GE Digital Unveils Global Alliance Program and Forms New Collaborations to Help Spur Industrial Internet Growth

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, GE announced that the company opened its Predix platform to everyone through its GE Digital Alliance Program, the company's first ever program dedicated to growing the digital industrial ecosystem. This new alliance program is designed to connect systems integrators, telecommunications service providers, independent software vendors, technology providers, and resellers with GE's technology and digital industrial expertise. For the first time, GE alliance members will be able to train and certify their developers and begin building industrial apps with Predix, GE's cloud platform for the Industrial Internet.

The program will also offer participants access to sales, marketing and technical resources from across GE Digital, as well as digital tools, training and enablement, online content and assets, Predix certification, developer sandboxes, joint deal registration and specific benefits based upon contribution level. This move helps to bring Predix to the industrial internet developer ecosystem, focused on unlocking new applications.

As part of the GE Digital Alliance Program, GE also unveiled new collaborations with Intel, Capgemini, TCS, Deloitte Digital, Infosys, Genpact, Softtek, and Wipro Limited.

• Intel and GE are forming a global strategic alliance to combine Predix with Intel computing platforms and the industrial internet developer ecosystem. This alliance will bring jointly developed technologies to industries, such as Intelligent Cities, Brilliant Manufacturing and healthcare. The move will produce products and solutions offering for industrial and commercial customers globally.

• Capgemini and GE's Current will collaborate with 200 developers to develop analytic and intelligent software solutions based on the Predix platform focused on reducing power levels, generating power onsite, and driving new revenue streams through the use of sensors and networked systems in buildings and cities. 

• TCS and GE will work together to create an industry solutions ecosystem by leveraging TCS' business and digital experience to leverage GE's Predix platform. TCS has already developed new IoT solutions on Predix, such as Satellite Image Analytics, Supply Chain Monitoring, Prognostic Maintenance and Engine Telematics. TCS has a large pool of Predix trained personnel and plans to add an additional 1,000 developers in 2016.

• Deloitte Digital and GE intend to work together to drive digital industrial transformation for mutual clients, leveraging GE Digital's Industrial Internet products and vision along with Deloitte Digital's strategic digital transformation experience and value delivery approach. A digital consultancy within Deloitte Consulting LLP, Deloitte Digital provides clients with full-service solutions for business processes to enable delivery of end-to-end offerings.

• Infosys has partnered with GE to deliver a range of services, including Industrial Internet solutions for manufacturing, aviation, transportation and healthcare. The company has over 100 technical staff trained on Predix development and plans to train an additional 500 developers on the platform in 2016, in addition to establishing Predix training for customers. This partnership will foster co-innovation of new applications with concepts in digital twin, brilliant factory and AI. Predix reference solutions and an industrial version of its Aikido service offering will help manufacturers and other industrial enterprises to automate their businesses.

• Genpact and GE join forces to create an end-to-end offering and joint go-to-market model to help clients transform through accelerated Industrial Internet adoption. As a GE spin-off, Genpact brings an understanding of the industry domain and combines that with Data-to-Insight-to-Action analytics, engineering and technology, along with its Lean Digital approach to Industrial Internet processes and systems.

• Softtek and GE will work together by leveraging Softtek’s global industrial and digital experience to provide development and implementation services for GE Digital solutions.  Softtek has developed several applications powered by Predix for water treatment calculations, asset monitoring and customer issue tracking to enable customers with improved visibility and analytics.

• Wipro and GE will join forces to create an industrial team to help accelerate the adoption of the Predix platform in the industrial marketplace. The two companies will build sets of industrial apps and integration templates to deliver solutions for the cloud, analytics and mobility.

GE Digital also provided updates on existing agreements, now joining the newly formed Digital Alliance Program.

• Accenture and GE jointly deployed an Intelligent Pipeline Solution, a software solution that helps pipeline operators make more informed decisions around pipeline safety and integrity. Columbia Pipeline Group is the first customer to utilize this technology across its 15,000-mile interstate pipeline network.

• Softbank Corporation (SoftBank) and GE introduced an Industrial Internet solution for LIXIL Total Service Co., Ltd, is a subsidiary of LIXIL Corporation (LIXIL), which helped optimize the installer-arrangement for the home bathroom installation business that was powered by Predix. SoftBank, a Japanese service provider, became GE's first strategic global partner to license the Predix platform in 2014. LIXIL is the first customer to leverage this alliance.

• AT&T, Verizon and Vodafone will work with GE to help more securely connect smart cities, railways and manufacturing plants to the Predix cloud. All three service providers are also Predix Connectivity-as-a-Service collaborators.

• Cisco and GE delivering joint solutions based on the Predix platform and Cisco's IoT-ready joint infrastructure and solutions. As digital industrial partners, the companies will introduce Predix-ready appliances integrated into Cisco's IoT compute platform, as well industry-specific solutions, such as the brilliant factory offering.

The exchange of knowledge, technology and resources available through the GE Digital Alliance Program will be facilitated through GE's network of Digital Foundries located globally, with the first to open in Paris. This is another action by GE to help bring the Predix platform to the global developer community and help grow the Industrial Internet ecosystem.

GE Digital Alliance Program:  www.GE.com/digital/partners .

Keywords: Industrial Internet, Systems Integrators, Independent Software Vendors, Telecommunications Service Providers, Technology Providers, Predix, ARC Advisory Group.