Telefónica is working with Microsoft to integrate the software company’s Azure IoT suite and offer enterprise customers a secure hub to manage devices.
The Spanish operator said the collaboration aims to explore product integration, develop joint go to market strategies and innovate.
It added that it wanted to help enterprises solve challenges such as lack of reliability and uncertainty of data flows. Another issue is ensuring device credentials without having an onerous cost or higher data and battery consumption.
The two companies have already developed a preconfigured Internet of Things solution that integrate the operator’s data into Azure’s remote monitoring service.
Telefónica said it would also integrate its own connectivity platform APIs into Azure’s platform, which it said would provide enterprises with a single interface for software development and enable more sophisticated analytics and diagnosis.
Finally, the companies will explore solutions within new kinds of IoT connectivity, security and solving device identity challenges.
Vicente Muñoz, Chief IoT Officer of Telefónica, said: “By integrating Telefónica’s IoT connectivity platform with Microsoft Azure IoT Suite, Telefónica will offer its customers a global IoT Managed Connectivity Solution that helps Telefónica’s customers to easily, securely and reliably connect their IoT devices to Azure IoT Hub.
“The purpose of this integration is to solve customer issues when streaming data from device to cloud, leveraging on network authentication and identity to offer a zero-touch device provisioning, reducing device complexity and required customisation.”
Ana Alonso, Director for Enterprise Customers at Microsoft Spain, added: “Partnering with Telefónica will provide Telefónica´s customer base with end-to-end IoT solutions covering both Telefónica´s managed connectivity services and Microsoft´s leading cloud-based IoT SaaS and PaaS capabilities with an integrated approach on Security, Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.”