With the Industrial Internet market predicted to surpass $1.7 trillion by 2020, GE is in the forefront of the market with its strategic alliances and  investments.

It recently announced its “industrial strength” Big Data and analytics platform, robust enough to handle data produced by large-scale, industrial machines in the cloud.  It will allow airlines, railroads, hospitals and utilities to manage and operate critical machines such as jet engines and gas turbines in the cloud – running businesses better by increasing productivity and reducing waste and downtime.

The right partners + teams

With that, the industrial giant also announced expanded partnerships with AWS, Pivotal, and Accenture.  The partnership aims to propel GE at the forefront of the market by integrating services and developing software, analytics, and cloud-based capabilities alongside its partners to serve diverse functions for industry.

And everything wouldn’t be possible without the right people, so GE also revealed its plans to hire thousands of engineers.  The company has opened a new software center in the East Bay and it plans to to hire thousands of software engineers to deliver all the great technologies present at Silicon Valley out to the industry, to the consumers.

Sizing up the Industrial Internet market

It should be noted that the Industrial Internet should not be confused with the Internet of Things or Big Data.  Here to explain the differences between those terms is Wikibon Principal Research Contributor Jeff Kelly.

“The Industrial Internet refers to data generated by industrial grade equipment.  So things like wind turbines, jet engines, locomotive engines, medical equipment like MRI machines – that’s how we define the Industrial Internet,” Kelly says.

“The Industrial Internet is almost the sub-segment of the Internet of Things.  I Think of the Internet of Things as applying to any physical object that’s creating data.  It’s not necessarily industrial grade equipment, it could be your mobile phone for example.  It’s kind of a subtle distinction, but an important one when we’re talking about industrial grade equipment creating data because it applies specifically to industries like healthcare and energy and others that are vital in our economy,” Kelly explained.

For more of Kelly’s Breaking Analysis on the Scope of the Industrial Internet, check out the NewsDesk video below.

The Connected Campaign

Now that the distinction between Industrial Internet and IoT has been established, let’s look at how GE is pushing for everything to be connected to the Internet. Not to spy on people, but to make lives better and even save some lives.  If everything GE is doing is for the people, how are they making people aware of their efforts?

Agent Smith’s got its back.

Red or Blue?

Hugo Weaving is back as Agent Smith, not as a self-replicating computer virus that’s out to kill Neo, but as an Agent of Good.  He plays GE’s software that is everywhere, every time, that uses data to connect people to software, to nurses, doctors or the right people and machines.

The software helps hospital take care of people better by reducing waiting time.  GE hopes to create an environment wherein hospitals are connected so everything a patient needs is easy to find and get.

K.I.T.T. and the locomotive

If you’re a fan of Knight Rider then you probably wished once upon a time that you’d have your very own KITT car, right?  Who wouldn’t want a talking car?! With self-driving and internet connected cars coming in fast, a talking car may already be in the works.

And as impressive as a talking car may be, GE has another talking mode of transportation in mind.  A smart locomotive – a train with the ability to report its current location and what it’s carrying, all while using the least amount of fuel as possible as it delivers its cargo to any location, any time.  GE points out that talking is useless if you’ve got nothing important to say.

Olympic-sized health

GE knows how important social media is to people, but it also knows how important it is to stay healthy.  GE launched a Facebook app that encourages people to stay healthy as some are more motivated when they know that at least one person is paying attention to their efforts.  Much like Olympic athletes.  The cheering crowd gives them the boost to finish that final lap.

GE HealthyShare allows Facebook users to post goals, share progress, and enjoy the encouragement of their friends as they reach their goals.  Because sometimes, a Facebook Like could actually make a difference.

If you want to see more of GE’s inspiring and intriguing commercials, check out Ge’s YouTube channel or its advertising page.