What is Azure IoT?

Introduction

 
Before we start with the understanding of Azure IoT (Internet of things), we should have:
  • A basic knowledge of cloud computing.
  • A basic knowledge of Microsoft Azure.

Background

 
I would like to briefly explain what IoT is before we see the details surrounding Azure IoT.
 
IoT (Internet of things) is a system built by integrating the digital devices with computer devices/applications/software which transfers the data between them to process/analyze/act on the data through the internet. The data/information exchange between the computer device and machines can be unidirectional or bidirectional depending on the businesses needs.
 
In short, it is a web-enabled system carrying the smart devices with embedded processors and communicate with the hardware to collect/send/act on the data. IoT system builds by merging multiple technologies, such as machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Stream Analytics, Reporting tools, etc.
 
There are several examples of IoT business cases, like in the manufacturing industry to monitor critical things such as temperature, humidity, air pressure and production machinery operating data, end-to-end component traceability, preventive machine maintenance, and higher product quality – all in real-time.
 

What is Azure IoT?

 
The Azure Internet of Things (IoT) is a collection of Azure cloud services that connect, monitor and control billions of IoT assets. In simpler terms, an IoT solution is made up of one or more IoT devices and one or more back-end services running in the cloud.
 
In short, it has three major components: devices, backend services, and communication.
 
 
IoT Devices
 
These are the hardware device with circuit board with sensors to connect to the internet. It may have Wi-Fi chips. Azure cloud has a software development kit available for the device as well as services here to help us build the apps quickly.
 
Communication
 
Hardware device communicates with Azure backend services to transfers/receives the data in unidirectional or bidirectional.
 
Azure Back-end services
 
Back-end service has a major role in IoT applications. It helps us receive the data from devices, process it, store it, create meaningful insights, control the state of the device, and monitor device activities.
 
Azure IoT applications are based on TIA,
  • Things - nothing devices which send data
  • Insights - to generate meaningful data 
  • Actions - activities to improve the business based on the data output generated from insights 

Conclusion

 
In this article, we have learned an overview of Azure IoT. In my next article, we will look into the architecture of Azure IoT in depth. Stay tuned.