PTC and GE Digital announced this week at GE’s Minds + Machines 2016 plans to expand their strategic alliance, established last year, to bring integrated solutions to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market.
Specifically, the companies will pursue a ‘ThingWorx for Predix’ technology suite that will make it easier for joint customers to use ThingWorx to develop custom applications that run on Predix, GE’s Industrial Internet operating system. Additionally, PTC intends to sell ThingWorx coupled with GE’s Predix technology, and GE intends to sell ‘ThingWorx for Predix’ together with Predix solutions that it offers to new and existing customers.
PTC’s ThingWorx application enablement tools allow for rapid drag-and-drop development of IoT solutions that readily incorporate industrial automation connectivity, machine learning and predictive analytics, remote service, and powerful augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) experiences.
PTC would pursue opportunities to sell joint offerings based on GE Digital’s Brilliant Manufacturing Suite or use cases where ThingWorx is integrated with Predix. GE would sell ‘ThingWorx for Predix’ IoT solutions to new and existing customers, with a focus on smart engineering, manufacturing, operations and service.
GE’s Predix provides an edge to cloud distributed operating system for the Industrial Internet, including edge management and analytics, cloud-based connectivity and asset management. The companies plan to leverage PTC technology as an easier means of development on Predix.
Working with GE, PTC plans to develop an optimized version of elements of its ThingWorx technology suite that would integrate tightly with Predix, making it possible for customers to enjoy the full power of ThingWorx with their Predix system.
In turn, GE would deploy ‘ThingWorx for Predix’ together with Predix for its own internal manufacturing and service processes. The collaboration will explore making the complete range of ThingWorx capabilities available in ‘ThingWorx for Predix,’ including capabilities from PTC’s ThingWorx, Kepware, and Vuforia solutions, enabling GE and its customers to accelerate the development and deployment of Predix-based solutions.
‘ThingWorx for Predix’ would leverage the platform capabilities in Predix to store the underlying asset models and run analytics at scale.
“GE Digital is one of PTC’s most forward thinking partners, and has been working closely with us to push the boundaries of what’s possible with the convergence of the physical and digital worlds,” said Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC. “The intended expansion of our collaboration is yet another great example of what our companies are capable of achieving together, and we will work to bring increased value not just to GE and PTC, but to our respective and mutual customers.”
“Tools from ThingWorx with Predix the platform are two of the most powerful offerings across the entire Industrial IoT landscape. By bringing together their complementary capabilities in ThingWorx for Predix, GE aims to bring new levels of intelligence and efficiency to our internal manufacturing operations, as well as extend those benefits to our ever-growing customer base,” said Jim Fowler, CIO, GE.
