SAP SE
“ We’re fundamentally changing how we’re going to market and how our customers go to market and innovate together” FRANK WILDE
VICE PRESIDENT, SAP
manufacturing and retail, for example, 5G is making progress, but when are we going to realize its full potential? In a previous interview with us, Wilde talked about a watershed moment, but when does he think that will be, and what will it look like? He says there are two work streams in flight, one of which is the public network around 5G and the other is the private network. SAP has been working for the last two years in the private 5G and edge computing space, deploying proof of concepts that are specific to 5G. “Together with Deloitte, we put together an innovation methodology around 5G. The methodology helps customers first learn about the potential of 5G and edge services, then ideate on where and how these technologies can impact revenue and operations and develop a roadmap for execution. We are scaling the approach through a collaboration with Deloitte, Verizon, and SAP.” “It very quickly begs the question, is the infrastructure poised to support that additional bandwidth? So when you think about Verizon, for example, in the US they have done a beautiful job of not only deploying 5G to provide coverage in specific markets for the public network, but they’ve also taken a multi-pronged approach. They realized that that’s just one element
of the equation. The additional backbone infrastructure to be able to support a full 5G deployment is then going to be the next tipping point.” SAP has a close partnership with Verizon which has been strengthened with the opening of a 5G Lab in Palo Alto in December 2020. It is designed to showcase the power of 5G or how to monetize 5G connections and create new revenue streams. The 5G Lab sits alongside the existing SAP Labs that have been operating since the early 1990s and have been a focal point for the company, enabling SAP to serve as an incubator of new ideas. “The 5G Lab allows us to pull together our portfolio,” says Wilde. “We get customers to see that there’s very much a business impact to 5G. Imagine if a consumer is walking through a store, picks up a product, and they have a question about that product. Imagine a 3D chat bot popping up off their phone to answer questions. You don’t need additional store staff, you could be just-in-time and personalized for that consumer.” “Then imagine picking up a box of cereal and having your phone create a 3D immersive experience to see what the product contents look like, or look for food allergies. If you can personalize that experience down to a market of one, that becomes very powerful.” “Those are the type of experiences that we can showcase within the Lab. There’s an opportunity for new revenue streams, which we’re just scratching the surface on.”
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