Microsoft has acquired Italy-based Solair to enable its customers to tap the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Solair offers IoT solutions to a range of industries that include manufacturing, retail, food & beverage and transportation.
Microsoft said that the acquisition would support its strategy to deliver a complete IoT offering for enterprises.
Built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, Solair’s customisation and deployment solutions will help businesses in any industry to run their operations efficiently and profitably by utilising IoT.
Microsoft Azure IoT partner director Sam George said: "Solair The integration of Solair’s technology into the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite will continue to enhance our complete IoT offering for the enterprise.
"We’ll have more specifics to share about how Solair is helping us build the intelligent cloud in the future."
Solair is transforming the way Japanese companies monitor production lines by using the potential of IoT. Its Smart Factory Advisor application helps manufacturers to increase production capacity and optimize energy efficiency, George said.
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George added: "By enabling a factory’s machines with their IoT solution, the information and insights gathered are leading to more efficient ways of manufacturing."
Solair CEO Tom Davis said: "From the very start, our mission has been to help customers quickly and easily gain access to the huge benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT).
"By building our solutions based on real customer requirements that allow them to gain real value, I’m confident that Solair’s technology and talent will be able to make an important contribution to Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite and Microsoft’s broader IoT ambitions."
In March, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and General Electric (GE) formed an alliance to expand the industrial internet through digital reimagination.
A study by TCS has revealed that IoT investment will increase by 20% to $103m in 2018. Looking across 13 countries, the study found that 79% of companies use the IoT to track their customers, products, the premises in which they do business with customers, or their supply chains.
In January, a report by market research firm Gartner predicted that the IoT will feature in more than half of new business processes and systems by 2020.
