New Open Connectivity Foundation Will Further Innovation of the Internet of Things

At Microsoft, we believe in strong partnerships to create opportunity across the ecosystem. Today, we’re pleased to join other industry leaders to create the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), which is committed to furthering industry standards for the Internet of Things. Along with founding members Cisco, Electrolux, General Electric, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung and others, we are proud to be part of the world’s largest open IoT standard group. Together, our goal is to accelerate industry innovation for all of our customers, ultimately benefiting billions of people around the world.

We have helped lead the formation of the OCF because we believe deeply in its vision and the potential an open standard can deliver. Despite the opportunity and promise of IoT to connect devices in the home or in businesses, competition between various open standards and closed company protocols have slowed adoption and innovation. Much like W3C manages the standards for the World Wide Web, the IEEE sets electrical engineering standards and the UPU sets the global postal code – standardization can help consolidate industry attention and create opportunity, via an agreed upon set of protocols that move industries and the world forward.

Windows 10 devices will natively interoperate with the new OCF standard, making it easy for Windows to discover, communicate, and orchestrate multiple IoT devices in the home, in business, and beyond. The OCF standards will also be fully compatible with the 200 million Windows 10 devices that are “designed for AllSeen” today.

Windows IOT, Azure IOT, and the Open Connectivity Foundation

We are designing Windows 10 to be the ideal OS platform for Things, and the Azure IoT platform to be the best cloud companion for Things, and for both of them to interoperate with all Things. Today, Windows and Azure are the platforms powering a variety of IoT devices across the home and many industries including manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and much more. Customers are choosing Windows 10 and Azure for the most advanced enterprise-grade security, manageability, serviceability, programmability, Cortana, and cloud analytics. And soon, Windows 10 will include APIs to help developers easily integrate with OCF compatible devices.

We are committed to the establishment and growth of the OCF. We look forward to seeing the innovation it will enable for all customers and the endless opportunities it will create for developers.

Thanks,

Terry