GE's Internet-of-Things Platform to Run on Microsoft's Cloud

General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp. announced a partnership to bring GE's industrial internet-of-things platform to Microsoft's cloud, as both companies continue to expand from their legacy businesses into areas more focused on mobile and the internet.

The companies said Monday that GE's Predix software platform, which enables industrial machines to connect to the "industrial internet," would come to Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, allowing users to analyze and share data from their machines using Microsoft applications.

Predix is a software and cloud platform that provides a standardized way for companies to connect their industrial devices—from train wheels to package shipping machines—to the cloud in order to monitor and optimize them.

Microsoft has been investing in its Azure platform, as competition in the market for on-demand computing power continues to heat up. It is battling with similar offerings from Amazon.com Inc.'s Amazon Web Services and other technology companies.

The partnership will allow Predix customers to access new capabilities such as natural language processing, artificial intelligence, data visualization and integration with enterprise applications. A developer preview will be released toward the end of the year 2016 and the platform will be released commercially by the second quarter of next year.

Microsoft has been focusing its efforts on internet-based products and services for corporate customers and away from its traditional focus on making office software and operating systems for desktop users. Last month, it said it would buy LinkedIn Corp. for $26.2 billion, the largest acquisition in its history, as it tries to connect the networks of tools that workers use and of the workers themselves.

In January, GE said it was moving its headquarters to Boston, in a bid to attract younger, more creative workers as it is betting that a new industrial era will revolve around software innovation.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 11, 2016 11:15 ET (15:15 GMT)

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