Azure IoT Operations Launch

Summary

The session, led by Cam Vibrat and Sean Parm from Microsoft’s Azure IoT team, announced the general availability of Azure IoT Operations, following a year in public preview.
Key topics included the role of AI and IoT in industrial transformation, an overview of challenges faced by industrial customers, a live demonstration, and details on partner/customer use cases.
The session introduced new features, highlighted customer success stories, showcased ecosystem partners, and provided resources for getting started with Azure IoT Operations.
Attendees included customers, partners, and preview participants; a Q&A was open at the end.

Ongoing – Cam/Sean: Continue supporting and maintaining legacy IoT services for current customers.
Ongoing – Cam/Sean: Follow up with partners and customers for additional feedback on Azure IoT Operations.
Tomorrow – Attendees: Visit the expert Meetup and hands-on jumpstart sessions in the hub for more information and demos on Azure IoT Operations.

Azure IoT Operations is now generally available, after a year in public preview.
The product was shaped by feedback from customers and partners during the preview period.
The solution provides a scalable, repeatable framework for industrial digital transformation and AI-driven outcomes.

AI is driving transformation in manufacturing, consumer goods, energy, and life sciences by leveraging industrial data for improved productivity and efficiency.
Key challenges include siloed data, inconsistent analytics, and difficulty scaling solutions across diverse sites and equipment.
Unified management and analytics tools are crucial to unlocking value from industrial data.

Chevron uses Azure Arc and Azure IoT Operations to support sustainability, minimize downtime, and integrate data across assets and facilities.
Requirements include stable, secure infrastructure, unified data management, and scalable cloud-edge connectivity.
The solution enables predictive maintenance, democratized data access, and scalability across harsh, remote environments.

Azure IoT Operations unifies edge and cloud management, supporting a cohesive toolset for device management, security, and application deployment.
The platform’s adaptive cloud approach lowers costs and enables organizations to leverage existing cloud skills on the edge.
Integration with Kubernetes provides resilience and extensibility for partner and customer workloads.

Natively supports protocols like OPC UA, MQTT, and OTEL for industrial connectivity.
Includes a highly available MQTT broker, schema registry, Azure device registry, and cloud-managed edge resources.
New public preview: camera and media connectors for processing visual data.
Built-in integration with Azure services, such as Key Vault, Container Storage, and Arc Gateway.

Sensor and machine data from a test lab (fluid processing cell) is collected, processed on the edge, and streamed to Azure for real-time analytics.
Tools include a dedicated operations interface for OT/IT staff, no-code data flow configuration, and Power BI dashboards for visualization.
Demonstrated an immersive 3D monitoring experience powered by NVIDIA Omniverse and Azure Kubernetes Service, enabling dynamic data interaction and actionable alarms in a digital twin environment.

Husqvarna: Building a global, data-driven supply chain for efficiency gains.
Grupo Bimbo: Expanding Azure IoT Operations from 55 to 400 plants for AI-driven maintenance and process optimization.
SKF: Deploying AI and Azure IoT Operations on the shop floor to improve equipment effectiveness and security.
Ecopetrol: Standardizing data acquisition to lower costs, increase operational efficiency, and move toward energy reduction targets.
Partners like DXC, Avanade, and Rockwell Automation are developing accelerators, consulting services, and integrated industry solutions leveraging Azure IoT Operations.

Expert Meetup and jumpstart sessions available for technical onboarding and best practices.
Continued support for existing Azure IoT services alongside new product rollout.
Encouraged customers to connect with partners for tailored solutions and deployment.

General availability of Azure IoT Operations — Decision based on successful preview feedback and readiness to scale to broader customer needs.
Continued support for legacy Azure IoT services — Ongoing maintenance for existing customer bases while new products roll out.

Gather ongoing customer and partner feedback on Azure IoT Operations now that GA is launched.
Monitor adoption and gather case studies from new deployments for future presentations and product evolution.
No specific open audience questions were recorded at the end of the session.