Components of the IoT platform

Today, IoT is described using various definitions; however, it essentially consists of four basic areas:

• Things: Any physical thing, such as line-of-business assets, including industry devices or sensors
• Connectivity: Those things that have connectivity to the internet
• Data: Those things that can collect and communicate information – this information may include data collected from the environment
• Analytics: The analytics that come with the data produce insight and enable people or machines to take actions that drive business outcomes

Microsoft's IoT platform's core foundation is the Azure cloud platform; it has a set of services to help companies achieve the benefits of implementing an IoT strategy. Microsoft's Azure IoT services are a set of IoT capabilities, outlined in the following, enabling enterprises to build and realize value from IoT solutions quickly and efficiently. As part of core IoT offerings, Microsoft Azure IoT services enable Microsoft to meet the customers wherever they are in their IoT journey – whether they are focused on where to start, or are ready to scale IoT scenarios which will transform their digital business.

The Azure IoT approach to providing such an IoT platform is built on three foundational pillars. These IoT services set Microsoft apart from other vendors – no other vendor delivers the breadth of capabilities, enterprise level service, and scale that Microsoft does.

• Comprehensive technology: The most comprehensive set of IoT technologies, to help customers connect, analyze, and act on insights
• Enterprise focus: The services are built on an enterprise grade cloud that take advantage of all the scalability and security features we have enabled in our cloud
• Global scale: By leveraging Azure IoT services, customers can seamlessly scale from Proof of Concept (PoC) to global deployment on Microsoft's hyper-scale worldwide infrastructure