Microsoft’s Azure IoT Edge, now generally available, is key to Redmond’s IoT strategy | ZDNet
Azure IoT Edge is a service which allows users to deploy and run Azure services, AI and custom logic on IoT devices. Users can containerize Azure Cognitive Services, Machine Learning, Stream Analytics and Functions so they can run them on all kinds of devices, ranging from Raspberry Pis to industrial equipment. This is what Microsoft means when it talks about processing data “at the edge.”
For the couple of years, Microsoft has been refocusing its mission around tools and services for the “intelligent cloud and intelligent edge.” Microsoft defines the “edge” broadly as where users interact with the cloud. Edge devices can be anything from virtual-reality/mixed-reality headsets, to drones, to on-premises PCs and servers.
Simultaneous with the GA announcement, Microsoft is expanding its Azure Certified for IoT program, adding new categories like device management and security to its catalog. Pre-built Edge modules also are available via the Azure Marketplace.
Microsoft released a preview of Azure IoT Edge last year at its Connect(); conference in November. At its Build 2018 developers conference earlier this year, Microsoft announced it was open-sourcing the IoT Edge runtime, making it available on GitHub.