(Note: This story was originally posted to CRN.com on Aug. 17.)

How big of a game changer is the Internet of Things? Take it from the head of one of the largest U.S. companies.

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt said GE, which is big in the industrial space and other verticals, is seeing more digital transformation in businesses, particularly in operational technology, as it embraces IoT.

"We believe this digital transformation is important … we're in a line of demarcation for industrial companies where you either embrace the future or you'll find yourself not able to satisfy your customers," he said in an on-stage appearance this week at Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. Immelt talked about how GE and Intel are approaching the Internet of Things from the industrial vertical.

[Related: Intel Developer Forum: 10 Internet of Things Applications Bringing In The Money]

Immelt discussed how Intel processing power will be important for large-scale Internet of Things applications, such as smart cities.

Intel on Wednesday also showed different use cases for the Internet of Things in real life – including connected solutions for firefighters.

As part of this solution, Intel partnered with Honeywell to connect a Quark processor to the firefighters' self-contained breathing apparatus, so that while they are in dangerous areas others can track how much oxygen they have left in their tank – and ultimately make critical life decisions based on that information.

Firefighters are also equipped with a pulse gesture device and activity detector, so that operators can receive that sensory information through Wind River Helix software and track whether they are signaling for help or are in a crawling position.