SAP Kicks Off $2.2 Billion IoT Initiative, Acquires Plat.One

SAP announced plans on Sept. 28 to invest 2 billion euro over the next five years, or $2.2 billion USD using today’s exchange rates, to expand the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and partner ecosystem.

“With billions of connected devices, we now have the potential to reshape society, the economy and the environment,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP, in a statement. For the German software giant, those ambitions hinge on its in-memory processing platform, HANA.

“SAP HANA is the data platform we knew would unlock the Internet of Things,” McDermott continued. “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.”

The company will focus on turning the deluge of data produced by IoT devices into intelligent services and insights that businesses can use to pursue new opportunities, find new ways of engaging with customers and improve internal operations. As part of those aims, SAP also announced today that it had acquired Plat.one, an Italian IoT startup.

Designed for large-scale implementations, the Plat.One platform offers IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) application development tools along with data and device management capabilities. SAP plans to integrate the technology into its HANA Cloud Platform to provide IoT device lifecycle management, enhanced security and feature-packed IoT edge capabilities, the company said.

“We conducted a review of IoT platforms in the market and found PLAT.ONE to be a strong leader, particularly in device interoperability, edge processing capabilities and development capabilities,” said Bjoern Goerke, executive vice president of Product and Innovation Technology at SAP, in a statement. “It is great to add these leading capabilities to SAP HCP.”

The deal follows the recent acquisition of Norway’s Fedem Technology, which specializes in engineering analysis software.

“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,” said SAP. The company also plans to use the technology to predict the maintenance requirements and useful life of mechanical systems.

Finally, the company plans to open a handful of SAP IoT Labs across the globe. The labs will foster engagement with local IoT startups and partners and act as hubs for IoT research and development. SAP plans to open its labs in Berlin, Johannesburg, Munich, Palo Alto, Shanghai and São Leopoldo, Brazil.

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.

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