Data connectors for OEMs to further improve farmer and industry connectivity
Sonata Software, a leader in Modernization Engineering, is collaborating with Bayer, the leaders in agricultural chemicals, seeds and biotechnology products. As part of the partnership, Sonata will allow Bayer to develop new AgPowered Services for Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture that enable retrieval and integration of in-field activity data by working with leading manufacturers of farm machinery.
The lack of data interoperability is one of agriculture’s biggest technology challenges, according to Bayer. On-farm data connections have advanced, but solutions to connect to services and opportunities beyond the farm have largely been unavailable to farmers. The infrastructure and capabilities that organizations and companies supporting agriculture and related industries need to be able to best serve their customers have also been lacking.
This initiative will enable Enterprise users of Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture to have an integrated, one-stop solution to connect key data sources for farm machinery data in the industry, thus bringing down the cost of technical investment that companies are facing today.
Furthermore, organizations can rely on the same system to connect to additional data sources, such as in-field sensors, and weather and satellite imagery, and incorporate data-driven insights and recommendations from the suite of AgPowered Services into their customer-facing solutions. Azure Data Manager for Agriculture provides B2B customers with a ‘one-stop shop’ to connect to farm machinery data, weather, imagery, and insights from AgPowered Services.
“Technology that allows for more unified data will provide significant benefits to farmers and accelerate innovation across food and agriculture,” said Ines Kapphan, Vice President of Data and Cloud Solutions, Digital Farming at Bayer. “Once initiated by farmers, the ability to connect comprehensive operational data from their fields, combined with other data sources like weather and imagery, can equip data users and consumers with valuable insights. With proficiency in new technologies such as Generative AI and Azure Data Manager, Sonata’s role as system integrator is key to driving digital transformation in agriculture and connected industries.”
“In an era of ubiquitous connectivity, data interoperability is paramount for achieving scalability, foreseeing the future, and proactively addressing scenarios with informed decisions,” said Anthony Lange, Chief Revenue Officer at Sonata Software. “This partnership, facilitated through our unique solution architecture based on the proven Connector Factory model, a proprietary responsible-first AI solution called Harmoni.AI, and robust Platformation™ framework, will provide Bayer’s clients with ready-to-use capabilities. These can be licensed and applied to internal or customer-facing digital solutions, scaling digital transformation enterprise-wide and ensuring positive agronomic outcomes throughout the value chain.”
Sonata has partnered with Microsoft for more than 30 years. At the recently held Microsoft Ignite event, Sonata was showcased as one of the key Featured Partners for Microsoft Fabric – a pathbreaking SaaS Analytics Platform for the era of AI that is now generally available (GA) and integrates with numerous Microsoft, third-party, and partner platforms. Sonata’s recently launched Harmoni.AI – A Responsible-first AI, is witnessing significant traction across industries and markets.
