GE pioneers digital transformation

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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GE pioneers digital transformation

Posted : 2017-08-30 16:43

Updated : 2017-08-30 16:57

Bill Ruh, CEO of GE Digital, speaks during the GE Innovation Forum 2017 at the Grand Hyatt Incheon near Incheon International Airport, Aug. 25. GE has been a pioneer in the digitization of the industrial world by embracing software, data and analytics as the driving forces of transforming itself into the world's first digital industrial company. / Courtesy of GE Korea

By Lee Hyo-sik

General Electric (GE) has transformed itself into the world's first digital industrial company by actively embracing software, data and analytics, urging its Korean partners to do the same to remain as competitive global players.

Bill Ruh, chief digital officer of GE and CEO of GE Digital, said there is a lot of potential in industrial companies in Korea and some of them are already seeking new opportunities through their partnerships with GE.

"The Korean market is moving fast and many industrial companies, especially those working with GE, are early adopters," Ruh said in a keynote speech during the GE Innovation Forum 2017 Live at the Incheon Hyatt Hotel, Aug. 25.

"It is critical for companies to have a purpose-built software platform to maximize productivity growth by moving away from traditional business computing platforms," he said.

The forum, which was held this year under the theme of Industrial Productivity Growth through Digital Transformation in Korea, is a thought leadership forum to explore new ideas and insights with Korean partners, contributing to sustainable growth and competitiveness enhancement of Korean industries.

Since 2015, a number of influential global business, industry, and academic leaders, including former GE Chairman Jeff Immelt, were invited to share insights on industry's latest trends and innovation agendas.

This time, Ruh and Lim Chai-sung, chairman of the Korea Industry 4.0 Association, shared their insights on the importance of becoming digitally industrial by pinpointing how far digital transformation has come in Korea's manufacturing, key challenges to address and the next steps to take the lead in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

During his speech, Ruh introduced GE's Predix, a platform for industrial internet, connecting machines, data and people to power the digital industrial companies of the future, and Predix-powered software. He emphasized the need for a shift from information technology to digital technology.

He also extensively dealt with the idea of "GE for GE," which is building new applications around the products to deliver greater efficiency internally.

In addition, Lim presented some of the key challenges that Korean companies have been facing in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He also urged the importance of collaborating with global companies such as GE to build a digital industrial ecosystem.

"For sustainable growth of the companies, they should shift from hardware-oriented to platform-oriented strategies," he said.

"Businesses must have the capability to effectively collect, analyze and manage an immense amount of data in the transition period for the so-called hyper-connected society. A number of Korean companies including POSCO and Hanwha Techwin have been pushing their digital transformation initiatives with smart factories and the industrial internet of things."

GE has been a pioneer in the digitalization of the industrial world by embracing software, data and analytics as the driving forces in transforming itself into the world's first digital industrial company.

Established in 2015 as GE's first new business unit in 75 years, GE Digital is at the core of this transition.

leehs@ktimes.com