[Answer] How Strong Is Siemens Industrial Software in the Industrial Internet Field?

[Answer] How Strong Is Siemens Industrial Software in the Industrial Internet Field?

One of the key elements of the Siemens playbook is simple: buy, buy, buy. They have deep pockets and are willing to spend. Aside from collaborating with Microsoft to develop WinCC without actually buying Microsoft outright—perhaps because that was one company they truly couldn’t afford—Siemens has often acquired partners it liked working with. Even a brief look at Siemens’ acquisition history over the past two decades shows that this industrial giant has been gradually shedding more traditional lower-end hardware businesses, such as mobile phones and machinery, while continuously building and refining its software empire.

As of now, Siemens’ strength in the industrial internet space is such that, even if one hesitates to call it number one—and it very well may already be—it is at the very least solidly among the top three. Its main offerings include the MindSphere industrial cloud platform, launched early in 2015; the traditional UG industrial design platform; and several major SIMATIC modules in the field of industrial control. Each of these product lines can be considered among the very best in the industry.