GE Healthcare has recently announced its plans to invest $2 billion over the next five years to accelerate the development of innovative software for healthcare systems and applications. GE Healthcare has a long history in software with its Healthcare IT business; and this investment is designed to advance current and future offerings in order to address new and pressing operational and productivity challenges faced by healthcare organizations around the world. GE Healthcare will work closely with the GE Software Center of Excellence in San Ramon, California, - as well as at various research and development hubs around the world - to develop new software solutions.

As the largest software developer within GE, GE Healthcare provides a wide range of medical imaging technologies, IT services, patient monitoring and diagnostic solutions, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and operational and technological service solutions. Specifically, this $2 billion investment will be focused on maximizing asset performance; improving hospital operations management; improving clinical effectiveness; and optimizing care across entire populations.

"GE is investing in software and analytics to better help our customers manage the operational complexity of the healthcare system," said John Dineen, President & CEO, GE Healthcare. "These new software solutions will look to connect caregivers in a meaningful way to the systems upon which they rely, enabling them to deliver better informed diagnoses and improved care."

"Healthcare has always relied on 'big data,' and the need to understand data is even greater now. What is important is how we use data," he added, "providing the right technology that allows physicians to pinpoint the right diagnosis; match it to the right treatment; and make more informed decisions."

The Industrial Internet is changing the way healthcare professionals work and GE Healthcare has already made big strides in developing software-based technologies and solutions that provide increased data, analytics, connectivity and insight into operational and departmental processes and workflows. Together, with the help of industry partners, GE Healthcare's 3000+ software engineers and GE's software Centers of Excellence across the globe, GE will provide flexible and connected software, data and analytics so caregivers have what they need to help prevent, diagnose, treat and cure new health challenges they face every day. As the industry shifts towards accountable and integrated care, faster, more accurate real-time information has never been more important.