Microsoft’s Aggressive IoT Play
The company has recently announced that it will invest $5 billion in IoT over the next 4 years globally creating a well meshed IoT ecosytem powered by the Azure platform
Microsoft has announced that the company will invest US$5 billion in the Internet of Things (IoT) globally over the next 4 years. This increased investment will support continued research and innovation in IoT and what is ultimately evolving to be the new intelligent edge. With Microsoft’s IoT platform spanning cloud, operating system and devices, Microsoft is simplifying the IoT journey so any customer—regardless of size, technical expertise, budget, industry or other factors—can create trusted, 48 connected solutions that improve business and customer experiences, as well as the daily lives of people all over the world.
This will support Microsoft’s technology platform, as well as supporting programs thereby enabling continued research and development in key areas, including securing IoT, creating development tools and intelligent services for IoT and the edge, and investments to grow our partner ecosystem. Customers and partners can expect new products and services, offerings, resources and programs.
AGGRESSIVE MOVES
Microsoft in India is going very aggressive on the IoT space in sync with the global adoption dynamics. For instance, this investment is expected to boost its IoT capablities and its delivery . The company says that IoT is gathering momentum in India, and impacting daily lives: saving electricity, resources, predictive healthcare, automobile safety and more. It is also pitching Microsoft Azure as the platform of choice for powering a variety of IoT devices.
PROOF POINTS
In a media relase sent by Microsoft, it showcased some use cases for IoT in India and its capablities.
IoT Monitoring of Water Quality: The company says that authorities across States have turned to IoT to monitor drinking water quality for its citizens. TechSpan Engineering has implemented a monitoring system built on the Azure IoT platform, using sensors provided by the Austrian firm s::can and their India Partner Aaxis Nano. Using the power of the Microsoft cloud, IoT and data, the solution taps into the robust s::can sensors to provide measurements across 17 parameters – from Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chloride and Fluoride levels to temperature and color. The solution is currently being used for Monitoring drinking water quality online by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (125 stations) and Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) in Hubli, Dharwad and Bijapur (3 stations) Online surface water quality monitoring by Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi (44 stations) and Central Water Commission, New Delhi (3 stations) Online industrial pollution monitoring (1500+ stations) Online sewage treatment and flow monitoring by Delhi Jal Board (36 stations)
IoT based Smart Lighting: India’s first Smart Street Lighting Project for the pink city of Jaipur, is another project the company feels is a game changer in terms of transforming public spaces digitally. The Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) operates and maintains over 100,000 public street lights within the city. However, one of three in these lamps did not work and many others functioned poorly, leading to several areas of the city being in the dark. Microsoft’s partner Samudra LED has now deployed a customized Microsoft IoT-platform-based solution created by ISV Precimetrix to monitor, control and manage smart LED public street lights. The project will benefit 1.65 million people through improved street lighting and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 36,750 metric tons/year. It will also result in $1 million per year in fiscal savings accrued to the government due to reduced energy consumption. This project is on Azure platform.
Meanwhile researchers at IISc Bangalore are also using a network of IoT sensors coupled with Microsoft Azure analytics to find how cloud technologies can help tackle water scarcity in cities.
Another interesting one relates to IoT in Agriculture. Microsoft FarmBeats is a research project for agriculture that enables seamless data collection from various sensors, cameras and drones. It comprises two broad
Microsoft FarmBeats is a research project for agriculture that enables seamless data collection from various sensors, cameras and drones