Microsoft today announced that it will invest over $5 billion in the Internet of Things (IoT) over the next four-years. The main goal of the company is to offer customers a connected solution and the ability to transform their businesses, and the world at large.
IoT is slowly gaining momentum in India, and it is already in use for a wide variety of use cases such as saving electricity, resources, predictive healthcare, automobile safety and more.Microsoft today mentioned that it is planning to dedicate even more resources to research and innovation in IoT and ultimately evolving to be the new intelligent edge
With Microsoft’s IoT platform spanning across its cloud, OS, and devices, the company has a unique advantage to simplify IoT to anyone regardless of size, technical expertise, budget, industry or other factors and create trusted, connected solutions that improve business and customer experiences, better improve the daily live of common people.
According to A.T. Kearney research, IoT will lead to a $1.9 trillion productivity increase and $177 billion in reduced costs by 2020. This will affect right from connected homes and cars to manufacturers to smart cities and utilities and everything that comes in between. Microsoft says that companies like Steelcase, Kohler, Chevron, United Technologies and Johnson Controls are all innovating with its IoT platform, launching new products, solutions, and services that transform their business.
Regarding the investment, Microsoft in a blog post said:
We are committed to helping customers bring their vision to life across every industry. Today’s announcement is big—for us and for the future of IoT and the intelligent edge. It positions us to support customers as they develop new and increasingly sophisticated IoT solutions, which few could have imagined just a few years ago. We can’t wait to see what comes from our customers and partners next, and we’ll have more to share throughout the year.