General Electric (GE) is developing an ambitious new project known as a ‘data lake’, aiming to revolutionise the industrial sector. This initiative will gather vast quantities of data from sensors on machines and equipment, ranging from jet engines to gas turbines, into a single, accessible pool. The data lake will enable GE to monitor performance, predict potential failures, and optimise maintenance schedules, potentially saving billions of dollars in the process.
The data lake is a significant part of GE’s broader vision of an ‘Industrial Internet’, where machines are interconnected and can communicate with each other. This concept is similar to the ‘Internet of Things’, but specifically focuses on the industrial sector. GE believes that the Industrial Internet could add $10 to $15 trillion to global GDP over the next two decades.
To realise this vision, GE is investing heavily in software development and data analytics. The company has hired thousands of software engineers and data scientists, and has opened a new software centre in California. GE is also partnering with other companies, such as Amazon Web Services, to provide the necessary cloud infrastructure for the data lake.
Critics, however, have raised concerns about the security and privacy implications of the data lake. They fear that it could be a prime target for hackers, and that it could be used to spy on individuals or companies. GE has acknowledged these concerns and is taking steps to address them, including implementing robust security measures and developing clear data usage policies.
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