Microsoft dove deeper into Internet of things technology with the acquisition of Solair, an Italian company that operates a cloud-based IoT platform.
According to a Microsoft blog post, Solair's technology will be used to upgrade the company's Azure IoT Suite, a collection of cloud services meant to help companies use the Internet of Things.
Microsoft and Solair didn't disclose the financial terms of their deal.
Solair's technology, which already uses Microsoft's Azure cloud services, offers IoT services focused on a variety of markets, including home automation, smart metering, remote maintenance and inventory management.
Microsoft didn't say specifically what it will get out of Solair's technology, but it promised to release more details on the integration of the two companies later.
Microsoft acquired Solair for its technology, not its customer base, MachNation analyst Dima Tokar wrote in a commentary. Sam George, the partner director for Azure IoT, said in a blog post that Microsoft is excited about the technology and talent that will come with the acquisition.
Azure is a key part of Microsoft's corporate strategy. The company is betting big on getting more customers to use its cloud offerings, and acquisitions like this one are aimed at getting more companies to buy into the Azure ecosystem, especially for new workloads like those driven by IoT.
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Microsoft’s inspired new workspaces boost creativity and collaboration
Buildings 16 and 17 are two of the biggest at Microsoft headquarters – sturdy, brick-and-glass tributes to the practical 1980s, when the company was focused more on manifesting Bill Gates’ vision to put a computer on every desk and in every home than on the architectural prowess of its campus.
Inside, however, is a different story. There is light, air and art. There are new, retooled work spaces and vibrant common areas. Once fortresses of winding corridors, fluorescent lighting and private offices, the buildings were recently gutted and radically redesigned not just to be more interesting and modern, but to offer employees an unprecedented range of ways to get things done. In the parlance of the zip code, Buildings 16 and 17 have been totally hacked.
After all, it would be a non-starter for Microsoft to have the goal of empowering everyone on the planet to achieve more without trying to do the same for its own employees.
The buildings sport all the familiar hallmarks of a modern tech company – the plethora of free beverages, the ping pong and pool tables, the gourmet café, the standing desks. But from there, the offerings get more unusual.
For starters, Buildings 16 and 17 are office-free. Designed with the idea that there is no one best way to get work done, there are an unparalleled range of working environments. Employees and even executives work together in large, shared rooms called “neighborhoods.” They roam high-ceilinged hallways and stop for impromptu meetings in angular atriums designed to capture and perpetuate light. They head into large, glass team rooms to collaborate, or into one of the many focus rooms or cozy alcoves for privacy. They yell and whoop in an Xbox game room, and take their shoes off to quietly recharge in the company’s first-ever No Tech Lounge.
“It’s a new look for the new Microsoft,” said Jochen Liesche, a business manager for the Data Platform group who helped with the redesign. “I think ultimately the physical space really represents the culture here. It’s almost as if the physical space is a proxy for the company’s mission and its culture,” he said.
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Public Productivity Immersion Experience & Brainstorm Session
Companies are jumping on the opportunity to send their stakeholders to a Brainstorm Session (CIE). Teams leave the CIE Session with at least five actionable productivity improving techniques!
April 28 @ 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Venue: Microsoft Technology Center @ 60 E Rio Salado Pkwy #1200, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
This session is a hands-on introduction to Microsoft’s suite of productivity tools. A true-to-life user experience, CIE takes you through everyday business situations, such as working remotely, analyzing sales data and collaborating with coworkers, and lets you see how Microsoft products make it all easy, convenient and secure.
Microsoft Customer Immersion Experience (CIE) Benefits:
- Explore the Latest Productivity Tools in a Live Fully-Integrated Environment
- Hands on Learning of How Microsoft Tools Work Together
- Help Stakeholders Plan for Your Projects
- Manage Stakeholders
- Try Before You Buy
Schedule Your Brainstorm Session With our Microsoft Certified Customer Immersion Facilitator and Leave with 5 Actionable Ways to Boost Productivity.
*Space is limited, we will contact you directly to confirm your registration.
What is a CIE?
A CIE is a hands-on introduction to Microsoft’s suite of productivity tools. A true-to-life user experience, CIE takes you through everyday business situations, such as working remotely, analyzing sales data and collaborating with coworkers, and lets you see how Microsoft products make it all easy, convenient and secure.
Questions: 800-313-2109
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Cyber security gets the spotlight at Microsoft Envision business conference, starting April 4
Cyber security will be a main focus at the Microsoft Envision conference, reflecting the topic’s importance to every executive or business leader who sets strategy for a company, business unit or government agency.
More than a dozen sessions will address cyber security at Envision, which begins April 4 in New Orleans, including topics such as what questions to ask a security team, managing security, surveillance and keeping highly regulated industries safe.
Microsoft Envision will focus on business leaders, specifically decision makers in operations, finance, sales, marketing and IT who are ready to be leaders not only in their organization but in their industry. It’s the newest addition to the big-four conference lineup, joining Microsoft Ignite (for technologists), Microsoft Build (for developers) and the Worldwide Partner Conference.
Microsoft has history in the airline industry, and our vision for the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) is an exciting leap forward. Learn about our strategy in this whitepaper.
Microsoft has history in the airline industry, and our vision for the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) is an exciting leap forward. Learn about our strategy in this whitepaper.
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Ford Uses Microsoft Cloud to Seamlessly Update Cars
By Sharon Gaudin as written on cloudfortomorrow.com
Ford Motor Co. is moving to automatically update its cars’ infotainment systems using Microsoft’s Azure cloud service.
The U.S. auto maker will begin selling some cars later this year with a computer system that can be automatically updated anytime the car connects to a Wi-Fi network. The cloud-based system is expected to be available in all of Ford’s cars by the end of 2016, according to Don Butler, Ford’s executive director of Connected Vehicle and Services.
The system — the Ford Service Delivery Network — will enable car owners to more easily get new services, even if their car is as much as 10 years old.
Ford is using cloud computing, data analytics and in-car software to change the consumer experience. Now a car’s navigation, entertainment and communication systems will be refreshable.
Previously, Ford’s infotainment system could be updated — but only by bringing the vehicle into a dealership or via a USB stick.
With a cloud-based system, updates to the car’s navigation system, contacts, audio system and center touch screen will be easier.
The updates should download seamlessly, without the driver being distracted – or even aware – of it happening.
“We couldn’t do this without the cloud,” Butler told Computerworld. “It’s really the only way to do it. Otherwise, we’d still need people to make a physical connection either at the dealer or through a stick.”
Other auto companies, including Tesla Motors, will be using over-the-air updates and cloud services to upgrade car owners’ infotainment, safety and powertrains.
Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with ZK Research, said car owners rarely update their in-car systems when they have to drive to the dealer or get a USB stick. The cloud-based service should make it easier for systems requiring updates to work.
“I think it will be something that’s expected eventually,” he said. “Using the cloud is smart as it’s the only scalable way to do real time, over-the-air updates.”
To make this work, Ford is using a hybrid cloud system, which combines the features of a private and public cloud system.
Customer-sensitive data, such as the owner’s name and address, the vehicle’s mileage, its location and how well it’s running, will be stored on a private, on-premise cloud network that was built by Ford’s IT department.
For the public cloud, Ford is using Microsoft Azure, which the company uses for software updates.
Microsoft also is supplying the connection between Ford’s private cloud and the Azure public cloud.
“It’s a flexible solution that lets us tailor it to our needs,” Butler said. “Azure allows us the ability to flex between our own data centers and public data centers. And it’s global.”
That flexibility is the reason Ford’s IT executives chose Azure, instead of another cloud provider, like IBM, Google or Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“We wouldn’t have had that kind of flexibility with AWS or Google,” Butler noted. “You use their cloud as they constructed them. With Azure, we’ve constructed and architected our own service delivery network, and Azure is a component of that network. It gives us the ability to have a solution that bridges their public cloud and our own private cloud. Azure is the plumbing that connects the two clouds.”
Ford also had already worked with Microsoft on its in-vehicle software, so the Redmond, Wash., company came to the cloud job with an understanding of the automaker’s vision and needs.
“It’s important to work with a partner that understands the environment you’re trying to operate in,” Butler said. “Microsoft had that.”
Kerravala said he’s a little surprised that Ford selected Microsoft. “I think Azure versus AWS versus Google is really in the preference of the customer,” he added. “I think most people think of Amazon as being the de facto standard of the cloud, but Azure is a solid choice, too. Azure has Microsoft support behind it and may prove to be easier to grow long term because of that.”
Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said it makes sense for Ford to stick with Microsoft since they have a history of working together.
“As far as picking Microsoft, Ford and Microsoft have been collaborating for a long time,” he noted. “And Azure is a good platform for managing digital assets on a network. Here, it’s really two things — the Azure fabric, which is a software services platform, and the Azure service, which is Microsoft’s hosted version of the platform. Both make sense here.”
About Managed Solution
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Benefits of Using A Cloud Solution Provider for Office 365
Customers today are demanding that more and more of their IT solutions be deployed in the cloud. Industry analysts agree this trend will not only continue, but accelerate in the future. Feedback from customers say they would like their Technology Partner engaged at every part as their moving to cloud - from sales to renewal, from billing and provisioning, to full support. By partnering with a Cloud Solution Provider, customers could have one point of contact with one monthly bill for all their Microsoft cloud solutions.
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24/7 Support for IT Staff
By working with a CSP that offers 24/7 support, your IT admins have support for the deployment and administration of Office 365 products. The CSP provider functions as an IT outsource to ensure any incident is proactively managed and solved.
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The CSP program allows Managed Solution to build stronger relationships with our customers and provide them with the best cloud solutions to empower their business. Managed Solution customers in the Cloud Solution Provider Program receive unlimited access to the Enterprise Level Support and Premiere Deployment services that only 1st Tier CSP’s can provide through their Microsoft Partnership.
For more information on joining Managed Solution's Cloud Solution Provider Program, call 800-307-0296 or complete the form below and we will contact you:
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