Microsoft continues its startup shopping spree with news it acquired Italian Internet of Things (IoT) firm Solair for an undisclosed amount.
Solair provides software for companies to connect all internet devices to a hub and a hardware gateway to interface with the cloud. Microsoft Azure IoT partner director, Sam George, said that Solair’s services will be integrated with the Azure IoT suite.
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“Solair’s IoT customization and deployment solutions, built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, are engineered to help businesses in any industry utilize IoT to run more efficiently and profitably,” said George. “For example, Solair has brought the power of IoT to Rancilio’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 Rancilio reduce costs and increase revenue.”
Microsoft on a buying spree
The acquisition is one of many for Microsoft under Satya Nadella, who has put a keen focus on the cloud. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced 140 percent growth in its Azure business, with 88 percent growth in cloud computing revenue.
“The integration of Solair’s technology into the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite will continue to enhance our complete IoT offering for the enterprise,” said George. “We’ll have more specifics to share about how Solair is helping us build the intelligent cloud in the future. In the meantime, I’d like to reiterate my welcome to the Solair team.”
Microsoft is competing with Amazon, Salesforce.com, Google, IBM, and a few other big names in the cloud computing business. Amazon is way ahead, at $10 billion in sales to Microsoft’s $6.3 billion, but the future of integrated systems and IoT makes it an open field where anyone with a smart idea and enough talent can take the lead.
