French wireless communications firm Sigfox has announced a collaboration with Microsoft’s Azure Internet of Things (IoT) hub.
The collaboration allows Sigfox customers to use Microsoft Azure IoT for real-time analytics and automation of operations, while also utilizing Sigfox’s low-power, wide area communications network (LPWAN) to make an IoT system affordable and reliable.
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“Integration with Microsoft Azure IoT Hub in Sigfox’s Cloud is a key step in the evolution of the IoT, providing customers with a great alternative to investing large amounts of resources to develop and manage data storage and management themselves,” said Stuart Lodge, Sigfox executive vice president of global sales and partners to Business Wire.
Sigfox network network currently in 14 countries
Sigfox already provides its dedicated network to 14 countries, including Britain, France, and the United States. It installs small base stations to connect IoT devices to its network, and uses the 900 MHz band to send tiny bits of data at 100 bits per second. The low-power ensures that IoT devices can run for years on a single set of batteries, lowering the long term costs. Sigfox is banking on this low-energy approach winning businesses that don’t want to spend hundreds of thousands on an IoT system.
“Our collaboration with Sigfox enables Microsoft Azure IoT customers to more easily integrate devices connected to the Sigfox network in their existing solutions,” said Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of developer platform.
In addition to the collaboration, Microsoft and Sigfox are also working together on the ‘Connect Your City’ hackathon in San Francisco, an event for developers to create hardware prototypes connected to the Sigfox network, and the winners will be deployed in the city.
The collaboration announcement arrives during Microsoft’s annual Build conference, where it just revealed $50 and $160 Azure IoT starter kits, and BMW previewed its Connected IoT platform based on Microsoft Azure.
