SAP Moves Into Internet-of-Things-Services With New Partnerships
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Global software developer SAP has announced a string of new partnerships to launch it into the Internet-of-Things (IoT) services arena. A new partnership with Jasper, a vendor of IoT services platform, was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress, held March 2-5 in Barcelona. According to the terms of the agreement, SAP and Jasper will be collaborating to simplify the process of deploying and managing Internet of Things (IoT) services globally.
Although forecasts for the market size and adoptability of IoT differ greatly, it is universally accepted that the potential of the IoT is substantial. Estimates for market size by 2020 range from $300 billion to an incredible $7 trillion, and estimates vary in part as a result of different definitions of Internet of Things by researchers.
“The Internet of Things will be the key enabler of industry scenarios and of innovations in the digital economy,” explains Bernd Leukert, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, Products & Innovation, in a November 2014 statement. “It is converging our digital and physical worlds, which will spur new products and services, and even change business models.”
“The Internet of Things has the potential to dramatically improve responsiveness of businesses, reimagine customer experience and open up new opportunities and brand new business models such as move from sell-to-service based models. SAP customers that have already implemented Internet of Things solutions have seen considerable improvement in asset utilization and higher business process efficiency and helped address operational costs,” asserted Leukert.
SAP and T-Systems also announced a new agreement, in which the SAP Connected Logistics software and the Connected Car solution from T-Systems — a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom — will merge. The partnership, inked as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement, will further develop the smartPORT logistics networking solution that has been successfully used in the Hamburg Port Authority.
The objective of the platform was to give companies and customers traffic information and services related to the port via mobile devices, and to make the logistics processes in the port easier. SmartPORT logistics is now being offered at other logistics hubs.
SAP has joined the Industrial Internet Consortium, a “not-for-profit organization that catalyzes, coordinates, and manages the collaborative efforts of industry, academia, and the government to accelerate growth of the Industrial Internet,” according to its website. The consortium aims at accelerating and promoting the business use of IoT as part of the Industry 4.0 initiative.