13.07.2010 Annette Schavan, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, announced the winners of the second round of the “Spitzencluster” competition on Tuesday. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will be supporting the five winners over a period of five years with funds of up to 200 million euros. Europe’s largest software cluster, “Softwareinnovationen für das digitale Unternehmen”, was one of the winners. This cluster is known as the Silicone Valley of Europe and includes the centers in Darmstadt, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Saarbrücken and Walldorf. Six projects are to be set up, during which the cluster itself (management, networking, international presence, training and further education, exploitation) as well as the technological and methodical research and development of software solutions for digital companies are to be driven forward. These projects alone will require investments of more than 80 million euros.
Further objectives of the Software-Cluster include the training of 5,000 specialists over a period of 5 years, the foundation of 30 companies within the cluster’s core area, and attracting leading foreign companies to settle in the cluster region. With the support of the BMBF, the partners would like to turn Europe’s largest software cluster into a technology center of global significance. The decision of the Federal Government will strengthen the software industry in Germany. Current studies forecast that 430,000 new jobs will be created in the software industry by the year 2030. Software is already considered one of the key technologies for increasing added value and productivity.
The ministry hopes to strengthen innovation policy in Germany with this competition. Partners from the science and business sectors will be able to turn their ideas into new products and services more quickly while making better use of their existing strengths. The largest German corporate software manufacturers (IDS Scheer AG, SAP AG and Software AG) are represented in the Software-Cluster in addition to more than 350 small and medium sized companies from the corporate software sector, including IMC AG, Seeburger AG, proAlpha Software AG and intelligent views gmbh.
The three leading computer science research centers (DFKI, Fraunhofer, FZI) and the renowned computer science faculties of the TU Darmstadt (which is represented by the LOEWE Center at CASED), the Kaiserslautern University of Technology, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the University of Saarland are also bringing their expertise in the areas of research, development and training into the cluster. Over the long term, this software cluster wants to become the leading global technology center for emergent software for digital companies. The region is already known as the “Silicon Valley“ of Europe.
Emergent software combines a wide range of components from different manufacturers in a dynamic and flexible manner, in order to fulfill the highly complex requirements of global companies. This software can adapt itself dynamically to the changing requirements of the market as well as the business environment, supports complex and dynamic corporate networks, and will enable innovative services to be provided via the Internet of the future. The principle behind emergent software is viewed as a key innovation for digital companies and the Internet of the future.
The objective is to transform normal companies, which previously only used IT as a tool for supporting their traditional processes, into completely digital companies. In the future, individual economies as well as the prosperity of industrial and service provider companies will depend on the ability of such institutions to position themselves as digital companies.
Quotations
Prof. Dr. Johannes Buchmann, CASED: “The close cooperation between universities and companies unleashes a huge amount of potential for innovation. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. For CASED, this nomination as a “Spitzencluster” is not only another outstanding achievement, it has also provided it with additional stimulus for participating in the global success story of information technology in future”.
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wahlster, DFKI: ”The “Spitzencluster” will provide our three living labs with an enormous boost during the practical implementation of our research into disruptive product functions and, therefore, turn ICT, as the number one motor for innovation, into the turbo charger for new economic growth.”
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Dieter Rombach, Fraunhofer IESE: “The quality and quantity of research competence and software companies that are available in this region, something which is unparalleled within Germany and Europe, has the potential to achieve an internationally leading market position for innovative business process software on the basis of emergent principles.“
Dr. Volker Zimmermann, IMC AG: "The Software-Cluster mirrors the trend towards the development of corporate solutions, which no longer come from a single manufacturer, but from providers who offer their solutions together as a service. This provides IMC, a medium-sized company, with the chance to speed up cooperation with other "hidden champions" and global players".
Peter Gérard, IDS Scheer AG: “We are very pleased to have been able to convince the jury about our long-term cluster strategy. It was very important to IDS Sheer, just as with the other participating companies, to develop a foundation that will allow innovative products and services to be brought to the market more quickly and, therefore, more successfully through targeted research and development as well as the interlinking of knowledge and skills. We are more than happy to face up to this challenge and implement our ideas and concepts within the planned “Spitzencluster” projects.
Jörg Kleinz, intelligent views gmbh: ”The support that is being provided to the ”Spitzencluster” is an important factor in enabling software innovations for digital companies to be developed. It will also allow important contributions from small and medium sized companies to be integrated in an optimal manner. The software industry is one of the key drivers for the future in our country and also the leader in the corporate software sector. As a small company, we are obviously very happy to be able to provide a contribution to this project via the strategy board, and we fully understand our task, which is to represent the perspectives of SMEs as well as provide access to our semantic technology.”
Prof. Dr. August-Wilhelm Scheer, BITKOM: “A strengthening of the international competitiveness of the Software-Cluster is one of the basic prerequisites for creating internationally competitive units.“
Werner Ernst, proALPHA Software AG: “Increasingly complex company processes must be able to adapt themselves automatically to changing conditions. The event controlled proALPHA workflow management software provides an excellent basis for this. However, it can only unleash its full potential when based on global standards. The cooperation between medium sized companies, such as proALPHA, research institutes and the large players in our sector, within the scope of such a “Spitzencluster”, is a necessary condition for enabling this.“
Léo Apotheker, SAP: By supporting such “Spitzenclusters“, the right approach is being taken for strengthening Germany’s technological competitiveness and, therefore, securing sustainable growth and creating future-proof jobs. The nomination of the already successful cluster “Softwareinnovationen für das Digitale Unternehmen“ as a “Spitzencluster“ by the BMBF is very pleasing, as it underscores the strategic importance of corporate software in a globally networked business world. Innovative software supports dynamic processes and guarantees transparency in all business divisions and across all corporate boundaries. The cluster therefore holds a great deal of potential for the entire economy of the Internet society.“
Bernd Seeburger, SEEBURGER AG: This undertaking is especially important for SEEBURGER AG, as it will not only strengthen the regions, but also create a signaling effect throughout the whole of Germany. Working together with research institutes and software manufacturers provides excellent opportunities for receiving new and innovative impulses, above all for medium sized companies, whose available resources are limited.
Karl-Heinz Streibich, Software AG: I am very happy that we have won the “Spitzencluster” competition organized by Annette Schavan, the Federal Minister of Education and Research. It has always been our objective to increase the profile of our Software-Cluster on a global basis together with our partners from the business, science and political arenas. I am sure we will achieve this target with the support of the government. Examples such as Silicon Valley or Bangalore clearly highlight the fact that many leading international companies are formed within such clusters, above all in the IT and software industry. The consolidation process in the software market is in full swing. Clusters and alliances offer an approach that will strengthen the European software industry. The Software-Cluster is therefore an indispensable part of a successful innovation policy in Germany.“
Contact persons for the press:
German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) (DFKI)
Reinhard Karger, DFKI, +49 (0)681-302-5253, reinhard.karger dfki.de
Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE
Alexander Rabe, Fraunhofer IESE, +49 (0)631-6800-1002, alexander.rabe iese.fraunhofer.de
IDS Scheer AG
Irmhild Plaetrich, IDS Scheer, +49 (0)681-210-3680, irmhild.plaetrich ids-scheer.com
SAP AG
Hilmar Schepp, SAP AG, +49 (0) 62 26-74 67 99, hilmar.schepp sap.com
SEEBURGER AG
Konstanze Prinz, SEEBURGER AG, +49 (0)7252-96-1117, k.prinz seeburger.de
Software AG
Norbert Eder, Software AG, +49 (0) 6151- 92-1146, Norbert.Eder softwareag.com
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Jörg Feuck, TU Darmstadt, +49 (0)6151-16-4731, feuck pvw.tu-darmstadt.de
Software-Cluster "Softwareinnovationen für das digitale Unternehmen“
Objectives:
digital companies work in extremely flexible Internet-based corporate networks and dynamically align their business models and processes with these. All data concerning processes, facilities and resources of the real company are available at all times and in all areas for planning, control and optimization activities. The objective of the Software-Cluster is to enable normal companies to be transformed into completely digital companies, in which ICT forms the decisive driver for product and process innovations. Studies forecast that 430,000 new jobs will be created in the software industry in Germany by 2030. Other objectives of the Software-Cluster include the training of 5,000 specialists over the next 5 years, the foundation of 30 companies within the cluster’s core area, and attracting leading foreign companies to settle in the cluster region. Based on current figures, at least 300 million euros will need to be invested.
Approach:
The Software-Cluster will develop concepts, technologies and business processes for emergent software within six projects – this represents an innovative leap within the corporate software sector, which is one of the most important areas of the German economy. Emergent software combines a wide range of components from different manufacturers in a dynamic and flexible manner, in order to fulfill the highly complex requirements of digital companies. Implementation of the cluster objectives demands a great deal of shared effort from both the science and business sectors as well as cross-company cooperation within the Software-Cluster.
Region:
The Software-Cluster includes the centers in Darmstadt, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Saarbrücken and Walldorf.
Partners:
Strategy board: DFKI - German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence GmbH, IESE - Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering, IDS Scheer AG, IMC information multimedia communication AG, intelligent views gmbh, proAlpha Software AG, SAP AG, Seeburger AG, Software AG, Technische Universität Darmstadt
Industry & regional IT networks: CAS Software AG, Competence Center Computer Science, ConWeaver GmbH, Corisecio GmbH, CyberForum e.V., Dacos Software GmbH, 1&1 Internet AG, EUROSEC GmbH, IHK Darmstadt Service GmbH, Insiders Technologies GmbH, John Deere Werke Mannheim, KOBIL Systems GmbH, mineway GmbH, Netbiscuits GmbH, Ontoprise GmbH, SIEDA GmbH, Sirrix AG, STI Software Technologie Initiative Kaiserslautern e.V., Technologie-Initiative smartFactory KL e.V.,
Research & development: DFKI - Innovative Retail Laboratory, Computer Science Research Center at the University of Karlsruhe, Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research, Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology, Fraunhofer Institute for Technical and Economic Mathematics, KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Kaiserslautern University of Technology, University of Saarland
Project duration: 5 years (start 04/10 - end 03/15)
Support: the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), with investments of more than 80 million euros.
Central contact person:
Gino Brunetti
Head of the coordinating body of the Software-Cluster
Software-Cluster/CASED
Mornewegstraße 32
64293 Darmstadt
Phone: +49 6151 16-70821
Fax: +49 6151 16-4825
e-mail: gino.brunetti cased.de
Webseite: www.software-cluster.org oder www.software-cluster.com
