In September 2001, "Global First President" Jack Welch appointed Jeff Immelt as his successor to take charge of General Electric (GE), the world's largest industrial company by market value at the time. However, it wasn't until around 2012 that Immelt finally outlined a clear future for GE. "Industrial Internet" is a term coined by GE's R&D department in 2012, but Immelt firmly believes that this is the future of industry. Immelt once said a famous saying: "GE was still a manufacturing company yesterday, and has become a software and data company when I wake up."
What is the essence of "Industrial Internet"? Immelt has already explained: it captures data from the machine and feeds valuable thoughts back to the customer. A large number of sensors are embedded in the products manufactured by GE to collect real-time data. GE can model the data and transform it into high-value output results to help customers optimize the efficiency of assets and operations.
In March 2016, Immelt clearly referred to GE as a "digital industrial company" and took IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) as the direction of enterprise transformation. However, a year later, GE's transformation effect has not yet fully manifested, and Immelt, who supported the Industrial Internet, retired sadly. In addition, GE lost $6.2 billion in 2017, and its stock price was cut in half. So, is it wise for manufacturing companies to use the "Industrial Internet" as a new driving force for transformation? In the five-year course of implementing the "Industrial Internet", what are the gains and losses of GE?
The initial idea of ​​"Industrial Interconnection" began during the international financial crisis in 2009. At that time, GE discovered that industrial customers began to turn more attention from "improving productivity" to "increasing profit margins." Then, upgrading the "industrial network" is a necessary and feasible solution.
Any machine equipment has a certain physical limit, no matter how the performance potential of the machine equipment is tapped, there is always a ceiling there. However, if all kinds of machines and equipment are integrated into an efficient and smooth information network, and the machines have the ability to interact with each other, the overall operational efficiency can be optimized. For factories, airlines or the energy industry, profits are largely derived from operational efficiency. This is like the nerve cells in the human brain. The cell body alone can do very limited things. However, a huge number of cell bodies and nerve fibers have built a complex and efficient neuron system. Complicated interactivity can give the human brain unparalleled powerful intelligence.
The promotion and application of network technology in industry can enable the ability of information interaction between machines and equipment, which is nothing new. Then, compared with traditional industrial networks, where are the key value points of the "Industrial Internet" proposed by GE?
Note that the Industrial Internet is not a technology, but an operating mode (or application scenario). The traditional industrial network is also called "industrial bus", which is more of a smaller-scale networking, which is generally used for communication between a small number of nodes or distributed control. For example, the communication between the controller on a machine and several servo motors, or the networking and information exchange of machines in a factory building is very similar to a “local area networkâ€. In the past, because of the high cost, the needs of industrial customers did not appear on a large scale, and large-scale networking (such as machines distributed in factories in various places, or aviation, energy, and medical equipment distributed in various places) was not established.
The "Industrial Internet" that GE has vigorously promoted is actually a comprehensive upgrade of the traditional industrial network. Its core values ​​are mainly concentrated in two aspects: First, the substantial increase in the number of networked nodes. Incorporating into the same network, and using the current mature infrastructure and technology of the commercial Internet, a wide range of information interaction can be realized at low cost; the second is to build a “cloud†data analysis system, and each network node (every network connected Machines and equipment are all a network node) to carry out in-depth analysis and decision-making of massive industrial data sent, and then extract high-value information to serve industrial customers.
For example, in GE aircraft engines in the past, the sensors installed were in passive mode, and the red light would only turn on when there was a failure. This "passive data analysis after the fact" does not have much value except for accumulated experience. Only by providing "real-time data analysis" can we effectively improve operational efficiency. Therefore, GE requires each engine to retain all the data of each flight, and transmit the data back to the data center for analysis in real time during the flight. According to this, the GE data center can provide predictive maintenance for aircraft engines, reducing Downtime, economy and safety are all better optimized.
The key value point of the Industrial Internet is "continuous optimization", rather than immediate and substantial improvement of asset and operational efficiency. Just like Immelt himself said: "The power of the Industrial Internet lies in 1%." Even if the efficiency increase caused by the reforms promoted by the Industrial Internet is only 1%, the overall benefits it brings are unprecedentedly huge.
In 2012, GE presented a report entitled "Industrial Internet: Breaking the Boundary Between Wisdom and Machines", which included a calculation: assuming that the efficiency of gas-fired power plants is increased by 1%, it can save US$66 billion on a global scale If you save 1% of operating costs on railway operations, you can save US$5.6 billion per year; if you increase the capital utilization rate of oil and gas exploration and development by 1%, you will reduce capital expenditures by nearly US$90 billion per year. If the industry can save 1% of fuel, it will save more than 30 billion U.S. dollars; if the efficiency of the medical industry increases by 1%, it will help the global medical industry save 63 billion U.S. dollars. Only a 1% efficiency improvement in the five areas of railways, aviation, medical care, electric power, and oil and gas can achieve growth of hundreds of billions of dollars.
Asset Performance Management (APM)In 2012, GE emphasized “to build an open and global network that connects people, data, and machines.†This expression changed a little in 2015. “Software analysis†was added, and “machines†were added. Added the word "smart". The early achievement of GE Industrial Internet is the establishment of a wider "network connection", through the discovery of "data value", to build an efficient operation of asset performance management system (APM).
In 2011, Bill Ruher began to take over GE's industrial Internet strategic business. Bill Ruher originally worked at Cisco, and Jeff Immelt took great pains to dig it up. Soon, GE invested 1 billion U.S. dollars in Silicon Valley, California, USA, and founded the GE Global Software and Analysis Center to develop software technology for the industrial Internet. Bill Ruher became the first employee here.
Bill Ruher believes that the industrial production field has already brought the principles of physics into full play, and upgrading equipment alone is no longer enough to support a further 1% increase in production efficiency. "Through the connection between intelligent machines and finally the connection between man and machine, combined with software and big data analysis, we can break through the limitations of physics and material science and change the way the world operates. Cloud computing and big data are driving the industrial Internet. For business transformation, the core of the Industrial Internet lies in the intelligent interconnection of machines, and we can use software to analyze the data in it to promote the revolution in productivity." These cognitions are already in line with the intrinsic nature of the Industrial Internet.
According to GE's vision, this will be a huge physical world—machines communicate with each other, machine equipment is more intelligent, and the human world, digital world, and machine world merge and coexist. In short, it is to integrate complex physical machinery, network sensors, and software systems to improve efficiency. This is regarded as an important direction for the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
During this period, GE has made great progress in cloud computing and big data. In June 2013, it integrated the functions of smart machines, sensors, and advanced analysis. GE launched the first big data and analysis platform to consolidate asset performance. The basis for the efficient operation of the management system. For example, sensors are installed on aircraft engines and wind turbines to generate massive amounts of data. Making good use of these data can better manage machines, optimize processes and operations, and reduce energy consumption. This is the focus of GE's "Industrial Internet".
As a successful case of GE's industrial Internet application, AirAsia deployed GE's Flight Efficiency Service (FES). FES is a segmented service area of ​​APM. Combined with GE's real-time data analysis, it can help AirAsia optimize traffic flow management, flight sequence management, and flight path design. In 2014, the FES system helped AirAsia save US$10 million in fuel costs.
As a European energy giant benefiting from APM services, the German Eon Group increased the output of its 283 wind turbines by 4% in 2014, enough to power 4,000 American homes for a year.
The Industrial Internet is vertical. It transforms the industry’s in-depth experience into useful knowledge and data. Specifically in GE’s asset performance management system, it transforms information into better asset utilization, fuel usage, and safety. This is very important for airlines, infrastructure companies, and the energy industry.
Digital technology, specifically analysis technology, is regarded by GE as the next driving force that can greatly increase industrial productivity. The cost of data storage and computing processing has fallen sharply in recent years, making it possible for almost every manufacturing sector to now digitize industrial equipment. The possibility of adopting new applications is great. These applications include predictive analysis, digital modeling, and gaining in-depth understanding and insights to promote the emergence of new business models and sources of revenue. GE seeks to effectively manage these data and explore behavior patterns that are difficult for ordinary people to see, thereby driving a reliable leap in industrial efficiency.
Based on this recognition, GE is pushing for "digital" transformation. In 2015, GE adjusted its organizational structure and integrated all digital functional departments within the company into a unified digital business unit-GE Digital, to optimize efficiency and create greater value for customers and investors.
Platform strategyMany years ago, GE has achieved significant results in specific industrial applications of big data and cloud computing, and has gradually improved its asset performance management system. However, this is far from the goal and end of GE Industrial Internet. In what form GE Industrial Internet will finally be implemented, there have been two options: one is customized dedicated software; the other is a platform-based operating system. Immelt finally chose the latter. In 2014, some employees who moved from Microsoft to GE thought, “If GE wants to obtain the maximum value of the industrial Internet, it must build an industrial Internet platform like Microsoft’s Windows operating system.â€
This is why GE began to use "software analysis" as a core competency in 2015 and continues to move forward. The "software analysis" that GE emphasizes mainly refers to operating systems like Windows and Android. On October 10, 2014, GE officially announced to the outside world that it had concluded an "Internet of Things Alliance" with Verizon, Cisco, and Intel to create a Predix platform. This Predix platform, similar to Windows in computers and Android in mobile phones, is a cloud operating system open to software developers. There are various application software on mobile phones and computers, such as office, chat, music, camera, game, movie, etc. Most of these are not developed by Microsoft and Google, but they are integrated into Windows, On the Android system platform, a compatible and diverse software ecosystem is formed.
GE's greatest value to the Predix platform is "compatibility and openness." For example, a train can be equipped with 300 sensors at the same time. These sensors can transmit a large amount of data about fuel and emissions, check whether the rails are cracked, and the locomotive's data center processes these important data. If the train speed is increased from 22 miles per hour to 23 miles per hour, the profitability of the operator will increase by 20%, which means an increase of $250 million in profits, which will be achieved using information and data. Even if the locomotive and main equipment are not made by GE, GE can transform it into a series of "running computers."
As long as they are willing to share data, GE will provide better information and software services. Customers can purchase or subscribe to GE's cloud operating system to include the Predix platform services. As a completely open system, Predix is ​​not limited to GE's own equipment and applications, but is for all industrial enterprises, who can use Predix to develop and share various professional applications.
GE hopes to give "intelligence" to turbines, engines and other equipment, which can be connected to a network through its software. GE has a large number of ready-made machines and a lot of data. In 2015, GE was able to monitor and analyze 50 million data points every day, from 10 million sensors, and the total assets of equipment management to which the sensors belonged reached US$100 billion. As the operating system platform for GE to manage its industrial Internet solutions, Predix was fully open sourced in October 2014 and opened to the industry. It hopes to attract more companies to develop industrial Internet applications and solutions based on this platform. Become a de facto standard in the industry, which is very similar to Android's open platform strategy.
Predix is ​​responsible for connecting various industrial asset equipment and suppliers with each other and connecting to the cloud, and providing asset performance management and operation optimization services. Therefore, the function of Predix is ​​to coordinate GE's APM system and industrial Internet applications that carry industry users. In this sense, GE regards it as an operating system. In another sense, Predix is ​​virtual, and APM system is real. This is where Predix is ​​different from Android. Every professional application on the Predix platform must correspond to a type of physical industrial assets, combining virtual and real.
In the process of building and improving the Predix platform, GE is good at playing the role of "alliance", with Verizon, Cisco, and Intel being the first batch of allies. GE's advantage lies in its industrial experience. For example, GE is a large power company, and its Predix design can increase power plant efficiency by 3%, increase reliability by 5%, and cut operating and maintenance costs by 25%. GE Industrial Internet can better provide technical services to industrial customers, but the related infrastructure is very large, and it is difficult for GE to build it on its own.
GE must establish alliances with Intel and Cisco, because the Predix platform is mainly composed of sensors, communication equipment, source data based on cloud services, and open communication frameworks. If Intel processors are embedded in General Electric’s Predix platform devices, Intel can help GE develop a reference architecture for edge devices, integrate Intel processors and Predix software, and embed intelligent networking interfaces in any device. Cisco will incorporate Predix compatibility into network equipment such as industrial routers. The first product of the cooperation between the two parties is a Cisco router that supports Predix, which has been strengthened externally to withstand the harsh environment of oil and gas facilities. Verizon and General Electric in the alliance will jointly launch services such as remote monitoring, diagnosis, and maintenance and repair on the Predix platform.
GE continues to expand the size of the alliance and cooperates with Accenture to establish a global strategic alliance to jointly develop technology and analytical applications. GE cooperates with AT&T. AT&T will connect GE's equipment with its network and cloud to provide efficient and secure wireless transmission services for GE's industrial Internet. In order to achieve a more optimized wireless connection, SoftBank and Vodafone have also become allies of GE. Amazon is the first cloud service provider deployed on the GE Industrial Internet, leveraging Amazon's global infrastructure, extensive services and big data expertise to provide cloud solutions for industrial applications and infrastructure.
The end, or the beginningIn the past five years, GE has been trying to inject "Internet thinking" into the traditional industrial system, building a "system platform + software ecology" with Predix as the core. And the operating model is also very similar to Google Android, or Apple iOS. At present, tens of millions of people around the world are developing application software for the latter two system platforms.
GE's Predix platform is not without competitors. Germany's Siemens built MindSphere, and France's Schneider built EcoStruxure. These platforms compete with each other and have triggered a "dark battle" on the cloud layout in the industrial Internet field. And the focus of the competition is not difficult to understand, that is, how many assets and equipment, how many professional applications, and how many developers join the platform.
According to data provided by Schneider Electric, as of mid-2018, the EcoStrucxure platform has attracted the support of more than 20,000 developers and system integrators, and is managing more than 1.6 million assets in the cloud. This scale will obviously make GE's Predix platform feel deeply competitive. Zhejiang Province, China, even has a development goal: to establish 30 industry-leading industrial Internet platforms, develop and integrate 100,000 industrial apps, connect 200 million industrial equipment, and 300,000 companies are included in the platform.
Imagine that one day, you can open an industrial application store like the APP Store on your mobile phone. There are apps for monitoring and analyzing energy consumption, apps for analyzing the entire production line, or apps for monitoring the location and status of a certain device... This is not only a complete subversion of the traditional industrial field, but also a new industrial battlefield open to competition.
It is GE's long-term goal to make the "Predix platform ecology" bigger, but it will not be sustainable if it fails to bring good financial returns. In 2015, Immelt announced in a high profile that “it will increase the sales of software and related services to more than US$15 billion within five years, and make GE one of the top ten software companies in the world.†However, GE Industrial Internet Platform Predix has been from beginning to end. None of them brought the expected operating income. In 2017, GE even suffered an unprecedented huge loss, and its stock price was cut in half. In the following year, GE stock was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJIA), the first time in 110 years.
Any innovation breakthroughs made by GE in the field of industrial Internet may create many "niche markets", but they may not immediately lead to large-scale sales growth. For example, GE's injection of artificial intelligence technology into the Predix platform, and many machines and equipment incorporated into the Predix platform may be given better data analysis capabilities, which can bring certain efficiency and safety improvements. However, it is difficult to transform this part into financial returns. Customers may think that you should optimize your technical services, and you will not be easily accepted if you charge extra money. Moreover, this improvement in efficiency and safety is very small. GE emphasizes that it is "1% power", but customers have not generated urgent needs.
In August 2017, Immelt, who had been in charge of General Electric for 16 years, retired sadly. The new CEO began a series of reforms and continued to sell non-core businesses to improve operations. In September 2017, GE's industrial solutions business was sold to ABB. During Immelt's tenure, GE launched the industrial cloud platform Predix, transforming into a "digital industrial company". However, today, GE's industrial Internet business has shrunk to serve GE's own core business, and its momentum in external market development has been significantly weakened. Immelt once said: "In the age of the Industrial Internet, Google is not a rival of GE." However, the Industrial Internet, after all, is different from the consumer Internet and cannot establish such "wide connections" and "natural monopoly of the market."
It is not difficult even for a mobile phone or a PC to establish a "global connection", because the communication protocol is globally unified, and many things are not difficult to coordinate. Industrial production equipment is very different. It is not easy to establish a "larger-span connection". Each enterprise, especially the larger manufacturing company, has a wide range of equipment. Different equipment may come from different sources and have their own. "Language" is the rule of dialogue. It is very difficult to connect these devices to information, not to mention that many GE devices are not open to data. It is very difficult to connect these interface data protocols alone, regardless of technical difficulty or cost. The more important question is whether the value of the connection can compensate for the huge investment.
In addition, the industrial interconnection has come to this day, and the interconnected ones are already interconnected, and those that cannot be interconnected or do not need to be interconnected can not be forced. Moreover, the industrial Internet platform Predix built by GE can hardly form a "natural monopoly" in a field like Amazon (e-commerce), Facebook (social), and Google (search). It is difficult for users to find better alternatives. Many industrial enterprises (or industrial alliances) have to have their own intelligent platforms and systems and go out of their own way. The Predix platform is just an option, and it is not difficult to replace.
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