SAP Labs looks to build IoT data management system harnessing power of Hana

With the penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices set to increase, SAP Labs India, the third largest global Research & Development and Global Services & Support center of German enterprise software maker SAP, is looking at building base layer for IoT. IoT refers to transfer of data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

The aim is to aggregate and derive intelligence out of the information coming in through different data points and develop certain protocols, which will further develop apps and functionalities, especially in the manufacturing sector, Srikanth Gopalakrishnan, vice-president, Product Management, SAP Labs told Business Standard. These applications will be tailored to the meet the demands of various sectors, including retail, manufacturing and oil & gas, through compelling user interfaces (UIs) with the help of SAP Hana, the in-memory database management system from the company.

"We look to change the nature of businesses with IoTs through experimentation," he said. "Manufacturing will be a main focus area a lot to gain."

The company is already exploring IoT as a paradigm to assist various sectors in business transformations in the process of integrating and scheduling. "With IoT, the question is, what could be added to the ERP (Enterprise resource planning) layer to transform their business? We want to be a key player in that space," added Gopalakrishnan.

For instance, last year, the company came out with a product called smart-vending that tells when a shopkeeper is going to have a stock-out. This helps the retailers to reduce losses because an empty shelf means the retailer is losing money by every second. The fact that chips that go into the development of these technologies could be bought for as less as Rs 100, is also making the notion very attractive.

By developing such technologies, SAP Labs looks to streamline an end-to-end process for various industries including retail, manufacturing, chemical, oil and gas.

The company was also involved in a prototyping technique with Google glass, wherein 3D imaging of different parts of a facility helps in quick and efficient fixing in case of device failures. For example, in case of a technical fall-out in an oil and gas field, the 3D imaging enables the expert to know the exact points of failure, and can actually know where to tap in and route.

SAP Labs India is also leaving no stone unturned towards co-innovation and giving shape to newer ideas. They have been partnering with start-ups and other tech companies for ideas and co-innovate through programmes such as SAP d-shop, SAP Blue, Co-Innovation Lab and SAP Startup Focus.

In 2014, the total R&D expense by SAP was $2,606.35 million.

Currently, SAP has approximately 6,500 employees in India across all entities. This year, the company is expecting to add around 500 - 700 employees especially in R&D and product engineering.