German engineering and electronics company Robert Bosch GmbH is launching its own "Internet of Things" (IoT), enabling a cloud computing network to connect its wide range of products via the internet. By doing that, Bosch is establishing itself as a competitive and modern manufacturer even compared to its U.S. technology rivals. 

According to Reuters, Bosch, as well as other traditional German industrial companies like itself, are aiming to transform their companies from manufacturers of equipment to service providers using data generated by their machines. With its engineering expertise, Bosch also expects to have an advantage in making the IoT. With the new innovation, objects will be enabled to communicate with each other as a development of smartcars and smarthomes, as well as intelligent manufacturing.

In a statement, Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner revealed that his company plans to invest $550.7 million annually in new technologies, especially the ones that would support its IoT program. Currently, the company employs about 3,000 software engineers to work on projects related to the IoT.

Bosch has been devoting a lot of its resources to develop an advanced technology in order to support its IoT software suite. The company claims to already have five million devices connected to the platform. CloudPro quoted the statement made by Denner regarding the innovation. "As of today, we offer all the ace cards for the connected world from a single source," Denner stated at the Bosch Connected conference in Berlin. "The Bosch IoT Cloud is the final piece of the puzzle that completes our software expertise. We are now a full service provider for connectivity and the IoT," he noted.

The Bosch IoT cloud is located near the company's headquarters in Stuttgart. As for now, the cloud service will only be used for in-house purposes before being available as a service for other companies starting in 2017, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The company also plans to launch other data centers in other countries around the world.

Other competitors in the engineering and electronics sectors, including the U.S.-based General Electric Co. and business software provider SAP SE are also working to reach a similar goal in the IoT technology. Bosch is the first foreign company to join the U.S.-based Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) as the company continues its efforts to bridge the relationship and initiatives between German and the U.S.

With the initiative to launch its own IoT cloud technology, Bosch can now connect its products via the Internet, establishing the company as one of the world's prominent and modern manufacturer. The company is investing a lot of money and efforts to master the IoT and software technology.