PTC Grows Internet of Things Platform with ThingWorx Acquisition

PTC announced it has acquired ThingWorx, creators of a platform for building and running applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), for approximately $112 million, plus a possible earn-out of up to $18 million. The acquisition extends PTC's strategy by accelerating its ability to support manufacturers creating connected products. As part of PTC, ThingWorx will continue to help customers in a wide range of industries seeking to leverage the IoT - including telecommunications, utilities, medical devices, agriculture, and transportation - as well as an emerging partner network of IoT-enabled service providers.

A recent McKinsey research report estimates that the Internet of Things has a potential economic impact of $2.7 trillion to $6.2 trillion potential annually. PTC will use the ThingWorx platform to speed the creation of high value IoT applications that support manufacturers' service strategies, such as predictive maintenance and system monitoring.

"All aspects of our strategy to date have centered on helping manufacturing companies transform how they create and service smart, connected products," said PTC president and CEO Jim Heppelmann. "For manufacturers today, it is clear to us that improved service strategies and service delivery is the near-term ‘killer app' for the Internet of Things and this opportunity has guided our strategy for some time. With this acquisition, PTC now possesses an innovation platform that will allow us to accelerate how we help our customers capitalize on the market opportunity that the IoT presents."

Earlier in the month PTC announced an agreement with GE Intelligent platforms (GE), where GE will resell the PTC Manufacturing Process Management software in combination with GE's manufacturing execution system (MES) software. The two companies kicked off a series of joint sales, marketing, services, support, and product development initiatives designed to collaboratively meet this fast-growing market demand.

"At ThingWorx, we share PTC's vision for helping organizations fundamentally leverage the connected world," said Russell Fadel, CEO and co-founder, ThingWorx. "We believe all industries, but especially manufacturing, will be transformed in the Internet of Things era. We are excited to pursue this broad set of opportunities with the resources and proven solution portfolio that PTC provides."

At the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week in Las Vegas, expect the Internet of Things / Internet of Everything to be a big theme. There are conference tracks for IoT, wearables, and MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems).  Whether its called the Internet of Things, Internet of Everything (Cisco), the Internet of Customers (Salesforce.com), or the Internet of Nouns (Greylock Partners) - 2014 is sure to be a break out year.