The real reason why GE is turning to "industrial internet" is because European firms have started a similar initiative previously, called "Industry 4.0": http:

The real reason why GE is turning to "industrial internet" is because European firms have started a similar initiative previously, called "Industry 4.0": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0 Of course, GE will try to establish its own standards, which are incompatible to those of their competitors (e.g. Siemens).