By James Blackman
Telecoms operator du, formerly Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), has partnered with Germany-based Software AG to offer a subscription-based digital-change offer to UAE based enterprises. The pair called it a “first of its kind collaboration” and the “largest IoT partnership for business solutions” in the region.
The arrangement allows du to license white-labelled versions of Software AG’s IoT portfolio on subscription to enterprise customers. The duo is promising “rapid application development, reduced time to deployment, and out-of-the-box IoT analytics and dashboards”.
Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT platform is at the centre of the deal, affording du’s customers a “complete picture” of their data. Operators including Germany-based Deutsche Telekom, Spain-based Telefónica, Netherlands-Based KPN, Austria-based A1, Japan-based NTT, Australia-based Telstra, and Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Telecom use Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT platform.
Software AG has been in talks with AT&T, as well, although a deal has not be confirmed. It acquired the Cumulocity business in early 2017 as the second instalment in an IoT/AI double-hander, following its purchase of US-based analytics firm Zementis in late 2016.
The deal with du will focus on IoT in certain industries, notably in the government, healthcare, utilities, manufacturing, transport, and automotive sectors.
Software AG stated: “Companies will be able to track assets and improve logistics or gather data from smart city applications to make peoples’ lives easier. They can also improve service for their customers by automating manual functions, from meter readings to security measures.”
The two companies will launch a new IoT academy and experience centre in the coming months, in order to drive IoT adoption in the UAE and stay abreast of innovation and best-practice, they said.
Farid Faraidooni, deputy chief executive for enterprise solutions at EITC, said: “Software AG’s global expertise to build new functionalities for telcos through IoT adoption fits perfectly with our strategy to deliver comprehensive IoT solutions for the UAE market. The move will bolster UAE’s IoT adoption across SMEs, large organisations and the government. This reflects our efforts to enhance UAE’s position as a regional innovation hub.”
Philippe La Fornara, president for EMEA at Software AG, said: “IoT services can help organisations to not only achieve greater insights into their business, but also to build their digital resilience. Data is the heartbeat of a business today, so the task of gathering, analysing and acting upon it should be a top priority.”
He added: “Our collaboration with du is a manifestation of the new approach of telcos as providers of IoT services for a fully connected future; a model gaining prominence globally. With du as our strategic telco partner, we aim to play a role in UAE’s 2021 vision through a range of competitive IoT solutions. We welcome du to Software AG’s IoT ecosystem.”
In 2019, Software AG was honored as the Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT Platforms in addition to receiving the highest use case scores by Gartner in the Critical Capabilities for Industrial IoT Platforms Report.
Software AG is looking to replicate its ADAMOS (ADAptive Manufacturing Open Solutions) alliance of machine manufacturers in other industrial domains. It wants to hone its digital-change technologies at the ‘coal-face’ of the markets they are designed for, in collaboration with the companies they are designed for.
Buoyed by the success of the ADAMOS collective, founded with industrial engineering manufacturers Dürr, DMG MORI, and Zeiss, the Darmstadt-based outfit has said it will establish formal alliances and loose working groups variously in the utilities, industrial automation, and smart cities markets, as well.
It is also working with its various telco customers in an informal sharing community, to bring best practice and know-how to their IoT setups, it has said.
