Microsoft to Invest $5 Billion in IoT Globally, Including India

Global tech firm Microsoft will be investing $5 billion in the Internet of Things across the world, including India, in the next four years, it announced on April 4. Currently, their IoT platform includes cloud computing, operating systems and devices.

“Microsoft in India is committed to helping everyone bring their digital transformation vision to life across every industry,” the company said in a blog post.

“We’re now seeing the kind of increased adoption and exponential growth that analysts have been forecasting for years, and we’re just getting started. A.T. Kearney predicts IoT will lead to a $1.9 trillion productivity increase and $177 billion in reduced costs by 2020. This effect will be pervasive, from connected homes and cars to manufacturers to smart cities and utilities—and everything in between,” Julia White, CVP Microsoft Azure, said. Microsoft Azure is the platform that is powering many IoT devices.

In India, IoT is gaining momentum and impacting everyday life with electricity savings, new resources, predictive healthcare and advanced automobile safety, among other areas.

“Microsoft in India is committed to helping everyone bring their digital transformation vision to life across every industry,” the company said in a blog post.

In India, TechSpan Engineering has used Azure IoT platform to implement a monitoring system using sensors provided by the Austrian firm s::can and its India Partner Aaxis Nano. Using the power of the Microsoft cloud, IoT and data, the solution taps into the robust s::can sensors to provide measurements across 17 parameters.

“The solution is currently being used for monitoring drinking water quality online by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (125 stations) and Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board in Hubli, Dharwad and Bijapur (3 stations),” Microsoft said.

“It is also being used for online surface water quality monitoring by Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi (44 stations) and Central Water Commission, New Delhi (3 stations),” the company added.

It is also being used for powering the first Smart Street Lighting Project for Jaipur and in India.

“Microsoft’s partner Samudra LED has now deployed a customized Microsoft IoT-platform-based solution created by ISV Precimetrix to monitor, control and manage smart LED public street lights,” said the blog post. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36,750 metric tonnes per year and $1 million per year in fiscal savings for the government.