Orchestrating the Hybrid Cloud – From Shop Floor to Executive Suite
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Key Takeaways
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The introduction of a unified hybrid cloud infrastructure with Red Hat OpenShift enables organizations to achieve seamless portability of core SAP applications across major cloud providers, which is critical for SAP professionals to innovate without vendor lock-in challenges.
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Integrating AI at the edge with SAP backend processes shifts organizations from a reactive approach to predictive maintenance, allowing real-time sensor data to automatically trigger work orders, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and minimizing downtime.
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The digital thread facilitates end-to-end traceability and accurate ESG reporting by securely routing IoT data through the Red Hat/SAP Integration Suite, ensuring organizations meet sustainability metrics and compliance requirements with high-fidelity data collection.
The first half of the digital thread focuses on capturing and securing data at the edge as highlighted in the first part of this two-part series. However, an organization’s true business value is realized when that data reaches the enterprise core. The second and final part of this series emphasizes how the Red Hat and SAP framework focuses on the third tier, the enterprise or cloud core, where raw operational data is transformed into strategic business insight.
Tier 3: A Consistent Hybrid Cloud Core
At the headquarters level, Red Hat OpenShift enables Tier 3 to operate as a true hybrid cloud core. Whether the organization’s core SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) services run on-premise or across major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), the underlying infrastructure remains consistent.
This portability is vital for SAP professionals who must balance innovation with vendor lock-in risks. Its open environment also supports high-level AI and analytics services, such as SAP Datasphere, allowing leadership to view real-time factory data alongside global financial and supply chain metrics.
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Traceability and Sustainability
The integration of Red Hat’s open-source leadership with SAP’s business applications enables use cases that were previously hindered by data silos. They include:
- Predictive Maintenance: Real-time sensor data processed by edge AI can spot a pending failure and automatically trigger a work order in SAP Enterprise Asset Management/Plant Maintenance (EAM/PM) at headquarters before a breakdown occurs.
- AI-Driven Quality Control: By using containers running securely on a Red Hat platform, manufacturers can deploy Vision AI to detect product defects on the shop floor in real-time, reducing waste and protecting brand reputation.
- End-to-End Traceability: Component data is tracked across all three tiers—from the initial sensor reading to the final product record—all secured and managed by the Red Hat infrastructure.
- Sustainability and ESG Reporting: The digital thread reliably collects IoT data on energy consumption. This data is routed via the Red Hat/SAP Integration Suite’s EIC backbone to ensure accurate, audit-ready ESG reporting.
What This Means for SAPinsiders
Standardize on a unified infrastructure for hybrid cloud portability. Red Hat OpenShift provides a consistent, enterprise-grade container platform that spans Tier 2 (Near Edge) and Tier 3 (Cloud Core). For SAPinsiders, this means core applications like SAP S/4HANA and SAP BTP can be deployed with total portability across multi-cloud environments including public providers like Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) without changing the underlying architecture.
Transition from reactive to predictive with AI-enabled edge workflows. The framework allows for the seamless integration of AI at the edge with backend SAP processes. Organizations can automate complex workflows, such as predictive maintenance, where real-time sensor data analyzed at the edge triggers automated work orders in at headquarters to prevent equipment failure.
Enable audit-ready traceability and sustainability reporting. By routing all shop-floor IoT data—including energy consumption—through a secure SAP Integration Suite’s Enterprise Integration Cell and Red Hat’s OpenShift backbone, organizations can achieve high-fidelity data collection for sustainability metrics. This provides the end-to-end visibility required for accurate ESG reporting and comprehensive component traceability across all tiers of production.
