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Siemens wants to do more with edge computing, and has taken over the edge computing platform of Pixeom. This platform rebuilds cloud functionalities for on-premise systems. However, Pixeom will not be taken over as a complete company.

Pixeom received an investment from Intel for its platform in April of this year, but is now abandoning it. After the acquisition, Siemens will have the company’s assets and employees in its hands. However, Pixeom itself remains out of the hands of the company. That’s what Siemens told CRN. Why Pixeom is not taken over is unclear.

In any case, Siemens has a clear goal for Pixeom’s platform. This platform will be the “heart” of Siemens’ future Industrial Edge ecosystem. This is an open ecosystem with which companies can easily analyse, create and manage edge applications in data in factory environments. That ecosystem is open, so that it can be used for applications and devices from different manufacturers.

From the cloud to the edge

Pixeom’s platform is interesting for this because it allows companies to run cloud applications at the edge of the network and on on-premise servers, without the need for specific hardware configurations. The platform can package these applications using container technology, roll them out and orchestrate them on the hardware.

Pixeom itself states that this technology is a good way to speed up development, build smarter applications and make it easier to run large, geographically distributed infrastructures.

Siemens is going to use the Docker container technology for its Industrial Edge ecosystem. Pixeom is now also using this technology to run applications on the edge. Siemens also says it will improve the ease with which companies can bring applications from a central location to edge devices in factories.

Takeover completed in December

How much Siemens eventually had to put up for Pixeom’s platform is unclear. It is known, however, that the platform will become part of the Siemens Digital Industries department after the acquisition. This is also the department of which the MindSphere IoT platform is part.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in December, according to a Siemens spokesman.