SAP announces €2 billion investment plan to transform business with IoT

SAP announced investment plans of €2 billion over five years to help business and government entities benefit from the proliferation of sensors, smart devices and Big Data that is transforming business with the Internet of Things (IoT).

SAP plans to accelerate innovation in its IoT solution portfolio, increase sales and marketing, scale service, support and co-innovation, and grow its ecosystem of partners and startups in the IoT market, which is estimated to reach €250 billion by 2020.

“With billions of connected devices, we now have the potential to reshape society, the economy and the environment,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP. “SAP HANA is the data platform we knew would unlock the Internet of Things. Today SAP is making another bold investment to help our customers seize the benefits of live business. Only SAP empowers businesses to innovate from the core to the edges to the networks.”

SAP IoT: From Information to Insights, Action and Live Business

While business and public sector entities have unprecedented access to more information and real-time feeds, they still have difficulty tying it all together across operating locations, business units and functional teams. SAP IoT aims to make sense of Big Data from the multitude of things through IoT solutions that apply machine learning and integrate with the core business applications of SAP S/4HANA. SAP IoT includes solutions connecting people, partners, things and the physical environment, enabling organizations to extend and enrich business processes with real-time, live intelligence so that they can see where opportunities exist, achieve new operational efficiencies, and reimagine business models, products and services to deliver more immediate customer and stakeholder value. SAP IoT seeks to enable connected business and connected society, addressing urban and rural areas and spanning agribusiness, infrastructure and energy, health, defense, manufacturing, consumer and transportation industries.

Innovation in New Solutions: Industry 4.0 Solution Packages

SAP is introducing Industry 4.0 packages that feature IoT solutions to enable customers’ digital business strategies. The jump-start package is designed to initiate operational and business system connectivity as a foundation to monitor equipment effectiveness and provide insight into shop floor operations. The accelerator package also has this functionality, and adds an automated, paperless, manufacturing execution and control environment by supporting manufacturing planning and execution, performance analytics and advanced plant maintenance. Both packages are complemented by the SAP Distributed Manufacturing application for additive manufacturing 3D printing services. The jump-start and accelerator packages are available immediately. SAP plans to introduce the third Industry 4.0 solution package, the “advanced” package, at a later date to provide advanced manufacturing insight and controls, machine learning functionality and predictive analysis for quality and maintenance operations. SAP also plans IoT package solutions to address the unique digital operations of cities, agriculture and energy industries.

Innovation in the IoT: PLAT.ONE, Fedem

SAP IoT provides a comprehensive, integrated technology stack from connectors to the IoT foundation and applications, business network and business process layer, enhanced by machine learning and predictive analytics. SAP has acquiredPLAT.ONE, an enterprise-grade IoT provider that simplifies the process of creating, deploying and managing complex IoT solutions. Founded in northern Italy, PLAT.ONE provides expertise and technology to accelerate the availability of key IoT capabilities in SAP HANA Cloud Platform, such as advanced lifecycle management for IoT devices, broad device connectivity, strong IoT edge capabilities that work seamlessly with a cloud back end, end-to-end role-based security and rapid development tools for IoT applications.

SAP has also recently acquired Fedem Technology, a Norwegian company specializing in advanced engineering analysis and building software for multibody dynamic simulation and lifetime calculation of structures and mechanical systems under the influence of complex loads. With this acquisition SAP plans to build an end-to-end IoT solution in which a digital avatar continuously represents the state of operating assets through feeds from sensors, replacing the need for physical inspection with a “digital inspection.” Additionally, the solution is intended to consider complex forces in play and detect both instantaneous consequences of one-off events and long-term health effects of cyclic loads, making possible accurate monitoring of maintenance requirements and remaining-life prediction for assets.

SAP IoT Labs: Enabling Global IoT Transformation Across the Globe

SAP plans to establish locations around the world to collaborate on Industry 4.0 and the IoT with customers, partners and startups. SAP IoT labs are intended as lighthouse locations and primary access points for IoT research, development, proof-of-concept modeling and incubation, with IoT showcases, thought leadership, expertise and infrastructure for strategy and product co-innovation. SAP plans to increase investment in consulting and knowledge transfers with dedicated innovation adoption consulting and IoT universities at the sites. Planned locations include Berlin, Johannesburg, Munich, Palo Alto, São Leopoldo and Shanghai, with SAP and partner experts in areas of specific IoT focus native to each region, such as Industry 4.0, logistics, cities and digital farming. The labs are intended to provide customers with access to co-innovation resources including design thinking experts and workshops, and interactive demos of IoT-related technology including autonomous systems (such as drones and robotics), IoT security, machine learning and 3D printing