Dubai gets Siemens’ MindSphere Application Center to enhance aviation industry

May 7, 2018: Siemens Postal, Parcel and Airport Logistics (SPPAL) has opened a new MindSphere Application Center (MAC) in Dubai that will further expand its digital portfolio and improve passenger experience, simplify processes and increase efficiency.

The MAC is used to develop future-oriented analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for airports, airlines, cargo service providers and ground handlers. The MAC in Dubai is part of the global network of a total of 20 centres for the digital customer applications of the Siemens group.

At these MACs, around 900 software developers, data specialists and engineers are developing digital solutions in conjunction with customers. The solutions are based on MindSphere, the open cloud-based IoT operating system from Siemens. The MAC in Dubai is located at Dubai South’s Business Park, which is also home to the Al Maktoum International Airport and the Expo 2020. Moreover, the United Arab Emirates is a major hub between North and South, East and West, and is therefore the ideal location for the new facility.

"We are building on our decades of experience in airport logistics and are using MindSphere in a targeted manner as a platform for digital innovations," says Michael Reichle, CEO of Siemens, Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics. "For example, we are using our extensive expertise to develop apps, or in the areas of machine learning, data analysis or data mining."

"Customers benefit from these skills in our cloud-based and on-premise solutions. Siemens is also inviting customers to work together on new solutions as co-creation partners," adds the head of the new MAC in Dubai, Khaled Nabli. "In this way, Siemens is developing applications which are tailored precisely to the needs of customers, adding maximum value for them. This gives them a significant competitive advantage, and it provides us with a USP in the market."

Siemens has already established partnerships of this kind with Dubai Airports (United Arab Emirates) and Munich Airport (Germany). Opportunities offered by the collaboration include setting up a data platform (data hub). This type of hub allows the real-time exchange of quality-assured data in a standard, secure manner, thus improving cooperation between the various stakeholders at airports. Additional areas for collaboration range from reducing maintenance costs and improving the power supply as well as proactive asset management and maintenance.

Siemens' global MAC network also opens up the opportunity for SPPAL to use the expertise and data from closely related fields. For example, data from Building Technology can be used to further improve the passenger experience at the airport.