Atlanta, March 16, 2015: Software major Microsoft has just brought the Internet of Things (IoT) to Azure, its open and flexible Cloud platform.
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Nadella announced the Azure IoT Suite at the Microsoft Convergence 2015 in Atlanta, today.
In Microsoft’s own words, “more and more, we’re seeing the IoT become part of the fabric of business, helping converge an organisation’s assets, data and processes with people and business systems. Today, this intersection is allowing enterprises to uncover new opportunities, create new business models and transform their operations – from elevators, to particle accelerators and washing machines – to become truly digital businesses.”
Microsoft said its vision was to help companies thrive in the IoT era, delivering open, scalable platforms and services that any company, whether startup or established enterprises, could use to create new value.
Nadella also mentioned about his company’s investments in the Windows 10 IoT operating system for devices. Together with the Azure IoT Suite, Microsoft will be launching a variety of Azure services to help customers “accelerate their transformation to digital businesses.”
In fact, last August, Microsoft had announced it was joining hands with British Internet systems installation company Telent and IT consulting company CGI to modernise London’s Tube network using the IoT.
Last April, it had introduced a preview of the Azure Intelligent Systems Service, designed to securely connect, manage and capture machine-generated data from sensors and devices. If the Intelligent Systems Service was a starting point, the Azure IoT Suite, said Microsoft, was its “evolution and maturation” – a reflection of what it had learned from the feedback provided by customers and partners throughout the preview.
The Azure IoT Suite is an integrated offering that takes advantage of all the relevant Azure capabilities to connect devices and other “things”, capture the diverse and voluminous data they generate, integrate and orchestrate the flow of that data, and manage, analyse and present it as usable information to the people who need it to make better decisions as well as intelligently automate operations. The offering is customisable to fit almost any need of an organisation where analysis is concerned. It has other features such as remote monitoring, asset management and predictive maintenance, while providing the ability to grow and scale solutions to millions of “things.”
Additionally, the Azure IoT Suite will provide a predictable,yet simple pricing model despite the rich set of capabilities and broad scenarios it aims to deliver, so customers can plan and budget appropriately. This approach is aimed at simplifying the complexities that often exist with implementing and costing IoT solutions, claimed Microsoft.
The video below illustrates the use of IoT in oil and gas industry
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