Microsoft has started making available a public preview of its new cloud-based service meant to simplify how enterprises build and manage IoT apps.
The company’s IoT Central is its Software-as-a-Service offering designed to let enterprises launch IoT solutions with minimal configuration. Microsoft announced another Azure-powered service meant to simplify IoT in April called Azure IoT Suite, a Platform-as-a-Service tool that requires much more customization.
to developers using the company’s cloud services to build applications that tap into connected devices, data-intensive processing, and Java tools
Microsoft said customers can use its new tool to deploy IoT capabilities within hours and without the need for skilled developers.
“IoT is fast becoming a key strategy for companies of all sizes, as they strive to get closer to their customers and offer great product experiences—all while reducing operational expenditures,” Sam George, Director of Azure IoT, wrote in a blog post announcing the public preview. “Until now, however, it’s been a major hurdle to gain the skills needed to build and manage connected solutions.”
The idea is to give enterprises that need a little extra help getting off the ground a smooth avenue to launch and manage applications that tap into connected devices, data-intensive processing and Java tools.
Microsoft’s two IoT offerings are designed to compliment each other and both also utilize other Azure services such as Machine Learning, Streaming Analytics, Time Series Insights and Logic Apps
Microsoft plans to make IoT Central available as a free 30-day trial , and after that, for 50 cents per device per month. Users also will have the option to buy the service at $500 fixed fee per month, which covers 100 devices and 1000 MB of data.
