Microsoft 'retires' Azure IoT Central in platform rethink

Exclusive Out of the blue Microsoft has decided to retire a key plank of its Azure IoT platform, leaving developers currently building systems high and dry.

In a statement on the Azure console, Microsoft confirmed the Azure IoT Central service is being retired on March 31, 2027.

“Starting on April 1, 2024, you won’t be able to create new application resources; however, all existing IoT Central applications will continue to function and be managed. Subscription {{subscriptionld} is not allowed to create new applications. Please create a support ticket to request an exception,” the statement to customers, seen by The Register, said.

According to a Microsoft "Learn" post from February 8, 2024, IoT Central is an IoT application platform as a service (aPaaS) designed to reduce work and costs while building, managing, and maintaining IoT solutions.

As of noon GMT, February 15, the IoT Central website is still inviting potential customers to "Try Azure for Free" or "Create a pay-as-you-go account."

Microsoft's Azure IoT offering includes three pillars: IoT Hub, IoT Edge and IoT Central.

IoT Hub is a cloud-based service that provides a "secure and scalable way to connect, monitor, and manage IoT devices and sensors," according to Microsoft. Azure IoT Edge is designed to allow devices to run cloud-based workloads locally. And Azure IoT Central is a fully managed, cloud-based IoT solution for connecting and managing devices at scale.

Central is a layer above Hub in the architecture, and Hub itself may well continue. One developer told The Register there was no warning about Hub on the Azure console. As for IoT Edge, it is "a device-focused runtime that enables you to deploy, run, and monitor containerized Linux workloads."

Microsoft has not said whether this would continue. The Reg contacted the Redmond-based software giant for comment.

In 2019, Microsoft and satellite comms company Inmarsat announced an integration that would allow customers to move data up to the Azure IoT Central platform for analysis via Inmarsat's sat-com network.

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GPU giant Nvidia also has a tie-in with Azure IoT Central. Its Fleet Command hybrid-cloud platform is billed as "securely and remotely deploying, managing, and scaling AI across dozens or thousands of servers or edge devices." It offers integration with Azure IoT Central, including the ability to deploy "Azure IoT Central runtime and managing the Azure IoT Central node from Fleet Command."

IBM made a similar move to end its Watson IoT service at short notice in November 2022. It said it would "sunset the Watson IoT Platform service on IBM Cloud effective December 1st, 2023 without a direct replacement." ®