Microsoft Azure IoT Hub aims to tidy up all of the things

4 Feb 2016

With millions of devices out there with data to give up, the launch of the Azure IoT Hub from Microsoft is hoping to tidy up all of them into an easy-to-digest form.

Having previously announced it back in September, Microsoft’s Azure IoT Hub is now available to businesses, with Microsoft having seen the obvious demand for companies needing ways of handling vast reams of data.

The core concept of the service is to allow a company to create a bridge between customers’ devices while allowing them to store, analyse and act on that data in real-time once connected up with Microsoft’s cloud services.

Essentially, the platform offers a company the chance to have a ready-made service capable of handling data from multiple sources, without the need to create an entirely new platform from scratch.

This then allows the company to focus on developing the software required, such as AI programs or even the hardware for devices that are gathering all the data.

Or if a company would rather not have to get down to that side of things either, they can sign up for Microsoft’s other Azure services, like its Machine Learning service or its Stream Analytics program to quickly act on whatever data is coming through.

In order to make money from the new service, Microsoft’s pricing plan allows companies to avail up to 500 devices and 8,000 data messages a day as part of its free tier, but more messages and devices cost more.

Azure website image via g0d4ather/Shutterstock

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com