Infor has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) initiative, AWS for Automotive. This is the latest iteration of the partnership that has seen Infor move closer to the AWS technology stack. Infor already provides Infor CloudSuite Automotive, a cloud-based ERP solution, on the AWS platform. The collaboration is a smart move by Infor. It means that automotive customers interested in the components of AWS for Automotive now have the option of deploying a leading ERP solution embedded and integrated with AWS technology.
However, what isn’t clear is how and what the integration links will be between the different solutions. Is this anything more than just a listing of what is effectively a list of the AWS solutions geared towards the automotive industry?
Scott Kamieneski, Infor general manager, automotive industries, commented, “AWS and Infor are equally committed to putting our customers at the center of the automotive experience. A continuous stream of disruption has led to recent shifts in the marketplace that have increased the demands on the entire industry, from OEMs down through suppliers. They must adopt digital strategies faster, with more agility and visibility into data-driven insights.
“Working with AWS, Infor strives to provide superior industry-focused automotive solutions that help drive productivity and better outcomes.”
What is AWS Automotive
Kamieneski fell short of explaining how the Infor ERP solutions form part of the AWS Solution areas. AWS itself lists seven such areas:
- Autonomous Mobility: autonomous systems, robotics, and machine learning to accelerate autonomous vehicle development.
- Connected Mobility: uses data to build intelligent, personalized features and revenue-generating mobility services.
- Digital Customer Engagement: increases customer engagement with personalized marketing content, engaging digital experiences, and real-time data analysis.
- Software-Defined Vehicle: Rearchitect vehicle software to better access, understand, use, and update services necessary for new mobility solutions.
- Manufacturing: Improve manufacturing operations and overall equipment effectiveness by capturing, analyzing, and visualizing plant floor data.
- Supply Chain: Gain the end-to-end supply chain visibility necessary to track and trace the entire production process with unprecedented efficiency.
- Product Engineering: Empower product developers and engineers to solve complex problems using HPC, model-based design, and large-scale parallel simulations.
Infor solutions could help support several of these areas. Within Supply Chain, Infor Nexus improves supply chain visibility and insights. Currently, the AWS web page only mentions SAP and Oracle, though. The obvious area is within Manufacturing with CloudSuite Automotive. However, there are no software partners mentioned in that section.
Infor has worked with the automotive industry for over 20 years. Recent customer success stories include SEG Automotive, Topre Corporation and Miller Industries. It will hope that joining AWS Automotive will attract others.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
The Automotive ERP industry has seen significant changes in recent years with Dassault buying and subsequently renaming IQMS to Delmiaworks. Thoma Bravo took QAD private earlier this year, and Rockwell Automation completed the acquisition of Plex in September.
In partnering with AWS, Infor could accelerate its exposure in a rapidly evolving industry to the age of electric cars. Massive changes are looming for supply chains and manufacturing plants. This partnership could be how Infor gains a greater share of what is a huge market. ReportLinker estimates that the total global automotive software market could reach $41. 9 billion by 2026.
What is missing from this announcement is what will happen next. Will Infor integrate the existing product into the Amazon automotive solution? What value will those integrations deliver? Will AWS update its website to reflect the partnership with Infor? Hopefully, Infor will shed some light on all three in time.
