GE and Microsoft announced a partnership that will make GE’s Predix platform for the Industrial Internet available on the Microsoft Azure cloud. The agreement, which marks the first step in a broad strategic collaboration between the two companies, will allow customers to capture intelligence from their industrial assets and take advantage of Microsoft’s enterprise cloud applications.
Specifically, the Azure cloud will provide Predix customers with scalable infrastructure, data sovereignty, hybrid capabilities, and advanced developer and data services. In addition, GE and Microsoft plan to integrate Predix with Azure IoT Suite and Cortana Intelligence Suite along with Microsoft business applications, such as Office 365, Dynamics 365 and Power BI, in order to connect industrial data with business processes and analytics.
“Connecting industrial machines to the internet through the cloud is a huge step toward simplifying business processes and reimagining how work gets done,” said Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE. “GE is helping its customers extract value from the vast quantities of data coming out of those machines and is building an ecosystem of industry-leading partners like Microsoft that will allow the Industrial Internet to thrive on a global scale.”
GE to enter Cloud Services Market with Predix Cloud
GE announced plans to enter the cloud services market with its Predix Cloud — a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) designed specifically for industrial data and analytics.
GE said it is developing Predix Cloud to capture and analyze the unique volume, velocity and variety of machine data within a highly secure, industrial-strength cloud environment. Machine data is expected drive the next phase of growth for the Industrial Internet and enable developers to rapidly create, deploy and manage applications and services for industry.
“Cloud computing has enabled incredible innovation across the consumer world. With Predix Cloud, GE is providing a new level of service and results across the industrial world,” said Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE. “A more digital hospital means better, faster healthcare. A more digital manufacturing plant means more products are made faster. A more digital oil company means better asset management and more productivity at every well. We look forward to partnering with our customers to develop customized solutions that will help transform their business.”
Predix Cloud will leverage GE’s deep domain expertise in information technology (IT) and its operational technology (OT). GE businesses will begin migrating their software and analytics to the Predix Cloud in Q4 2015, and the service will be commercially available to customers and other industrial businesses for managing data and applications on Predix Cloud in 2016.
