Microsoft has launched a new Internet of Things (IoT) platform, Microsoft IoT Central, enabling enterprises to streamline the process of installing IoT networks.
The platform is being billed as Software as a Service (SaaS) and is designed to help build and maintain new IoT networks, something which is becoming increasingly common. The new platform is designed so that businesses will not need the in house expertise usually required for such a process.
Currently Microsoft already offers an IoT service known as the Azure IoT Suite, though this is a Platform as a Service (PaaS). Microsoft believes that both the platform and software can be used in tandem to create a much more customisable network, giving full control over any decisions being made.
In a blog post Sam George, PThe Internet of Things (IoT) is quickly becoming a critical aspect of doing business. In the same way that web, mobile and cloud technologies have powered digital transformation, IoT is the next big catalyst.”
“Yet while IoT brings a new set of benefits for companies that want to keep an edge on their competition, it brings challenges too — IoT solutions can still be complex, and a shortage of skills makes it difficult for everyone to take advantage of this new innovation.”
Microsoft believes that this IoT solution will drastically increase the speed at which manufacturing industries will be able to design, create, and bring to market new products, whilst simultaneously reducing overhead through innovative IoT strategies.
The hope for the company is that Microsoft IoT Central will make digital transformation something that exists within the realm of possibility for all aspects of the enterprise.
Microsoft Central is already being used by several early adopters across different industries, and the SaaS is expected to roll out publicly over the coming months.
