Connected Products

As this thought project continues to evolve, I have come across additional articles and influences that will continue to inform my thoughts around connectedness, cultures and development of both of these.

For this posting, I will be referencing an article from Fast Times titled Behind GE's Vision for the Industrial Internet of Things. In this article I had a couple of interesting thoughts and questions that arose.

The first thought is around the terms Industrial Internet, Internet of Things and the evolution to an Industrial Internet of Things. This evolution and the potential for networked devices, machines, vehicles, and other future yet to be developed items is fascinating.  Creating a sense of intelligence within the machines and how data collected by numerous sensors are then analyzed and this analysis becoming more automated and predictive as well, sounds like it could spawn a technological consciousness that could lead to a Terminator style apocalyptic world.  I don't believe this will occur, though it is intriguing to think how these advances are bridging our past and current states with these visions of the future in a very present reality. 

Another thought is around the cultural difference between a company like GE that is well over 100 years old and that of a Silicon Valley firm that is anywhere from a few days old to 10-15 years old.  GE isn't seeking to be disruptive through innovation, while many of the "technology" firms that come to mind might be, GE is approaching incremental gains around innovation and the connectedness of its products and services in the Industrial Internet of Things (including jet engines and rail locomotives among other "things").

The combinations of cost savings and productivity gains for which GE is developing its networked and connected products is inspiring, though not necessarily the sexy or jump out of bed in the morning powerful vision that might inspire an infectious culture. Although on the scale of GE and its industrial products throughout the world it can be something that has an immense social and relational impact on the world.  Possibly through reliability and this uber connectedness of industrial products and the evolving connections in the internet of things, the incremental innovation of GE will continue to spread through its employees, direct customers and the end societal customers.

In further reading of the article, GE is changing their internal culture through technology and software development that will provide the language and structure for the Industrial Internet of Things. In this changing of culture, the reliability and consistency of product offering is illustrated well.  In a nod to Facebook and the oft-quoted "move fast and break things" mantra, GE can only adopt that short-cycle thinking in a limited way.  So when thinking about a budding GE culture change, is this cultural change another incremental innovation that will lead to immense value for all stakeholders including employees, customers and larger society as GE believes that their product connectedness and advances will provide for?