The significance of IoT in redefining the future of technology cannot be overestimated. IT executives have seen it; here is one of the contributions made by Microsoft.
The world of technology keeps growing day by day. The Microsoft team has made a major announcement based on strategies they have put in place for an upcoming investment. They have plans to invest $5 billion in a variety of programs that surround the Internet of Things (IoT). These plans are to be executed within the next four years. The issues of deployment and use of internet-connected hardware are also part of their strategy to make things easier for their business customers. This includes connecting devices such as factory machines to the internet using the latest technologies.
According to Julia White’s blog post (Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Azure), it is clear customers like Chevron, United Technologies, Steelcase, and Johnson Controls are building effective services and products to boost the Microsoft IoT program.
Steve Miller, Chief Information Officer at Steelcase, Incorporated, was quick to say IoT is hitting a whole new level. He continued to praise companies that have chosen to invest in this technology. Over the past few years, Miller has been working with Microsoft. He has been a major partner with them on the Internet of Things. This has been happening for the past three years, so far. He has been working toward offering his clients a mobile application that will enable employees to find available rooms and other colleagues immediately. The application has been named the “Steelcase Find Application.” It will be launched this summer.
“The Microsoft Company has so far spent over $1.5 billion on Internet of Things initiatives,” said Jason Zander, Executive Vice President of Microsoft. Based on the plans, the money will be used for development, research, and partner enablement. However, those were not the only plans made. It was said that more plans are to be mentioned throughout the year. This has been marked as an effective move for Microsoft since IoT applications are major components of cloud-computing technology. Services such as expandable capacity, high uptime, and solid geographic distribution can be offered by cloud platforms such as Microsoft. This makes it easy and effective for companies that want to deploy and control many connected devices. Microsoft is also well known for offering services that ease deploying and operating IoT systems at scale.
The Microsoft Company had already launched an affordable, lower-priced version of its Azure IoT Hub Platform. This will be used to connect IoT devices. During the Microsoft developers’ conference held last year, Microsoft unleashed a good idea. The idea was to make data processing power available at the edge of a network. By this, their customers will get better and faster insights from the edge devices used, for example, HoloLens devices and smartphones.
However, Microsoft is in tight competition with other cloud providers. Amazon, as one of Microsoft’s competitors, offers services based on IoT capabilities. IoT is set to present opportunities for businesses to come up with new digital business models. The investment reinforced by IT execs is a show of trust and promise in the future of IoT technology.
