General Electric pays $915m for software firm ServiceMax

US industrial supplier General Electric has agreed to pay $915m for software company ServiceMax, which was recently published as part of Forbes' list of next billion dollar startups.

The Boston-based company announced the merger after having already been a client of the firm's cloud service software.

In a press release from GE, the conglomerate explained that its use of the cloud technology has been a success thus far, and that's what has prompted the acquisition.

"Improved productivity is critical for the Industrial Internet and digitizing field services is a cornerstone of a successful digital industrial strategy," said CEO Bill Ruh.

Several major companies globally are investing heavily in cloud computing, as it is seen by many as one of the most necessary technological advances.

"We're moving away from where it's all on paper to where it's all becoming fully automated. Services are becoming a key part of the digital economy," Ruh told Bloomberg.

ServiceMax was founded nine years ago in California, and it now has offices in the US, Britain, India and over a dozen other countries. It has raised $204m in investment capital since then.

However, it currently has intense competition in the US and abroad, notably from the likes of Oracle and Salesforce.

"GE estimates there is a market-wide opportunity to improve service productivity by $25 billion through the use of analytical tools," the company added in the press release.