As China moves to automate and modernize processes, and maintain its foothold in the global market, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is on the cusp of helping that happen. In a recent press release, Siemens and Alibaba Cloud—Alibaba Group’s cloud-computing division—have formed a partnership to help China achieve its goals.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, aiming to help build China’s IIoT network through sharing technologies. Leveraging each other’s resources, they will create a custom IIoT that supports China’s manufacturing transformation.
“This cooperation is a landmark deal for bringing Industry 4.0 solutions to China as the world’s powerhouse of manufacturing,” said Joe Kaeser, Siemens president and CEO. “We further strengthen our global leadership in automating and digitalizing the industrial world.”
Alibaba Cloud mirrored the sentiment of this partnership not only helping China, but also the two companies.
“We are delighted to partner with Siemens, and together we hope to accelerate the adoption of IoT products and services that will create industry-wide breakthroughs and progress,” said Simon Hu, Alibaba Group senior vice president.
Through the agreement, Siemens’ MindSphere—a cloud-based, IoT operating system—will become available on Alibaba Cloud. MindSphere provides a range of device and enterprise connectivity options, robust applications, advanced analytics and closed-loop innovation with complete digital twin solutions. It was previously only available through Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure online platform.
For Alibaba Cloud, a somewhat new player in the cloud industry, this partnership will help it build its customer base and understanding of the industrial world. Under the MoU, the companies intend to make MindSphere available on Alibaba Cloud in 2019.
Considered a landmark partnership, this deal could open the doors for the two companies, in terms of research and trade, as well as access to a market of more than a billion people. This partnership was one of many Sino-German commercial agreements worth 20 billion euros announced during the Chinese premier’s visit. China is Germany’s third-largest market.