GE’s already developing iOS apps which will be used internally and by its customers. The company intends to use iOS as part of its digital transformation strategy, improving efficiency and optimising how staff do work.
Improving mobility
GE’s Asset Performance Management Cases app, available in the App Store, uses iOS to assist industrial firms in improving the reliability of their machinery. Utilising predictive maintenance technology, it can identify potential failure points and provide insights to mitigate risks and lower costs.
Under the partnership, GE will equip over 330,000 of its employees with Apple devices including Macs, iPhones and iPads. For its part, Apple will promote GE’s Predix platform as the industrial IoT analytics “platform of choice” to thousands of iOS developers. The arrangement has been hailed by both firms as a way to improve mobility and help industrial companies harness their data.
“GE is an ideal partner with a rich history of innovation across the industrial world in areas like aviation, manufacturing, healthcare and energy,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Together, Apple and GE are fundamentally changing how the industrial world works by combining GE’s Predix platform with the power and simplicity of iPhone and iPad.”
A new IoT strategy
The partnership comes at a crucial time for GE. The company has struggled in recent months after failing to meet its digital transformation targets. Predix has faced multiple setbacks and isn’t delivering the returns GE had anticipated.
GE’s currently restructuring its digital business and narrowing its focus to concentrate on industries where it’s already succeeding. The new relationship with Apple will help the company demonstrate the power of its platform as it makes a second attempt at mastering industrial IoT.
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“The partnership between Apple and GE is providing developers with the tools to make their own powerful industrial IoT apps,” said John Flannery. “Our customers increasingly need to arm their workforces through mobility. Working together, GE and Apple are giving industrial companies access to powerful apps that help them tap into the predictive data and analytics of Predix right on their iPhone or iPad.”
GE’s developed a new Predix SDK for iOS which will be available to download from next week. It gives developers everything they need to create iOS apps capable of accessing GE’s industrial analytics services. GE’s IoT customers will be able to monitor data from their connected products within a familiar iOS environment, helping “close the information loop” and maximise visibility into IoT networks.
