On Tuesday, May 3, Microsoft has acquired Solair, the Italian startup company that built its Internet of Things (IoT) cloud applications on Microsoft's Azure platform.
Sam George, Microsoft's partner director for Azure IoT, has announced the acquisition on a blog post. He said that Microsoft is excited about the talent and technology that come with the acquisition. For the moment, Solair and Microsoft did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
With the integration of Solair that operates a cloud-based IoT platform, Microsoft involved deeper into Internet of Things technology. Solair's technology will be used by Microsoft to upgrade its Azure IoT Suite that consists a collection of cloud services provided to companies that want to use the Internet of Things.
Solair's technology offers IoT services focused on a variety of markets, including inventory management, remote maintenance, smart metering and home automation. Microsoft did not specify what it will use of Solair's technology but more details on the integration of the two companies are expected to be released later.
According to PC World, MachNation analyst Dima Tokar wrote in a commentary that Microsoft acquired Solair for its technology rather than for its customer base. Azure represents an important part of Microsoft's corporate strategy.
The high-tech company is aiming to convince more customers to use its cloud offerings. Acquisitions like this one could get more companies to buy into the Azure ecosystem, especially for new applications driven by IoT.
According to CIO Today, Solair was founded in 2011 with the mission to develop IoT solutions for the enterprise business market. Since its launch, the company has created applications for predictive maintenance for Bosch Rexroth, remote monitoring of AEG Power Solutions' uninterruptible power supplies and electricity optimization for Japan-based manufacturer Aiwa.
Microsoft's Azure Internet of Things suite is designed to help enterprise customers apply data analytics to improve efficiency, monitor a wide variety of systems and create new revenue-producing services. In order to enhance its enterprise IoT offerings, Microsoft will now integrate Solair's technology into its own.
