A newly published article in the New York Times summarizes GE’s journey into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). I read this article and thought a few things that I thought I would share.
First, I don’t think a “go big or go home” strategy is the right one, either for a business building an IIoT strategy, or for an IIoT company like Prediccio. GE invested $4 billion in just two years, hiring 2,000 software engineers. In 2017, their GE Digital Predix solution garnered them just $550 million in revenue. So it’s not surprising that they would pivot, focus their strategy, cut their workforce, and reduce spending. Everyone wants to grow fast, reap all of the promised benefits of IIoT and predictive maintenance, but we have to be strategic and grow into this new technology at a reasonable pace.
Second, GE is the oldest company on the Dow, a 124 year old company. This doesn’t mean they are not innovative, as innovation has likely led to their success and ability to stay alive for 124 years. But they are still a behemoth of a company, massive, and struggle to be as nimble and agile as we believe is necessary in this space. We believe that it’s in any customer’s best interest to work with a smaller company that will focus 100% on the details of your business needs and your operations, and build something that is tailored to your needs.
Finally, I was shocked at how few of GE’s customers are using their digital platform – only 8%. To think that this massive super successful company has only managed to convince 8% of it’s customers to invest in IIoT demonstrates how many companies out there are still in need of the right partner to help them on their IIoT journey.
At Prediccio we encourage our customers not to rush into a massive digital undertaking. We work closely with our customers and learn the intricacies of their operations in order to get things right. So if you haven’t started down the IIoT path, don’t worry, it seems that not many companies have. But the world is changing, and Prediccio is here to help you kick off your IIoT strategy.
Contact us at [email protected] for a free demo.
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