General Electric Co said on Wednesday it is developing a cloud-based service tailored for industrial customers, the latest step in the US conglomerate's effort to gain business from data generated by machines.

GE chief executive Jeff Immelt has bet on developing analytics and software for customers of the company's jet engines, power-generating turbines, healthcare equipment and other industrial products.

More than 50 billion machines are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2020, according to GE.

GE's customized cloud offering is built on the Predix operating system it had previously developed for software used by its customers.

Predix Cloud is designed to improve the operating system while incorporating security and regulatory requirements specialized for industrial data and applications.

"You just look at the consumer world, you get jealous at the speed at which you can easily and quickly gain access to applications," Bill Ruh, vice president of GE software, said in an interview. "That is exactly the same thing you want in the industrial world. The thing is you need it done in an industrial way."

GE expects $6 billion in software revenue this year, up from $4 billion last year. The company says it is investing $500 million annually in software, including spending on the Predix Cloud.

Ruh described Predix Cloud as a "gated community" of industrial users, as opposed to a public cloud infrastructure open to anyone.

Some GE customers have begun using Predix Cloud with a broad launch set for the fourth quarter, Ruh said.

The world’s first and only cloud solution designed specifically for industrial data and analytics, this platform-as-a-service (PaaS) will capture and analyse the unique volume, velocity and variety of machine data within a highly secure, industrial-strength cloud environment, the company said.

Predix Cloud will drive the next phase of growth for the Industrial Internet and enable developers to rapidly create, deploy and manage applications and services for industry.

“Cloud computing has enabled incredible innovation across the consumer world. With Predix Cloud, GE is providing a new level of service and results across the industrial world,” said Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE. “A more digital hospital means better, faster healthcare. A more digital manufacturing plant means more products are made faster. A more digital oil company means better asset management and more productivity at every well. We look forward to partnering with our customers to develop customized solutions that will help transform their business.”

Nabil Habayeb, GE's president and CEO for the Middle East, North Africa & Turkey, added: "The launch of GE's Predix Cloud further strengthens our 'Future of Work in Menat' roadmap to unlock the true growth potential of the region; it will promote a culture of collaboration for the Industrial Internet to further innovate and achieve efficiency and productivity leaps across all key sectors.  A cloud built exclusively to capture and analyse machine data will deliver more value to machines, fleets and factories."

Predix Cloud will enable operators to use machine data faster and more efficiently, saving billions of dollars annually. By combining GE’s deep domain expertise in information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), GE’s Predix Cloud will deliver advanced tools like asset connectivity, machine data support and industrial-grade security and compliance.

The success of the Industrial Internet depends on a collaborative ecosystem of partners. GE’s Predix Cloud is purpose-built from the ground up, but it will also run on other cloud fabrics if required by a customer. Predix Cloud uses Pivotal's Cloud Foundry to help with application development, deployment and operations.

GE businesses will begin migrating their software and analytics to the Predix Cloud in Q4 2015, and the service will be commercially available to customers and other industrial businesses for managing data and applications on Predix Cloud in 2016, the statement said.

WHAT MAKES THE PREDIX CLOUD DIFFERENT

•    Asset Connectivity: Analysts estimate that more than 50 billion assets will be connected to the Internet by 2020. Predix Cloud provides advanced connectivity-as-a-service for these industrial assets, combining proprietary technologies with global telecommunications partners to enable rapid provisioning of sensors, gateways and software-defined machines.

•    Scalability for Machine Data: Machines produce different types of data, which consumer cloud services are not built to handle. Predix Cloud was purpose-built to store, analyze, and manage machine data in real time. From capturing and analyzing time series data from a locomotive with thousands of sensors to delivering large object data like a 3D MRI image to a doctor for diagnosis, Predix Cloud is built for the variety, volume, and velocity of industrial data.

•    Security + Compliance: Incorporating decades of experience in operational security and information security, Predix Cloud is designed with the most advanced security protocols available, including customized, adaptive security solutions for industrial operators and developers.

•    Governance: Leveraging GE’s global network and deep expertise across more than 60 regulatory areas, Predix Cloud is designed to streamline governance and drive down compliance costs for each individual user, while respecting national data sovereignty regulations globally. This enables GE, partners, and developers to more easily build and deploy services for highly regulated industries such as aviation, energy, healthcare and transportation.

•    Interoperability: Predix Cloud will operate seamlessly with applications and services running in a broad spectrum of cloud environments. As such, businesses will be able to take advantage of its optimized security and data structure offerings while maintaining and interoperating within existing solutions.
 
•    Gated Community:  Unlike public cloud services, which are open to any individual or organization, Predix Cloud is based on a “gated community” model to ensure that tenants of the cloud belong to the industrial ecosystem.

•    Developer Insight: Developers will have visibility into their operating environments and every actor connected to it. In doing so, businesses will be able to deploy and monitor machine apps anywhere, continuously adjusting to new demands in the physical and digital world while providing the security and visibility required for operational effectiveness.

•    On-Demand Availability: Businesses will be able to easily access and scale with the Predix Cloud, which will be offered through a convenient on-demand, pay-as-you-go pricing model. - – Reuters and TradeArabia News Service