Microsoft, GE to link industrial production with cloud
Microsoft and GE are joining forces to use cloud technologies in industrial production.
GE will bring its Predix industrial data-gathering operating system to Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, the two companies announced Monday at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto. The deal is the first in a planned strategic partnership between the firms.
“Every industry and every company around the world is being transformed by digital technology,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement announcing the partnership.
“Working with companies like GE, we can reach a new set of customers to help them accelerate their transformation across every line of business — from the factory floor to smart buildings.”
Connecting with Azure brings new features including artificial intelligence and natural language technology to GE’s Predix platform. “Connecting industrial machines to the Internet through the cloud is a huge step toward simplifying business processes and reimagining how work gets done,” GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement.
The combination of Azure and Predix will bring “industrial strength, analytically based ... asset performance management” to companies seeking to better understand how they work best, he said during an onstage discussion with Nadella.
As part of the partnership, GE and Microsoft plan to integrate Predix with Azure’s Internet of Things and Microsoft’s Cortana artificial intelligence platforms, as well as Office 365 and other Microsoft business applications.
Shares of GE hit a 52-week high of $32.50 before closing Monday at $32.21. Microsoft shares closed at $52.59, up 0.55%.
GE launched its digital industrial data analytics platform first on Amazon Web Services three years ago. Three months ago, GE and Oracle announced a deal integrating GE’s Predix into Oracle’s cloud platform and enterprise software products.