Digital software like data analytics services are transforming the way industrial assets are built, maintained and operated, according to Gytis Barzdukas (pictured), vice president and head of product management, Predix, at GE Digital LLC. A growing number of GE customers are requesting subscription services, Barzdukas said during Zuora Subscribed 2017 in San Francisco, California.

“It allows you to experiment,” said Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio. Frick spoke with Barzdukas during the event how GE customers are benefiting from subscription services. (* Disclosure below.)

It makes obvious sense that customers investing in industrial assets like airplanes and wind and gas turbines would want to try before they buy. “‘Try as you buy’ is probably a better way of putting it,” Barzdukas said.

In conjunction with Predix Inc., an Internet of Things Platform as a Service., GE Digital is enabling the building of first- and third-party applications around the industrial space. These may include data analytics or virtual representations of assets, AKA digital twin modeling, for example.

“They want to subscribe to either the production of the services or, more importantly, maybe the different elements that bring together a solution,” he said.

For instance, one service may benefit manufacturing, while others monitor the operation of an asset. In the case of aircraft, it may be possible to collect data on different pilots and perform analytics on it.

Gateway to greater investment

“You really want to engage that in real time to understand what the impact could be,” Barzdukas said.

A flexible subscription model (GE Digital uses Zuora Inc.) allows customers to opt in and out of different services depending on the benefits they realize from them. If a subscription service proves beneficial, a company may decide to invest much heavier in that area, Barzdukas said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Zuora Subscribed 2017. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Zuora Subscribed 2017. Neither Zuora Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial influence on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE