GE announces additional investments in Europe to drive the power of the ‘Industrial Internet’
- 330 jobs to be created across two centres
- New European software leader appointed
Location Dec 13th 2013: GE today announces a number of strategic investments which will see the company further develop its software competencies to help the company’s customers become more efficient and productive and driving the development of the ‘Industrial Internet’ in Europe. The investment will result in 330 new jobs being created and the appointment of a new Software Leader for Europe. Earlier this year GE published a report which estimated that the Industrial Internet had the potential to add €2.2 trillion in productivity gains in Europe over the next 20 years – equivalent to a quarter of the current size of the Euro area economy.
In Hungary GE has launched an 11 billion HUF ($48million) program to develop a novel healthcare information system promising to improve decision making and vastly increase the efficiency of healthcare. The four-year project, run by GE Healthcare with its consortium partners Pannon University, the University of Szeged and the National Institute of Oncology, includes a substantial investment grant of 6 billion HUF ($27 million) from the Hungarian government, and additional 5 billion HUF investment from GE.
The program offers a unique opportunity for approximately 180 software engineers to develop and test one of the most advanced healthcare IT infrastructure systems ever created. It is hoped that by utilizing electronic patient and healthcare indicators and data, the new system will help to address one of the most important global challenges, combatting the escalating costs of healthcare while at the same time improving the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of the industry as a whole.
GE also announces its intention to expand its software and analytics competency at its GE Engineering Design Center (EDC) in Warsaw. The center will develop innovative physics based analytics solutions that support customers in the Energy, Oil and Gas and Aviation industry. As a result the number of engineers developing Industrial Internet at the EDC will reach 150 within the next five years.
GE today announced the appointment of Stefan Bungart as Software Leader for Europe, to help drive regional alignment, innovation and rapid development techniques for Europe's software hub. In his new role, Stefan will be responsible for working with GE Software, headquartered in San Ramon, California and GE business leaders across Europe to define and execute on a portfolio of software-based solutions for its customers.
Stefan has 20 years of industry experience working for multinational companies and governments in the areas of business consulting, strategy development and execution, marketing, and supply chain management. He most recently served as Software Innovation Leader for GE Germany. Prior to GE, Stefan was the Senior Vice President for New Services at Deutsche Telekom. He also worked for IBM in various leadership positions, including Innovation Leader for IBM Germany, Marketing Manager Europe, and Strategic Alliances Marketing Manager Europe. GE currently employs 1500 software engineers in Europe.
Commenting Nani Beccalli-Falco President and CEO of GE Europe said “These investments and the appointment of Stefan Bungart to the newly created position of Software Leader for the European region are part of GE’s strategy to enhance our capabilities and exploit the opportunity which the Industrial Internet offers GE and its customers.
We believe that the Industrial Internet can help drive growth and productivity as well as creating great savings and efficiencies in key sectors like energy, healthcare and transportation. But this will not happen in a vacuum. While investments from the private sector will be a key driver governments and the public sector need to help create the conditions which will enable those investments to happen like a skilled labour force, secure and free movement of data and greater standardisation.”
The Industrial Internet refers to the integration of complex physical machinery with networked sensors, software and people at work. It draws together fields such as machine learning, user design, predictive analytics and machine-to-machine communication to ingest big data from machines, analyse it (often in real-time) to gain insights, and use it to adjust operations for increased efficiency. The deeper meshing of the digital world with the world of machines holds the potential to bring about profound transformation to global industry.
For more information, please contact:
Katja Antila, Communication Manager GE Finland, +358 50 5400644, katja.antila@ge.com
About GE Europe
For more than 100 years GE has been investing in growing its presence across Europe. Today we employ over 90,000 people in Europe and have a footprint that covers every corner of the continent. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.ge.com/europe/
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.