Software King of the World Microsoft has allocated $5 billion from its cash mountain to expand the internet of things.
The cash, which will be spent over the next four years aims to give Volish customers the ability to transform their businesses, and the world at large, with connected solutions.
Writing in the Microsoft bog, Julia White, CVP Microsoft Azure said that the impact of IoT solutions extends well beyond that into our daily lives.
“Our customers are delivering electricity to schools in Africa, creating better patient outcomes with predictive care, improving worker safety on job sites and driver safety on Alaskan roadways”, she said.
White said that Microsoft was seeing the kind of increased adoption and exponential growth that analysts have been forecasting for years and she thinks this effect will be pervasive, from connected homes and cars to manufacturers to smart cities and utilities—and everything in between.
“This increased investment will support continued innovation in our technology platform, as well as supporting programs. We will continue 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”, she said.
She cited the case of Johnson Controls which transformed a thermostat into a smart device that can monitor a range of conditions to optimise building temperatures automatically. Schneider Electric has built a solution to harness solar energy in Nigeria and using Microsoft’s IoT platform to do maintenance remotely on the panels, quite literally to keep the lights on. Kohler has created a new line of intelligent kitchen and bath fixtures that are not only luxurious to use but more economical as well. The Alaska Department of Transportation is working with Colorado-based Fathym to build smart roadways that monitor weather conditions and can alert drivers and state officials about treacherous conditions.
“These stories keep rolling in. With each new implementation, we’re witnessing a unique transformation. We’re also getting a look into how both customers and partners overcome the specific challenges of building an IoT solution that harnesses massive amounts of data. Whether they’re building products that transform the home, office or factory floor, one thing remains clear: IoT is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary effort that spans cloud development, machine learning, AI, security and privacy”, White said.
Well, she would say that. And she did.
Bean counters at Gartner have added up some numbers and divided by their shoe size and worked out that AI, IoT and automation are the areas businesses must adopt if they are to boost the efficiency of their supply chains.
