Verizon and SAP Codeveloping Next-Generation IoT Analytics Solutions

SAP SE and Verizon has announced a collaboration that will enable applications to process data where it is generated — from an assembly line to a retail store shelf — helping businesses save time and increase productivity.

The companies are partnering to create enterprise solutions that use Verizon’s network and platform capabilities integrated with SAP software and services, particularly the SAP Leonardo Internet of Things (IoT) solution, SAP Edge Services, and analytics, computing and data management capabilities.

This announcement was made at the Mobile World Congress Americas, being held in Los Angeles on October 22-24, 2019.

With the new partnership, SAP’s customers are poised to benefit from Verizon’s new technologies, such as 5G, software-defined networking and its Intelligent Edge Network capabilities, to accelerate their digital transformation and unlock the power of the Intelligent Enterprise.

“We are unleashing the next generation of cloud capabilities through global data centers, across the edge of the network,” said Eric Stine, chief customer innovation officer, SAP North America. “With data volumes growing exponentially and the capabilities of new wireless technologies like 5G to further expand the reach of IoT and enterprise computing, SAP and Verizon are uniquely positioned to drive a new class of data analytics, management and services at scale to help the world’s great companies create amazing customer experiences and unlock new business models and monetization strategies.”

“Our ability to integrate our ThingSpace platform into the SAP Cloud portfolio provides a secure and agile way to deliver instantaneous, end-to-end operational analytics at the edge while lowering the cost of IoT management,” said George Fischer, president, Global Enterprise, Verizon Business Group. “This combined solution is not just about massive IoT. We are also enabling computer vision, augmented reality, blockchain and machine learning using Verizon’s network. These are a truly comprehensive set of capabilities to help our customers better manage critical functions including asset lifecycles, supply chains, customer experiences, human capital and plant operations.”

Accelerating Enterprise Customers’ Digital Transformations

To help organizations and developers accelerate their digital transformation, companies are highlighting how SAP Edge Services coupled with Verizon’s 5G network can drive business outcomes in real time. At Mobile World Congress Americas this week, a demonstration at Verizon’s booth shows how this joint solution provides the ability to leverage edge computing. It demonstrates the condition of assets within a warehouse or factory and executes critical business processes locally while providing visibility across the supply chain.

Environmental conditions such as location, temperature, humidity and vibration are processed and analyzed at the edge by Verizon’s ThingSpace-enabled Critical Asset Sensor (CAS) and SAP Edge Services, generating real-time insights. Together with SAP Leonardo IoT, this enables aggregate time-series analysis contextualized with master data, geolocation and condition-based monitoring for outbound logistics business processes. These insights trigger two outcomes: the SAP Field Service Management solution generates an automatic service call, driving recommendations for the right technician to service malfunctioning assets, and the SAP Global Track and Trace solution enables the fulfillment of goods from the warehouse to the end customer, dramatically streamlining business processes. Additionally, Verizon’s ThingSpace platform provides developers with the tools to build and deploy connectivity and manage data capture for CAS and hundreds of other certified IoT devices for the enterprise.

The Verizon and SAP partnership stems from a solid foundation built over several years. Verizon has several company-wide transformations underway, and is a great resource for enterprises of all sizes to help with their digital transformations to better serve their customers. Verizon’s goal is simplification and unification as it looks to consolidate more than eight ERP systems across business units and geographies. Verizon selected the SAP S/4HANA Finance solution and SAP S/4HANA for central finance foundation as its foundational platform, as well as SAP Cloud Platform, SAP Digital Boardroom and SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud.

SAP Chooses Verizon’s Global Network

SAP has chosen Verizon to build its next-generation global network, consolidating and streamlining SAP’s global network infrastructure for easier and more cost-effective network management, improved internal connectivity and collaboration, a secure stable platform to support customer-facing applications and a better experience for employees and customers around the world. Verizon was chosen due to the company’s global reach, its expansive, secure and high-capacity global network capabilities and its technical expertise.