As a further confirmation that Microsoft wants to be part of the business of the Internet of Things, was released a "limited preview" of a new product on Azure: Azure Microsoft Intelligent System Service.

The primary objective is to provide a single platform capable of acquiring data generated by heterogeneous systems (and thus non-Microsoft) for further processing and analyzing in real-time with tools like HDInsight.

The main features will be :

• Connectivity : ability to connect any device regardless of onboard operating system;
• Configuration : definition of rules to automate processes on the device;
• Administration : ability to monitor, configure and update devices in the field;
• Extensibility : greater scalability and efficiency through infrastructure based on cloud;

At the following link, it is possible to request a limited preview to which potential users will have access as a result of a questionnaire for assessing the project to be realized.