GE launches $1.2bn IIoT arm and sells 90% of ServiceMax

Published: 19 December, 2018

GE has announced plans to establish an independent company focused on building a comprehensive Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) software portfolio. The company will start with $1.2bn in annual software revenues and a global customer base. It will be an independently-run business with a new brand and identity, its own equity structure, and its own board of directors.

The proposed business will bring together GE Digital’s existing IIoT portfolio, including its Predix platform, asset performance management, historian, automation (HMI/Scada), manufacturing execution systems, operational performance management as well as the GE Power Digital and Grid Software Solutions businesses.

“As an independently operated company,” says GE’s chairman and CEO, Lawrence Culp, “our digital business will be best positioned to advance our strategy to focus on our core verticals to deliver greater value for our customers, and generate new value for shareholders.”

GE’s Predix platform will be part of the new software company’s portfolio

GE is also selling a majority stake in ServiceMax, its field service management software business, to a private equity firm, Silver Lake. It says this will help to sharpen the focus of its IIoT portfolio to position it for future growth.