Technology Magazine - USA (2021-02)

“SAP can serve as the data platform

and provide the analytics, the AI, and the

machine learning to bring these solutions

to life,” says Wilde. “So, if we think about

these as puzzle pieces, you’ve got the

connectivity, you’ve got the device strat-

egy, you’ve got the consulting, you’ve got

our data platform and business process

support. We’re providing the glue and

the 5G Council was very much the start

of that glue at a senior level, and to have

that trickle through to our 440,000 cus-

tomers moving forward.”

One of the key challenges around

5G is the fact that both consumers and

leaders around the world have been

conditioned, over the last 20 to 25 years,

to associate a new network generation

simply by speed. 5G is much more a

question of how do you link a software

defined network into your connectivity

and provide additional services just as

if it was a wired connection. That’s the

link that doesn’t exist today.

SAP has been leading this under-

standing, working with CTOs, CMOs

and COOs, and even running a CTO

Forum. Wilde recalls that in that forum,

of a dozen CTOs present, only one was

really familiar with the 5G opportunity.

“To be honest with you, I was very sur-

prised because I would have thought

a much larger segment, if not everyone

in that room, would have been familiar

with the technology, at least in a position

to be able to speak to it and understand

the core components,” says Wilde.

“That’s what we’re very excited about

• 5G and edge computing – because it
  can do so much. And it’s going to start
  what we refer to as a ‘data tsunami’. We
  are expecting a six, seven, eight times
  increase in data usage per device. Now
  think about the number of devices that
  are going to be coming to market – IoT,
  sensors, iPad, iPhones, autonomous
  vehicles. You’re now going to have much
  more data flowing across that network.”
  “SAP is uniquely positioned with
  its SAP HANA Data Management
  Suite to support that additional
  data in a fluid manner.”

—

Frank Wilde,

Vice President, SAP

“ SAP can serve as the data

platform and provide the

analytics, the AI, and the

machine learning to bring

5G solutions to life”

100

FEBRUARY 2021

SAP SE