Microsoft acquires Italian IoT platform Solair

Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Solair, an Italy-based IoT service that was founded in 2011 (and not the U.S.-based company that makes retractable awnings).

Solair already used Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to offer its services, so it’s no surprise that Microsoft plans to integrate its technology into the Azure IoT Suite. For now, though, it’s unclear what exactly Microsoft’s plans for Solair are beyond the company saying that it is “excited about their technology and talent – and delighted to welcome them to the Microsoft team.”

The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

While Solair is not exactly a household name, the company has already worked with a wide variety of clients, including Italian espresso machine manufacturer Rancilio Group and food processing machine company Minerva Omega Group.

“Solair shares our ambition for helping customers harness their untapped data and create new intelligence with IoT, and this acquisition supports our strategy to deliver the most complete IoT offering for enterprises,” said Sam George, Microsoft’s Partner Director for Azure IoT, in today’s announcement.

Solair offers a full suite of IoT products, including a gateway for collecting data and an enterprise platform for custom deployments and integration with existing services.