GE Launches New Partner Program Calling On SIs, ISVs And App Developers

GE has launched a new partner program looking to pull in "hundreds to thousands" of system integrators, resellers and independent software vendors to capitalize on the fast-growing industrial Internet of Things opportunity.

"This is a call out to the broadest audience, to as many partner types as we can accommodate," said Karen Dougherty, global head of GE's strategic partner Go-To-Market business, in an interview with CRN. "The opportunities are huge. One of the reasons to be excited is the opportunity for scale, especially for ISVs who want to develop applications on top of our Predix platform. We're creating an application marketplace that's going to allow them to scale to a much broader audience."

The new GE Digital Alliance Program provides partners with access to sales, marketing and technical resources from GE, as well as tools, training and enablement, online content and assets, Predix certifications, developer sandboxes, joint deal registration and incentives based upon contribution level.

[Related: Report: IoT Partners Must Ramp Up App Development]

The program is being launched alongside the general availability of its industrial equipment monitoring and analytics platform, Predix. Last year, GE unveiled its cloud-based platform for the industrial Internet Predix Cloud, which allows customers to analyze data generated by IoT sensors embedded in industrial equipment aimed at solving line-of-business problems.

"Step 1 is getting developers up to speed on Predix and to get those certifications started," said Dougherty.

Predix Cloud is used as a Platform-as-a-Service, targeting industries such as automotive, aviation, energy, health care and manufacturing. GE says the solution will enable operators to use machine data faster and more efficiently, saving companies billions of dollars annually.

GE, with a market cap of more than $296 billion, said the program brings Predix to the world's largest developer ecosystem, which unlocks new applications for industrial IoT.

The new program has four tiers: Certified, Select, Premier and Global Strategic.

"Certified is defined by developers and partners who are certified to develop platforms on Predix. That's one of the basics of the program. ... We're asking our partner to invest in our platform," said Dougherty.

Over time, Dougherty said, GE will find the "appropriate mix" of incentives and rebates per tier with hopes to onboard "hundreds to thousands" of partners into the program over the next two years. The program is designed to connect system integrators, resellers, ISVs, telecommunications service providers -- such as AT&T -- and technology partners, like Cisco, with the technology and digital industrial expertise of GE.

"The way we're designing the program and rolling it out is so it can accommodate the large strategic partners as well as the smaller ISV types, who just want to develop industrial applications and have access to our marketplace, where we can actually help them scale," said Dougherty.

The industrial IoT market will grow at an 8 percent CAGR over the next few years, hitting $151 billion globally by 2020, according to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets. The largest market for industrial IoT will be in Asia/Pacific, with the market valued at $38 billion in 2015 and expected to top $54 billion in 2020, according to a recent report by research firm Technavio.

Reports cite the top industrial IoT vendors in the market as Cisco, GE, IBM, Intel, Rockwell Automation and RTI International.

Fairfield, Conn.-based GE, who is moving its headquarters to Boston, launched its new GE Digital unit last year, bringing together all the company's digital capabilities.

In 2015, GE Digital brought in more than $5 billion in revenue. GE Digital's solution centers around asset performance management to allow manufacturing and industrial spaces increased efficiencies in terms of energy use and optimization, according to the company.