While many new connected devices are being made by established companies, countless more are getting hatched by startups, many of which have only a handful of employees and limited technical and financial resources.
In a bid to help out, Microsoft has opened up IoT and AI Insider Labs in Redmond, Wash., and Shenzhen, China, with another set to open in Munich next month. The labs are staffed by Microsoft experts who help participating companies fine-tune their hardware, debug device drivers, develop related software and perhaps most importantly, how to achieve last-mile connections at scale. In other words, the labs are about completing the journey from proof-of-concept to production-ready.
Microsoft hasn't made much fuss about the labs until now. This week, it published a lengthy feature that takes readers inside the labs. Here's a key excerpt from the piece:
Companies of all sizes can work in the labs at no cost. They get access to Microsoft technology and its engineers’ expertise in machine learning, AI and the cloud, all in one-stop shops. During stints that typically span from one to three weeks, visiting development teams learn how to refine their product architecture, unblock technical issues and build the skills to create a full-stack IoT solution.
Four-person, full-time teams of engineers versed in custom hardware, embedded software, industrial design, secure telecommunications and cloud development walk invited guests through sprint planning, tooling and testing – tasks that typically require a company to pay six or seven vendors. Ultimately, the labs help large enterprises and tiny startups alike scale and accelerate their IoT solutions to market.
Given the dubious quality of IoT security practices, particularly in the consumer device market, that part of the lab's work is especially welcome.
Naturally, there's more to Microsoft's effort than benevolence; the longer-term goal is getting more devices ready to connect to and consume Azure cloud services. By aligning and co-innovating with IoT device makers early on, there's a much better chance of gaining their business on Azure.
Any company is open to apply to the program, which overall is a smart move by Microsoft.
"It is normally considered good business practice to invest in moving up the value chain from your current position," says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Andy Mulholland. "Currently many tech vendors' investment seems to be in the direction of AI, and for most of the last year it's certainly been focused on the business value part of IoT. The result has been to leave the sensors, and final mile, services of IoT in something of a vacuum, yet everything up the value chain depends on the availability of good-quality sensing and data flow management. Microsoft is making an excellent move to encourage and breathe more support into what seems to have become a 'Cinderella' market."
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