Siemens and Alibaba Cloud unite to start industrial IoT in China

Siemens has joined forces with Alibaba to utilise the Chinese firm’s cloud infrastructure to test its digital operating system MindSphere, Reuters reports.

The agreement, worth over €20bn ($23.51bn), was signed on Monday and is among a host of Sino-German commercial deals. The countries’ leaders have maintained their stance of a multilateral global trade order despite the imminent trade war with the United States.

Siemens confirmed in a statement that: “The two companies will leverage each other’s technology and industry resources to build a unique IoT (Internet of Things) solution to support Industry 4.0, China’s manufacturing upgrade and transformation as well as other industrial Internet initiatives.”

Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser stated: “This cooperation is a landmark deal for bringing Industry 4.0-solutions to China as the world’s powerhouse of manufacturing.

“Our customers will be able to unlock the potential of the Industrial Internet of Things with MindSphere now also on the leading Chinese cloud platform. Today, we further strengthen our global leadership in automating and digitalizing the Industrial world,” he continued.

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Senior Vice President of the Alibaba Group and President of Alibaba Cloud, Simon Hu, commented: "Today's landmark partnership marks an exciting step towards Alibaba Cloud's goal to enable digital transformation across the globe.

“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.”

Siemens' MindSphere is a cloud-based, open IoT operating system that focuses the software on a range of device and enterprise connectivity options, robust applications, advanced analytics, and closed-loop innovation with complete digital twin solutions.

The introduction of MindSphere on Alibaba Cloud will provide services for companies in China to innovate with advanced industrial solutions.

Both companies will begin working together immediately with the aim of ensuring MindSphere is available in 2019.