Dive Brief:

• GE is doubling down on digital applications to support the digital transformation sweeping the industrial world, according to John Flannery, CEO of GE, in a LinkedIn post. The company will continue progress in IoT software platforms, APM offerings and field service management.

• GE abandoned plans to build data centers to house the company's "Predix Cloud" last year because Microsoft and AWS were already investing tens of billions of dollars into the physical structures, reports Reuters.

• GE decided to capitalize upon hardware already in place and focus its resources and attention on cloud services and applications, according to Reuters.

Dive Insight:

GE has hinged its future success upon an ability to keep up in the digital marketplace. Former CIO Jim Fowler predicted a $700 million productivity increase from the Predix industrial cloud-based platform alone over 2017. Flannery took the helm in August. While leadership changes often raise concerns for company strategy, GE has been planning the transition since 2013.

Moving forward, GE needs to work the kinks out of the Predix platform, which has faced many technical issues. GE Digital has failed to meet expectations, and insiders suggest Flannery may try to downsize the department.

The company expects to switch from AWS to Azure before the end of the year. The cloud provider believes the move will open up AI, natural language tech, advanced data visualization and enterprise application integration to GE's industrial clients.