The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and the Edge Computing Consortium (ECC), a Beijing-based consortium of six leading Chinese entities formed to promote in-depth industry coordination, accelerate innovation, and boost the application of edge computing, announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The intent is to partner on shared interests of advancing the industrial Internet and edge computing.

IFS announced it has completed the acquisition of mplsystems Limited and Field Service Management Limited. mplsystems Limited is a provider of omni-channel contact center and customer engagement software that, together with IFS’s Service Management offering, provides a complete end-to-end customer engagement solution. The company has implemented its solutions at some of the UK’s most well respected brands, including: Babcock International, HomeServe, Ecomaster, ENGIE, and Iceland.

General Electric has acquired the Israeli-Japanese startup IQP Corporation for an estimated $30 million to $40 million, though the parties have not released the amounts involved. IQP makes a development environment for apps for the “Internet of Things” that does not require writing computer code.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., also known as Foxconn, and Rockwell Automation announced that they are collaborating to implement Connected Enterprise and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) concepts for smart manufacturing in Foxconn's new U.S. facilities.