carl Lafoe, Global VP of Hosting and Application Services at Protera. “At the same time, we were exploring options for an SAP-integrated solution that could be implemented as part of our service portfolio to all our customers. Ideally, we wanted to address every need with one solution.”

For NB Coatings, a standardized faxing system couldn’t come soon enough. “We process about 3,100 faxes per month, the majority of which are invoices,” said Hector Centeno, Director of IT at NB Coatings. “We had a number of issues with our previous provider and getting any type of support was difficult. Faxes were failing to send, quality of service was low, and maintaining costs was a struggle. We were looking forward to a change.”

Integrated solution

Initially, Protera considered Esker DeliveryWare as an on-site solution to NB Coatings’ fax issues, but soon concluded that Esker on Demand was a better overall fit. “We really liked the depth of integration that their Fax Services for SAP solution offered, as well as the ease of implementation,” said Lafoe.

To NB Coatings, the Esker solution showed great potential for dramatically improving their current faxing process. “Quality of service was an absolute priority for us,” said Centeno. “When Protera found Esker and had them come in and demonstrate how the new process would work, we were thrilled. Until that point, we didn’t know if anyone would be able to facilitate our needs — that question was answered immediately with Esker.”

Mutual benefits

Protera and NB Coatings have both realized different, yet significant benefits through the Esker solution. Regarding his experience since implementation, Centeno said, “We’ve basically eliminated every major issue we were having under the old system. We’re having much fewer failures and faxes are going out without a hitch. We love the stability that Esker has provided us. There’s peace of mind knowing our quality of service will no longer suffer.”

In addition to helping one of their valued customers modernize faxing capabilities, Protera was able to achieve its vision of a cloud-based faxing solution for all of their end users without a major financial commitment. “The pay-as-you-go model was a huge plus for us,” added Lafoe. “Rather than us having to handle all of the upfront investment, purchases and infrastructure to run a system like this, Esker takes care of it all. It’s been a win-win for everyone involved.”

About Protera

Protera Technologies was formed in 1998 to provide cost-effective solutions for customers that have SAP as their backend ERP system. Protera has capitalized on its unbeatable past experiences with SAP to evolve into a pioneer of flexible hosting, cloud computing and managed services for the entire IT platform.

Protera’s extensive SAP implementation experience provides customers with expert applications management skills, coupled with industry leading SLA’s and tier 1 datacenters, offering a higher level of expertise at a significantly lower cost than alternative hosting models. Protera continues to refine and develop its solutions to offer a complete, end-to-end SAP application management and flexible hosting suite of services through its SAP AppCare customer service centers. Protera’s suite of state-of-the-art, utility-based SAP Hosting, On-Demand cloud services, remote application management, and consulting services enable constant change while improving quality and reducing total cost of ownership.

About Esker

Esker is the worldwide leader in document process automation solutions. Addressing all types of business processes from accounts payable and accounts receivable to sales order processing and procurement, Esker cloud computing solutions enable companies to automate the reception, processing and sending of any business document with one platform. Esker helps over 80,000 companies across the world to reduce the use of paper and eliminate manual processes while improving their productivity, efficiency and environmental impact.

With 33 million euros in sales revenue in 2010, Esker operates in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific with global headquarters in Lyon, France and U.S. headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. Esker is listed on the NYSE Alternext in Paris (Code ISIN FR0000035818). For more information, visit www.esker.com. Follow Esker on Twitter at twitter.com/eskerinc and join the conversation on the Esker blog at www.quitpaper.com.

© 2011 Esker S.A. All rights reserved. Esker and the Esker logo are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of Esker S.A. in the United States and other countries. SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT:

Corporate Contact:
Esker Inc.
Renee Thomas
Tel: 608.828.6140
Email: renee.thomas@esker.com
or
Investor Relations Contact:
Esker S.A.
Emmanuel Olivier
Tel: 33 (0)4 72 83 46 46
Email: olivier@esker.fr

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