The first thing you think when you say the acronym IoT ( Internet of Things , the Internet of Things) is the hardware that constitutes it: interfaces, devices, sensors, chipsets, networking infrastructure. SAP , and could not be otherwise, the heart of the matter is however another. The real IoT will hold intelligence and analytical ability of the software tools that will be called upon to orchestrate the flow of information produced and transmitted by 75 billion connected devices and 2.5 billion individuals in 2020 will access the network constantly. And the turnover expected for that year, 65 trillion dollars, according to SAP , will be largely set in motion right from the intangible part of the ecosystem.
“Our belief is based on the observation of the evolutionary model of the Web,” says Francesco Mari, Vice President of Product Innovation Strategy and the Internet of Things and Customer Innovation of Sap . “At the beginning, observers and industry focused on the issues of connectivity and access to the Web, time has shown that the real value is not generated by routers, browser and bandwidth, but because of what you can do through those elements, which are in a short time become commodity. Just think of those who are today the real stars of the Internet, on the various platforms: Google, Netflix, Amazon . Following the same mechanism, the part that IoT will generate value is related to the ability to build services, products and content through relationships between objects and people connected. “
According to Mari In addition, the issue is not so much the infrastructures framework, as objects, especially on an industrial scale, are already equipped with sensors, nor that of the production data, which for years now roam Business Servers without being integrated into the management and properly exploited. The question lies in reconciling OT (Operational Technology) and IT (Information Technology), with the ability to introduce and analyze not more summary information on the machines, but the precise figures which, when crossed with updates in real time or almost provide clear insight for the development of business strategies and decisions.
And this is where that comes into play SAP , with the platform handyman S / 4 HANA . According to Mari the keywords of this new way to guide the activities are Connected and Predictive , and represent the philosophy behind the new data management can help any industry, from logistics transport, agriculture, automotive, in large organizations as in SMEs.
At present, however, are mainly the large companies that can afford those projects implemented in optical IoT. Not so much for the investment to be sustained, especially as to the critical mass of data is needed to justify the adoption of instruments so powerful. An example? Trenitalia , which according to Mari started with SAP The IoT most ambitious project ever, creating an event of world excellence. “A modern train, like the one that offers the service Frecciarossa , conveys every second 5 thousand points of information, activated by as many sensors that monitor every aspect of the operation of the machine. For this we have produced four highly innovative projects, some for internal purposes, the other with a direct return on passenger service. The basic idea is that, based on knowledge of what is really happening on the trains while they are on the march becomes possible to make effective maintenance, or all that you need and when you need it. “
Mari claims that the regime fleet Trenitalia will generate 700 terabytes of data per year, a huge amount of information that properly managed will allow the company to save on maintenance costs (which They amounted to about one billion euro per year) rates ranging between 8 and 10%. Innovation is not only technological: Trenitalia and SAP have also formed an alliance in its organization, creating a secure environment within which the sharing of solutions , to be applied later in their respective fields of action, is the rule. “These processes and products that we imagine as we gain knowledge of specific industries,” says Mari , “a work in progress continuously.”
But SAP has been able to make useful the data in possession of ‘ Port Authority of Hamburg , that without having to increase its capacity to extend its facilities, has focused on’ efficiency. Tracing the actual position of the container ships direct to the airport, and preparing the logistics to fit in real time to the actual time of arrival in port, the company was able to increase the efficiency of operations with rates of 50%.
These are just two examples of the many collaborations that SAP has triggered worldwide. And although Trenitalia is the pride on the front IoT, may include also projects in place with Russian Railways, Boeing, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Samsung, HP and many others. At the level of experimentation, the group is working on horseback instead of smart agriculture (developing systems that optimize the yield of the fields based on the real needs of crops, also according to the weather) and automotive (with emphasis on corporate fleets and vehicles rental).
The next step will have to deal with the smart city, representing the most attractive and at the same time more risky for those who work along the supply chain of the Internet of Things. “The lack of adequate security tools may be the killer IoT,” says Mari. “Unlike what happens in a company, within the walls of which the risks are manageable, a possible infiltration of bogus data within the system of a large city may send on tilt, for example, urban traffic. The emotional reaction that would follow could give rise to the creation of rules that would block the progress of these solutions. “
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