Microsoft acquires Italian internet of things start-up Solair

4 May 2016

The acquisition of Solair will give Microsoft access to vital IoT technnologies, including a gateway and an enterprise platform for various industries

Microsoft has acquired a young internet of things (IoT) company called Solair from Bologna, Italy, which it says will enable its Azure customers to analyse data and derive new intelligence from IoT.

The acquisition of Solair for an undisclosed sum will give Microsoft access to key IoT products, including a gateway for collecting data and an enterprise platform that has been deployed in various industries, including manufacturing, retail, food and beverage and transport.

“Solair shares our ambition for helping customers harness their untapped data and creating new intelligence with IoT, and this acquisition supports our strategy to deliver the most complete IoT offering for enterprises,” said Sam George, Microsoft’s partner director, Azure IoT.

‘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’
– TOM DAVIS, SOLAIR

“We’re excited about their technology and talent – and delighted to welcome them to the Microsoft team.”

Solair’s IoT customisation and deployment solutions, built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, are engineered to help businesses in any industry utilise IoT to run more efficiently and profitably.

An example of a deployment by Solair includes bringing IoT to the Rancilio Group’s full line of espresso machines, allowing the Italian manufacturer to remotely monitor machines, resulting in greater efficiency across the supply chain.

Using the power of cloud-based data and analytics, Solair has helped the Rancilio Group reduce costs and increase revenue.

“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,” said Solair CEO Tom Davis.

“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.

“The last five years have been about growth – both for us as a company and for the IoT market as a whole – but today marks a new chapter for Solair. The Solair team and I look forward to being a part of Microsoft and a very strong Azure IoT team. It’s an opportunity that will allow us to bring the power of IoT to new and unique customer scenarios,” Davis said.

Bologna image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com