The Friedhelm Loh Group won first place in the "Innovation Champions Award 2020". The prize-winning solution ONCITE is the world’s first real-time, data-sovereign, AI-based edge cloud data centre for industrial production data processing. The award, presented by the journal WirtschaftsWoche, St. Gallen University and ADWM (Academy of German Global Market Leaders), recognises the most innovative companies in Germany.
The Innovations Award for ONCITE was presented on 29 January at the “Summit of Global Market Leaders 2020” in Schwäbisch Hall, attended by leading figures from politics and industry. The “all in one edge” solution was dubbed a “flagship for German industry” and awarded first prize in the Technological Innovations category. “We are extremely proud that our development has been honoured in such a high-calibre environment,” said Dr. Sebastian Ritz, Managing Director of German Edge Cloud in the Friedhelm Loh Group. “The jury’s decision reaffirms the feedback we have received from our customers: Digital optimisation of production, value creation with production data and the protection of expertise with data sovereignty are pressing issues facing the whole of German industry.”
Summit for innovation
The “Summit of Global Market Leaders” under the patronage of Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier is one of Germany’s largest meetings of current and potential global market leaders and political decision-makers, and plays host to around 500 delegates. It shines the spotlight on companies who use their innovative strength to safeguard the future of Germany’s SMEs.
The Awards jury include economic experts such as Editor-in Chief of WirtschaftsWoche Beat Balzli, the former Minister of Economics of Baden-Wuerttember Dr. Walter Döring, Prof. Dr. Christoph Müller of St. Gallen University and Members of the Board of companies like Schunk, Datev and the Würth Group.
Prize-winning solution: Digital value creation with data sovereignty
ONCITE is a turnkey edge cloud data centre for real-time, data-sovereign Industry 4.0 application scenarios. It stores and processes production data in almost real time (“on premise”) and harmonises it for analysis using artificial intelligence (AI).
Within a very short start-up time, this allows companies to digitally optimise their production, use data in a value-maximising way, and make it available for further use. Users retain full sovereignty over their data and can decide for themselves who is given access to which data and via which platforms and public clouds they will connect to their partners.
The solution was developed by Rittal, iNNOVO Cloud, German Edge Cloud and IoTOS – all members of the Friedhelm Loh Group – in close collaboration with Bosch Connected Industry and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.
By industry, for industry
In ONCITE, the Friedhelm Loh Group has created a solution “by German industry, for German industry.” The innovation will also lend impetus to the Gaia-X digital project, as part of a joint plan by the German Ministry of Economics and industry to strengthen European business in the face of global competition.
Since Rittal’s foundation in 1961, when it launched its first enclosure innovation, the Friedhelm Loh Group has supported its customers across many different sectors on their journey into the digital future – from the value creation chain in enclosure production, to market leading IT racks and modular data centres, through to edge and hyperscale solutions and ONCITE.
“ONCITE is our response to the key challenges facing manufacturers in particular. Other sectors such as healthcare and smart living also need to safely store, select, process and add value to burgeoning data volumes. This offers further potential for ONCITE and Gaia-X," said Dr. Ritz.