The Microsoft Azure IoT Hub device management service will no longer be bound to cloud environments according to the company , but will also be available through Azure Stack at a company’s local data center. This makes it possible to control and monitor networked production plants and individual devices outside of public clouds. The software company noted the compliance guidelines of many companies as a reason for this step. However, the option of linking Azure Stack to Microsoft’s global structure of Azure data centers remains. To counteract data protection concerns, the company also maintains regional data centers in Germany , which T-Systems manages as a data-trustee middleman. The customer data remains in the country and is subject to local law. This partnership has been significantly expanded by the Telekom subsidiary just recently.

With Azure Stack, Microsoft has created an Azure-identical on-premises platform, enabling companies to establish consistent hybrid clouds based on Microsoft technologies . At the Hanover Fair, Redmond also unveiled the Automatic Discovery Service, a new smart factories service based on the Azure IoT Suite Connected Factory open source solution, designed to greatly facilitate the integration and automatic setup of IIoT-enabled systems.