Verizon, Microsoft Launch Joint Platform For IoT Application Development

Verizon and Microsoft have revealed a joint platform for the development of IoT applications and have called out solution provider giant Cognizant as an early adopter.

Telecom giant Verizon has joined forces with Microsoft Azure to help developers and service providers create and develop IoT solutions faster.

Verizon’s IoT developer platform, ThingSpace, as well as the carrier’s 5G LTE network connectivity, have been integrated with Microsoft Azure’s IoT Central, a platform that provides cloud-based analytics and pre-built IoT use case templates, the two companies announced on Thursday.

The jointly integrated platform is available globally to developers today, according to Verizon.

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Via the terms of the new relationship, developers will have access to the components they need to build full IoT solutions, including Verizon’s secure connectivity and its Critical Asset Sensor (CAS) devices. These assets can now work with Azure's IoT Central, which offers application-level, cloud-based analytics, Basking Ridge, N.J.-based Verizon said.

“This is about simplifying IoT solution development,” Aamir Hussain, Verizon Business’ senior vice president of Business Products, said in a statement. “By integrating the Verizon and Microsoft platforms, we are enabling IoT builders to more easily get their solutions to market, and ultimately, into the hands of users.”

Both companies identified solution provider giant Cognizant as an early user of the platform.

Specifically, Teaneck, N.J.- based Cognizant is tapping the platform for the development of a very specific use case; an IoT application for the management and use of cold storage to supports vital business operations for perishables, including the shipping of food and pharmaceuticals.

“The global pandemic has disrupted nearly every supply chain. Connected IoT solutions are more essential than ever to protect all of us,” said Frank Antonysamy, global head of Cognizant’s IoT business, in a statement about the firm’s new solution and the Verizon/Microsoft partnership. “Every temperature-sensitive product can now be monitored to ensure product integrity from shipping through to the consumer. Working with Verizon and Microsoft on the ThingSpace platform enables us to deploy new technologies to help ensure that the food we eat and medicines we take are safe.”