This partner insight was authored by Kalyan Pasumarti, Global SAP Solution Architect, Red Hat.
Industry 4.0 is already transforming manufacturing, but the real power lies in closing the data gap between the factory floor’s operational technology (OT) and the enterprise’s IT systems. This challenge requires a robust, modern foundation.
That’s where the Red Hat and SAP partnership delivers. We’ve created a complete, secure, and scalable framework—the “digital thread”—that ensures a continuous, reliable flow of data from the smallest machine sensor, managed by Red Hat’s edge solutions, all the way to the executive level. Red Hat’s open hybrid cloud technologies provide the consistent, rock-solid platform required to make intelligent manufacturing a reality.
Here is a look at the powerful, three-tier architecture, built on Red Hat’s open-source leadership, that enables this transformation. The 3-Tier Architecture: Powered by Red Hat’s Open Hybrid Cloud.
Red Hat provides the essential, unified infrastructure layer across all three tiers:
Tier 1: The Device & Plant Edge (The Shop Floor)
This tier demands minimal resource consumption and maximum stability. We leverage Red Hat Device Edge/MicroShift—the ultra-lightweight, Kubernetes-based solution—for local, real-time processing and basic AI, such as immediate defect checking. This foundation communicates seamlessly using industrial protocols like OPC UA and MQTT.
Tier 2: The Near Edge / Facility (The Plant Control Hub)
This critical middle layer is the plant’s secure, containerized control hub. It is powered by Red Hat OpenShift, the industry-leading enterprise Kubernetes platform. OpenShift hosts essential plant software like MES and runs the central component, the SAP BTP Edge Integration Cell (EIC). By running on OpenShift, the EIC gains the stability and “store-and-forward” resilience needed to guarantee data is never lost, even during network outages.
Tier 3: Enterprise / Cloud Core (Headquarters)
This is the central hub for core business applications like SAP S/4HANA. Red Hat OpenShift enables this tier to operate as a true hybrid cloud core, ensuring consistency and portability whether it runs on-premises or across major cloud providers (Azure, AWS, GCP). This open, flexible environment supports high-level AI and analytics services like SAP BTP Datasphere.
Red Hat’s Technologies Driving the Digital Thread
The entire framework is underpinned by Red Hat’s enterprise open-source platforms, ensuring consistency and security from the smallest device to the largest cloud:
- Red Hat OpenShift: This is the consistent, enterprise-grade container platform that hosts all applications across the Near Edge (Tier 2) and the Cloud Core (Tier 3). OpenShift provides the reliability, security, and scalability necessary for mission-critical industrial workloads.
- Red Hat Device Edge/MicroShift: The lightweight, hardened Kubernetes distribution that brings the power of containers to the deep edge of the shop floor.
- SAP EIC (Edge Integration Cell): This vital connector runs securely on the Red Hat OpenShift platform, leveraging its robust container security and management capabilities to link operational data from Tier 1 to the cloud services in Tier 3.
- SAP S/4HANA & SAP BTP: SAP’s core business and cloud services are deployed and managed efficiently across the OpenShift-powered hybrid environment.
Real-World Impact: The Use Cases That Transform Operations
The integration of Red Hat’s platform with SAP’s business applications creates powerful, transformative use cases:
- Predictive Maintenance: Real-time sensor data is processed by edge AI on Red Hat Device Edge, spotting failures and automatically triggering a work order in SAP EAM/PM at headquarters.
- AI-Driven Quality: Vision AI, powered by containers running securely on a Red Hat platform, detects product defects on the shop floor in real-time.
- Traceability: Component data is tracked across all tiers, secured and managed by the Red Hat infrastructure, providing end-to-end visibility.
- Sustainability: IoT data on energy consumption is reliably collected and routed via the Red Hat/SAP EIC backbone for accurate ESG reporting.
Kalyan Pasumarti is Global SAP Solution Architect at Red Hat.