Previously, serving temporary needs would require physical locations in every region served. Now, customers can get customer service and support over the Web, Ares says. For its part, GE Medical discovered a way to use the Internet to layer data services on top of equipment sales. The application, called iCenter, relies on a direct Web connection to equipment operating at a customer's site. It keeps track of the patients examined by the equipment and feeds the data back to the customer.
Customers can also use the link to send questions about the operation of the equipment.
GE also analyzes the data and compares it with other customer sites and provides those comparisons to customers so they can achieve greater performance. Similar remote-diagnostic systems are used in GE's Aircraft and Power Systems units. The Aircraft unit even monitors jet engines while they're in flight. The counterpart to iCenter in Power Systems is called the Turbine Optimizer. Released last fall, the Turbine Optimizer lets customers view and analyze the performance of their turbines compared with turbines of similar capacity and in similar operating environments.