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Description
The project goal is improvement of the productivity and competitiveness of AS “SAF TEHNIKA” by introducing a new cloud computing service for expansion of IoT sensor data analysis and ensuring continuity of the service by using high performance infrastructure, thus ensuring upgraded and sustainable provision of the service.
The project will be implemented in the following ICT areas: Internet of Things, Big Data and Cloud Computing. The Project will also have a positive impact on the environment, since the equipment with a significantly lower energy consumption will be used to provide the service as compared to equipment of a similar type available to the Project Applicant. The main activities of the Project are:
- Purchasing the equipment necessary for providing the service;
- Purchasing of servers and servers switches;
- Purchasing of a set of support equipment.
- Measures related to the implementation of the new service:
- Involvement of employees in the Project to ensure the new service;
- Development of information system to ensure the new service;
- Knowledge transfer activities with the Project Partner from the donor country (Norway);
- Implementation of information and communication measures.
The project will involve the participation of a partner from the Kingdom of Norway who will provide knowledge transfer and apply the best existing practices of the complete industrial automation and IoT system solutions during the Project implementation. The Partner will provide its assessment of the availability and use of the new service in the vertical industries not served by the Project Applicant so far – manufacturing companies, that are using SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) systems for their process automation and control.
Summary of project results
The main challenges the Project set out to address:
- project applicant has essentially limited prospects of its cloud solution service - in terms of its functional features, quality, usability, and convenience, thus, limiting the development rates and turnover growth;
- the existing cloud solution is an industrial-grade solution for remote management of the ARANET ecosystem, which is the only system capable of collecting data and getting access to it from different locations and devices, but is limited in terms of large data storage, analytics, and computing capacity;
- the existing solution is limited in terms of historical data collection capacity (it is only able to provide information on the last 30 days);
- the existing service infrastructure is limited in terms of performance; it consumes more electricity than the currently available models, and is unable to provide service redundancy for ensuring an uninterrupted service;
- the equipment and application systems providing the existing solutions are not able to ensure a continuous, round-the-clock service provision and redundancy 24/7, which would not depend on the network connection and system maintenance operations
During the implementation of the project, the following activities were carried out:
- Purchasing the equipment necessary for providing the service:
- Purchasing of servers and servers switches;
- Purchasing of a set of support equipment;
- Measures related to the implementation of the new service:
- Involvement of employees in the Project to ensure the new service;
- Development of information system to ensure the new service
- Knowledge transfer activities with the Project Partner from the donor country (Norway);
- Implementation of information and communication measures.
As a result of the implementation of the project, 1 new service was introduced: new cloud computing service for expansion of IoT sensor data analysis and ensuring continuity of the service by using high performance infrastructure. Thus, ensuring the increase of productivity and competitiveness of AS “SAF TEHNIKA”.
Main results of Project:
- 1 new cloud computing service for expansion of IoT sensor data analysis;
- 1 energy-efficient and sustainable ICT infrastructure (includes: set of servers and switches; sets of support equipment (uninterruptible power supply unit (UPS) with LiFePO4 batteries));
- 10 employees are engaged in the Project (6 existing employees and 4 new positions), from which at least 3 are in category disadvantaged employees: “individual above the age of 50”.
It is planned that after the introduction of the new solution it will produce the following financial and environmental improvements (based on modelled indicator forecasts for the next year after Project implementation):
Financial indicators:
- Turnover ARANET sensors (increase of 48 times) 33 000 000 EUR
- Turnover ARANET Cloud Analytic (increase of 33 times) 1 650 120 EUR
- Total export turnover (increase of 80%) 27 571 356 EUR
- Value added per 1 employee (increase of 147%) 123 577 EUR
Environmental indicators:
- Reduction of CO2 emissions: 217,78 tCO2 per year;
- Reduction of energy comsumption: 2137,20 MWh per year
It is expected that the average export value in 3 years will amount to 50% of total demand in the identified target markets within EU (Europe and North and South America).
Importance of Project:
By introducing a new service, the Project promoter will provide a competitive advantage over other IoT sensor manufacturers, as the new cloud service solution will provide much wider functionality in the field of Big Data accounting and analytics, providing high usability and the full cycle, end-to-end service to customers (single manufacturer’s IoT servers and a cloud computing solution with the capabilities of advanced data analytics).
As a result of the Project implementation, the new service is provided in a modernized and sustainable way, since, to ensure the service efficiency, a high-performance infrastructure is used that will be suitable to process Big Data. Moreover, the service will be redundant, as the service infrastructure will be accommodated at 2 (two) independent locations, thereby reducing the impact of external factors and ensuring business continuity 24/7. The system will be independent of network connection and system maintenance preventive operations.
According to the energy auditor’s calculations, the CO2 emission reduction will equal 217,78 tCO2/year and energy consumption reduction will equal 2137,20 MWh/year.
Summary of bilateral results
The project execution involved an external partner from Norway: AUTOP.NO. AUTOP.NO was founded in 2019, and its main activity is furnishing various industrial companies with full industrial automation and IoT systems. The Partner has made a significant contribution to implementing the new service, as it has ensured the deployment of AS “SAF TEHNIKA” IoT sensors and SAF Aranet Cloud Analytic service testing in the food processing industry. At the same time, Partner has evaluated the availability, quality, execution speed and usefulness of the new service in optimizing the business process. The hands-on testing approach and user feedback collected during online meetings ensured a thorough evaluation of technical performance and user perspectives. The hardware setup, including the Aranet Base station and Sensor kit installation, demonstrated smooth configuration and connectivity. Aranet Cloud service availability and ease of use, including continuity during maintenance, were confirmed without issues.Integration with third-party systems, such as SCADA-like systems, and Cloud API connectivity were partially tested due to limitations in accessing manufacturing system interfaces. However, Postman test automation tools achieved successful connectivity and data export.Overall, the Aranet Cloud Analytics evaluation in the food processing industry revealed readiness in key areas, including hardware installation, service availability, and the implementation of industry-specific analytical tools. The findings indicate a robust platform suitable for the bakery industry''s unique requirements.AUTOP.NO not only shared knowledge and best practices on IoT systems but also gained new knowledge (about the new cloud computing service optimization), thus raising its own competence and increasing marketability