Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT

From http://beagleboard.org/blog/2015-10-29-microsoft-azure-certified-for-iot/:

BeagleBoard.org collaborates with Microsoft to simplify Internet of Things (IoT) development
by Jason Kridner

Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT provides quick-start confidence to BeagleBoard.org BeagleBone Black and SeeedStudio BeagleBone Green with pre-tested software and hardware 

When developers of Internet-connected device (or “IoT”) solutions are prototyping and deploying their products, they frequently choose BeagleBoard.org BeagleBone Black and the new BeagleBoard-compatible SeeedStudio BeagleBone Green. By adding participation of these two devices in Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT, BeagleBoard.org is now extending the benefits of its proven open hardware and software ecosystem.

“Working with the open community around BeagleBoard.org and their partners is an inspiration,” said Barb Edson, General Manager for Data Platform and Internet of Things, Microsoft. "Everyone in the community of professionals, students and hobbyists innovating around programmable electronics benefits from this collaboration to accelerate IoT prototypes and extend their creations to the world.”

The proven BeagleBoard.org ecosystem is built on a high-performance Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x processor, typically with an open source GNU/Linux Debian distribution, an open hardware design, and with available add-on daughter boards (or “capes”) and enclosures. Get started learning by joining the on-line discussions and stay in touch by subscribing to the newsletter at beagleboard.org/newsletter.    

From  http://blogs.microsoft.com/iot/2015/09/29/azure-iot-suite-now-available/:

Our mission is to empower every person and business on the planet to do more, and one of the most transformative trends affecting every business is the Internet of Things. We call that the Internet of Your things, and today at AzureCon, we made two announcements that will help our customers quickly and easily capture their untapped data, create new intelligence, and ultimately transform their business, including:

• Availability of the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite: Now available to purchase, the Azure IoT Suite offers preconfigured solutions built on Microsoft’s cloud platform.
• A new Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT Program: In order to get IoT solutions up and running quickly, Azure Certified for IoT program helps customers quickly identify hardware and software offerings verified to work with Azure IoT services.

Transforming business with IoT

We’ve seen powerful results from effective Internet of Things strategies and technologies. Companies like Rockwell Automation and ThyssenKrupp Elevator have leveraged Azure to support real-time insight, predictive analytics and preventive maintenance—ultimately creating entirely new business models based on IoT.

There are a vast number of companies who can realize the benefits of IoT, but may have encountered roadblocks to deployment in the past, including struggling with the resources needed to deal with millions of devices with real time data streams, the time to move from ‘proof of concept’ to ‘production ready,’ and managing the complexity of implementation.

Introducing the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite

We developed the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite to help our customers more easily deploy IoT solutions with broad support a variety of devices and systems, interactive dashboards and visualizations, and preconfigured solutions. Now enterprises have an easy and seamless way to connect people, devices and assets that help them realize the opportunities of IoT without massive investments in infrastructure that would slow time to value.

Meeting customers where they are

Azure IoT Suite integrates with the device assets and IoT systems that customers already have. This lets businesses quickly pull together a more complete view of what’s happening. With the Azure IoT Suite, you can immediately see when a business asset or device needs attention. This allows a business to move from reactive to proactive maintenance—and then to full automation.

How the Azure IoT Suite works

Intuitive visualization tools and dashboards

Once a company’s assets are connected, Azure IoT Suite provides near-real-time information in an intuitive format that helps business leaders take action from insights. Microsoft’s advanced analytics with high-scale capabilities enables companies to easily process data—even when it comes from a variety of sources, including devices, line-of-business assets, sensors and other systems. Built-in rich dashboards and analytics tools provide access to the data and insights they need. User permissions can be set to control reporting and share information with the right people in the business to help it run more efficiently.

Preconfigured solutions

To get started quickly, businesses can use our preconfigured solutions, which are engineered to help a company move quickly from proof of concept and testing to broader deployment. Remote monitoring is available today and predictive maintenance and asset management solutions will be available soon.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

Homepage: http://www.azure.com/certifiedforiot