SAP Unveils Future Public Security Center
“Living Lab” to Test Newest Public Security Innovations
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the launch of a new public security research lab in Darmstadt, Germany. The Future Public Security Center will provide public security agencies in the areas of law enforcement, first response, civil protection, justice, intelligence and border protection with the opportunity to preview, collaborate on and influence the course of SAP public security research projects.
The Future Public Security Center is based on the “living lab” concept, which promotes an open innovation process by engaging all relevant stakeholders, especially end-users, in the research process for new products and services. In recent months, SAP has launched two other living labs, focusing on manufacturing and retail respectively: a Future Factory in Dresden, Germany and a Future Retail Center in Regensdorf, Switzerland.
Numerous public security organizations across the globe are already running SAP software, including law enforcement organizations in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the U.S., as well as many other European countries. In addition, SAP sees a growing client base in other public security agencies—justice and offender, civil protection, border and immigration, intelligence.
The Swiss emergency response agency uses an SAP® solution to minimize threats to public safety during major events, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos and the 2008 European Soccer Championship. Research from the Future Public Security Center provides these organizations with innovative solutions to help prepare for the security challenges of tomorrow.
“Keeping abreast of public security is an extremely complex mission today,” said Henning Kagermann, co-CEO of SAP AG. “The smooth cooperation of law enforcement, firefighter and emergency response organizations requires the use of innovative solutions leveraging modern information technology. In the Future Public Security Center, we work hand in hand with the users to develop practical IT solutions for the future.”
The Future Public Security Center has several key areas of focus. The starting phase focuses on IT support during major public disasters and crisis management in concert with the SoKNOS project, a security research program of the German federal government. The objective of the SoKNOS research project is to improve cooperation and cross-organizational collaboration among police, fire and emergency departments, government agencies and other organizations with the help of IT systems. Cooperation is critical in any crisis; during a natural disaster, an epidemic or a terrorist attack, emergency response management agencies can act quickly, coordinate and respond strategically.
In the coming years, public security organizations will face the technical challenge of combating product piracy and detecting plagiarism, as well as adapting to the use of biometrics systems and their integration into existing systems. Also gaining traction is the use of RFID chips for managing evidence in court cases and securing a scene of an accident. The collaboration between public security agencies across countries and borders and the corresponding technical challenges of integrating these IT systems are also expected to become increasingly more important in the future. The new living lab provides the necessary infrastructure to conduct research on these issues and many other topic areas.
“Globally, public security remains a top priority for governments and increasingly we are seeing strong drivers for change within these agencies,” said Sean O’Brien, vice president, Public Security, SAP. “SAP already provides an extensive portfolio for public security agencies, which is increasingly supporting operational needs. Redefining how agencies can better prepare for, respond to and recover from safety and security threats, risks and events is fundamental to our research efforts.”
