It’s not the sexiest of tech products, but software that helps manage equipment maintenance is big business.
The latest sign: GE Digital, the Boston-based industrial giant’s business focused on connected machines, is acquiring ServiceMax for $915 million.
The Pleasanton, CA-based firm provides cloud-based software to direct the installation, maintenance, and repair of machines across a variety of industries. The company’s software handles tasks like managing work orders and scheduling repairs, for example. ServiceMax customers include Sony, Philips, Bayer, and GE.
Prior to its acquisition, ServiceMax raised north of $200 million from investors, including GE Ventures.
The deal, announced Monday, continues GE’s push to merge its legacy industrial machines with software and data analytics. It created GE Digital—based in San Ramon, CA, 35 miles east of San Francisco—in September 2015 to focus on that intersection of hardware and software, what the company calls the “industrial Internet.” Other recent moves include GE Digital’s $495 million purchase of Roanoke, VA-based Meridium, which provides software and services to manage the performance of equipment.
The ServiceMax acquisition is expected to close in January.
