Germany-based Software AG has struck a deal with IT consultancy Tech Mahindra to provide technical support and integration platforms, alongside networking and analytics tools, to enable mobile operators to deliver IoT services to enterprise customers.
They are also targeting enterprise customers in the manufacturing space directly. A statement from the pair described a mission to “enable communications service providers and manufacturers to drive digital transformation efficiently, quickly and with maximum impact”.
But the partnership, which bundles Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT and webMethods platforms and Tech Mahindra’s ‘IoT framework’, is pitched to the operator community, in particular. They said telecoms providers are struggling to grasp the opportunity to connect the broader enterprise market, as IoT technologies become more available and analytics tools advance.
A statement said: “As communications service providers increasingly move towards more data-driven and value-added services revenues, powered by intelligent networks, they require substantial systems integration and solutions development work… [They] need new building blocks of connectivity management, hardware management, and integration management.”
Software AG already provides some of the technical plumbing for carrier-slanted IoT offers from the likes of Germany-based Deutsche Telekom, Spain-based Telefónica, and Australia-based Telstra, all of which white-label its Cumulocity IoT platform for their own-branded offers.
The Darmstadt-based software firm has also made direct headway in the industrial space, notably with digitally-minded manufacturing companies – and, often, with Germany-based car manufacturers – seeking to integrate sensing (IoT) and sense-making (analytics and AI) technologies into their production.
The company has reorganised its channel strategy to prioritise IoT platform deals with the likes of AT&T, ‘hyper-scale’ cloud deals with the likes of AWS, edge hardware deals with the likes of Dell, and IT and IoT reseller deals with the likes of Tech Data. It will put focus on these partners, and drive incremental IoT revenues via a traditional hard-core of Fortune 500 clients.
It is also looking to replicate its ADAMOS 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.
Besides these newer wins, which have come with the purchase and development of its Cumulocity business, Software AG has a long track record as a provider of data integration tools for broader industry. It serves 50 per cent of Fortune 500 customers, it claims, including “most banks and insurance companies”.
John Schweitzer, chief revenue officer at Software AG, said: “Our joint solutions will help communications service providers accelerate the rollout of new advanced IoT offerings. Working with Tech Mahindra, we have made it easier than ever for communications service providers to build stronger integration with OSS, BSS, and other parts of telecommunications enterprise systems.
“This will allow communications service providers to roll out new advanced offerings and onboard new customers faster than ever before, offering an unparalleled customer experience.”
India-based Tech Mahindra is offering digital-change services to various sectors, including the telecoms space. It has just come up with a new digital factory blueprint with Cisco that puts 5G at the heart industrial operations, and sets a model for IT-OT integration and security.
Meanwhile, Tech Mahindra is working with AT&T and the Linux Foundation on a project, dubbed Acumos, to provide a common framework and platform for the free exchange of machine learning solutions.
Vikram Nair, president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Tech Mahindra, said: “We are constantly looking to expand our partner ecosystem by connecting with industry-leading companies. This partnership will strengthen our existing relationship with Software AG, and will enable communications service providers to accelerate the roll-out of digital solutions empowered with advanced IoT solutions.”
