Azure Delivers Offerings Focused on IoT

Two new Azure offerings aim to help customers build solutions that work with so-called Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as sensors, equipment controllers, and telemetry components. Azure IoT Suite provides end-to-end sample solutions that use Azure services and open source software from Microsoft. The samples can be used as a starting point for building custom IoT solutions for remote monitoring and predictive maintenance scenarios. The Azure IoT Hub service can ingest data from and send commands to IoT devices at high scale. The offerings could speed IoT-related projects that use Azure, but service costs may be difficult to predict.

IoT Devices Offer Potential

IoT devices typically run an embedded OS (such as a variant of Linux, Android, or Windows), have low processing, connectivity, and power capacities, and communicate using a variety of specialized or proprietary protocols. These devices serve a wide range of purposes, such as measuring air conditions, monitoring and controlling manufacturing, automotive, and other mechanical equipment, and enabling automated point-of-sale and kiosk systems.