Bosch building own Internet of Things cloud network

PanARMENIAN.Net - Robert Bosch GmbH is taking on U.S. technology rivals by launching its own "cloud" computing network to connect up anything from cars to dishwashers via the Internet, Reuters reports.

Traditional German industrial companies like Bosch are looking to transform themselves from manufactures of equipment to service providers using data generated by their machines.

Bosch is hoping its engineering expertise will give it an advantage in making the "Internet of Things" (IoT), where objects communicate with each other, a reality for its customers in smart homes, connected mobility or intelligent industry.

Its announcement that it plans build its own cloud puts it in competition with services from U.S. technology giants Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM and Salesforce.com, Reuters says.

Bosch's cloud will be run out of a computing center based in Germany, which it hopes will attract customers who may have doubts about data security of U.S-owned servers.

Bosch Chief Executive Volkmar Denner told a conference in Berlin that the company was building its own IoT and would combine this with its experience in making everyday objects.

"There are product companies like Bosch trying to add software and services and there are IT companies trying to get into the physical space. The race is completely open," he said.

Stuttgart-based Bosch plans to run around 50 of its own in-house applications on the cloud this year, before opening up to other companies from 2017. It plans to roll out other data centers across the globe but declined to give a timeline.