GE forms GE Digital, aims to be top 10 software company
General Electric on Monday formed GE Digital, a unit that will combine its various technology efforts, and better compete in the Internet of things market.
The creation of GE Digital is also likely to be more of a threat to the likes of IBM and large analytics players. GE Digital will be led by Bill Ruh, chief digital officer.
According to GE, GE Digital will be bring together:
- GE's Software Center;
- Global IT and commercial software teams;
- Wurldtech, which provides industrial security systems.
The move by GE has been largely telegraphed since the company has launched software and cloud platforms that revolve around the so-called industrial Internet, which is a play on the Internet of things.
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CEO Jeffrey Immelt said GE's tech and analytics unit will have $6 billion in revenue in 2015. Immelt said GE Digital is aiming to be "a top 10 software company by 2020." Predix is GE's platform for the industrial Internet of things.
I've noted before that GE and IBM are on an analytics, cloud and Internet of things collision course. GE Digital makes it official.
The formation of GE Digital comes ahead of a powwow in San Francisco Sept. 28 to Oct. 1.
With Ruh leading GE Digital, the company also rolled out some exec changes. Russell Stokes will replace retiring Mark Begor to lead GE Energy Management. Jamie Miller will lead GE Transportation and take over for Stokes. Miller and Stokes will be CEOs of those businesses at GE. In the future, those businesses are likely to increasingly integrate with the technologies from GE Digital.