GE's Internet-of-Things Platform to Run on Microsoft's Cloud
July 11 2016 - 11:30AM
Dow Jones News
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)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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