FRANKFURT Europe’s biggest software maker SAP has earmarked 2 billion euros ($2.2 bln) for investments in products that help companies to connect everything from washing machines to cars to the Internet.
The German company said it would invest that amount by the end of 2020, targeting what it estimates to be a 250 billion-euro market in the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), in which regular objects are connected to networks to send and receive data.
Such functions are increasingly used in manufacturing and areas such as logistics, digital farming, drones or 3D printing.
SAP sealed a deal last week to work with German car parts maker Robert Bosch to connect everything from screwdrivers to cars to the Internet, and more deals could follow.
The company will launch a new product line, dubbed SAP IoT, which will combine large amounts of data from things connected to the Internet with machine learning and SAP’s real-time database S/4 HANA.
“It is a big and growing market and we think we can be a significant part of it,” said Tanja Rueckert, SAP’s executive vice president in charge of digital assets and Internet of Things.
“While business and public sector entities have unprecedented access to more information and real-time feeds, they still have difficulty tying it all together,” SAP said.
By 2020, 21 billion IoT devices will be in use worldwide, up from fewer than 5 billion last year, research firm Gartner has estimated.
Rueckert said part of the 2 billion euro investment plan would be reserved for targeted acquisitions, typically small bolt-on deals that fit in SAP’s IoT portfolio.
SAP said on Wednesday it had bought Italy’s PLAT.ONE and Fedem Technology from Norway for an undisclosed amount. Both acquisitions will be integrated into SAP IoT.
“We cooperate with Siemens, Dell, Intel, T-Systems and Vodafone among others. We talk to other partners as well. That is the direction we will continue to look at. To work with others in partnerships,” Rueckert said.
($1 = 0.8932 euros)
(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Next In Technology News
BlackBerry to cut fewer than 100 jobs with hardware move – CEO
WATERLOO, Ontario The chief executive officer of BlackBerry Ltd said fewer than 100 jobs will be cut with its latest move away from hardware, given reductions already made, and that he had not decided whether to launch a device the company has already produced.
Wal-Mart in talks to buy stake in Flipkart – sources
HONG KONG/MUMBAI Wal-Mart Stores Inc is in talks to buy a minority stake in India’s largest e-commerce firm Flipkart, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the world’s biggest retailer aims to get a slice of a fast-growing online retail market.
Apple to make landmark Battersea Power Station its new London home
LONDON Technology giant Apple said on Wednesday it is moving its London headquarters to the landmark Battersea Power Station, a move hailed by the government as a sign that major firms are still investing after the Brexit vote.
