PLM Perspectives from GE Minds + Machines 2017
GE Minds + Machines is billed as “the Premier Industry Internet Event,” and that tag is not far off. Having attended in previous years as an analyst at LNS Research, I had a different perspective this year as a sponsor from the newest member of GE Ventures’ portfolio.
Minds + Machines Trending Up
Show attendance increased 90% over last year, which more than validated the move to the Moscone Center in the middle of San Francisco (M+M was on the city fringe in previous years). I chalk up the jump in attendance to both interest in the industry topic – digitization and industrial transformation – and the growth and perception of GE Digital as a standalone software company.
That said, the tone at the event was more nuanced than in previous years. Certainly, John Flannery taking the helm as new CEO with a new vision (we’ll have to stay tuned on that one) was a factor. However, more importantly, the focus of the show was less about technology hype and more about delivering value, a sign that GE Digital recognizes the importance of customer and partner relationships and that the measure of a product is the value it brings to customers.
GE Digital Solutions are Mid-“Hype Cycle”
If last year was all about the “Peak of Inflated Expectations,” this year’s Minds + Machines was back to basics. I’d place this year’s discussion in the “Slope of Enlightenment,” given GE’s focus on making software work, building applications that generate value, and showcasing customer examples. In previous years, conversation evolved around “What if I could connect my industrial enterprise, predict failure, and prescribe actions, and ‘talk’ to my smart connected assets?” This year, I heard more about the success of connecting and analyzing critical equipment and the value it creates.
GE’s message of building industrial applications on Predix is resonating, but there is still hesitation among customers to go all in. Most examples featured use of Predix for specific problems but not across the enterprise.
A Functioning Partner Ecosystem is Critical
GE Digital is learning that “it takes a village” to sell and implement software. Stage presenters from Bill Ruh to John Flannery emphasized the role of partner companies as a key part of their strategy. GE Digital knows it can’t succeed without partners, but is still maturing its approach.
The company has a long history of designing, building, and acquiring what they don’t have and making the best things in the market. There are some growing pains for them as they mature as a software company. The software world is a different dynamic where the metric is 80% in-house capability with partners rounding out the last 20% for specific capabilities and industry application. Software companies’ “frenemies” approach that blends competition and cooperation allows them to learn from one another while concurrently making them more competitive. Other large industrial companies have either succeeded or failed based on partnerships (or the lack thereof) with software companies.
A big takeaway for Aras was that GE emphasized its focus on asset performance management and stated they are not focused on getting into the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) business. This does not mean PLM is not strategic to their business, it simply means they plan to leave PLM to other platform players in the market. The door is open for anyone eager to be GE Digital’s preferred PLM application partner.
Digital Twin Examples Need to Include Digital Thread
Walking the floor and attending presentations, I noted 15+ Digital Twin presentations vs. only 2 about Digital Thread. Presenters were eager to convey their view of Digital Twin and demonstrate possibilities in real-world environments. Examples fell a bit short because they skipped the requisite capability to get there: full lifecycle traceability, aka Digital Thread.
The Digital Thread is important to consider as it’s the only way to connect users in all disciplines and functions – across the product lifecycle, not just at the end when the asset is operating in the field. Once these disciplines are connected they can share critical product information and processes which build the foundation of the Digital Twin.
GE Predix complements this approach by creating an asset model that allows customers to view their entire asset infrastructure, with drill downs to understand performance and issues. It’s a valuable tool/application, but it’s still not a Digital Twin, as it lacks the connection to configuration that the Digital Thread enables.
Conclusion
There was a lot to be positive about given GE’s challenge to transform their industrial offerings into focused digital solutions supplemented by a strong partner ecosystem that deliver value to customers. If 2017 was about circling the wagons and GE came out with a focus on applications, 2018 will be about selecting key partners, executing on core application development, and extending value with existing entrenched customers.
If I’m sitting at the show next year, I expect it will be even bigger. We also expect Aras to be a candidate to play a role as a key PLM player in the ecosystem, and to help clarify Digital Twin through our unique approach to Digital Thread.