Demystifying Predix
If Predix is comparable to other technology platforms , what then makes Predix unique , aside from its industrial application ?
Predix provides industrial level security to protect machines as you connect them to other assets and to the cloud . It can absorb any kind of data , structured and unstructured , including e-mail data , voice data , field data and video data . It enables its users to rapidly run complex combinations of analytics , and also allows concurrent multiple users and exhibits all the latest attributes that an industrial user would expect in a platform as a service offering .
GE is continuously developing Predix to find wider applications in more industries . Today , Predix is successfully changing the operational landscape of the world ’ s major industries , including oil & gas .
Asset Performance Management ( APM ) applications on Predix are now contributing to minimizing customer shutdown time and extending the operating life of oil & gas assets . Boufarah reports that the technology is now running with 28 customers in the Middle East alone .
GE itself applies its digital technologies in its facilities , including those for manufacturing and supply chain , which , in 2016 , resulted in more than USD 700 million in savings . “ We are practicing what we are preaching . We are able to take advantage of the benefits of the digital technology that we are implementing .” Ultimately , Boufarah believes that digital transformation is a journey , and that customers are going to see its full benefits in two or three years after implementation .
28 Construction Leaders • April 2017