A new survey of global Internet of Things (IoT) decision-makers by IDC has found that the market is moving on from proof of concept projects to scalable IoT deployments that are incorporating cloud, analytics and security capabilities.
The Australian survey showed there is strong momentum for IoT, as the second biggest digital transformation initiative after cloud transition. Thirty-eight per cent of organisations have already launched IoT solutions, with an additional 46 per cent looking to deploy in the next 12 months, while 60 per cent of respondents see IoT as strategic to their business as a means to compete more effectively. Improved productivity, reduced costs and improvements in internal decision-making were cited by Australian organisations as the top benefits of an IoT solution.
“This year we see confirmation that vendors who lead with an integrated cloud and analytics solution are the ones who will be considered as critical partners in an organisation’s IoT investment,” said Sabhari Balasubramanian, research manager, mobility and Internet of Things. “We also note that network and traditional IT hardware vendors are slipping down the charts, as analytics and device/component manufacturers makes strides in customers’ minds.”
As market acceptance of IoT grows, so too has SAP’s spending in this area, with yesterday’s announcement that it will invest €2 billion over five years on developing its IoT solution portfolio, increasing sales and marketing, scale support, service and co-innovation, and grow its ecosystem of IoT partners and startups, 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.”
One of SAP’s IoT initiatives is the introduction of Industry 4.0 packages that feature IoT solutions. Already available are the jump-start package, designed to initiate operational and business system connectivity as a foundation to monitor equipment effectiveness and to provide insight into shop floor operations, while the accelerator package adds an automated, paperless, manufacturing execution and control environment. SAP also plans to introduce a third package which will provide advanced manufacturing insight and controls, machine learning functionality, and predictive analysis for quality and maintenance operations.
In addition to the recently acquired Norwegian company, Fedem Technology, SAP has also acquired Italian enterprise-grade IoT provider PLAT.ONE, which according to SAP “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 also plans to establish IoT labs to collaborate on Industry 4.0 and the IoT with customers, partners and startups, with planned locations including Berlin, Johannesburg, Munich, Palo Alto, Sao Leopoldo and Shanghai. Each location will have a specific IoT focus native to the region, such as Industry 4.0, logistics, cities and digital farming. The labs will 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 robots, IoT security, machine learning and 3D printing.
