New partnerships to allow processing of even bigger data

General Electric (GE) has announced partnerships with AT&T, Cisco and Intel  to expand its 'Industrial Internet' service that allows its customers to analyse data and predict outcomes.

The service helps customers analyse industrial 'big data'- data so large that it is difficult to process using traditional database and software. This would help customers minimise downtime, increase productivity, lower fuel costs and reduce emissions.

By connecting machines to the network and the cloud, workers can track, monitor, and operate GE's machinery wirelessly from anywhere through secure and machine-to-machine communications, GE Software's Corporate Officer Bill Ruh said.

GE has existing partnerships with Amazon Web Services, Accenture, and Pivotal to support the service.

GE said the ten "predictivity" products it launched last year have contributed revenue of $290 million so far this year.

The company said it has 14 new customers for the 14 products launched on Wednesday.

According to technology research group Wikibon, industrial data is expected to grow at two times the rate of any other big data segment over the next decade.