Siemens is collaborating with Microsoft to transform access to IoT data for buildings.

The collaboration will enable interoperability between Siemens’ Building X digital building platform and Microsoft Azure IoT Operations enabled by Azure Arc.

Azure IoT Operations, a component of this adaptive cloud approach, provides tools and infrastructure to connect edge devices while integrating data, helping organisations optimise their operations and use the potential of their IoT environments.

The interoperability of Building X and Azure IoT Operations is making IoT-based data more accessible for large enterprises across commercial buildings, data centres and higher education facilities, and provides them with the necessary information to enhance sustainability and operations. It enables automatic onboarding and monitoring by bringing datapoints such as temperature, pressure and indoor air quality to the cloud, for assets such as HVAC systems, valves and actuators. It will even allow users to develop their own in-house use cases such as energy monitoring and space optimisation.

One-click device onboarding to the cloud and efficient data exchange should give users freedom to design their IoT architecture. Siemens’ hardware and software components can be seamlessly integrated without being confined to a single vendor ecosystem.

The collaboration leverages known and established open industry standards, including World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web of Things (WoT), describing the metadata and interfaces of hardware and software, as well as Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) for communication of data to the cloud. Siemens and Microsoft are members of the W3C and the OPC Foundation, which develops standards and guidelines that help build an industry based on accessibility, interoperability, privacy and security. 

This marks one of the first integrations of IoT data purely based on open standards across providers.

“This collaboration with Microsoft reflects our shared vision of enabling customers to harness the full potential of IoT through open standards and interoperability,” said Susanne Seitz, CEO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure (www.siemens.com/global/en/company/about/businesses/smart-infrastructure.html). “The improved data access will provide portfolio managers with granular visibility into critical metrics such as energy efficiency and consumption. With IoT data often being siloed, this level of transparency is a game-changer for an industry seeking to optimise building operations and meet sustainability targets.”

Erich Barnstedt, senior director at Microsoft (www.microsoft.com), added: “Siemens shares Microsoft’s focus on interoperability and open IoT standards. This collaboration is a significant step forward in making IoT data more actionable. Microsoft’s strategy underscores our commitment to partnering with industry leaders to empower customers with greater choice and control over their IoT.”

The interoperability between Siemens’ Building X and Azure IoT Operations (azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/iot-operations) will be available on the market later this year.

Building X (xcelerator.siemens.com/global/en/products/buildings/building-x.html) is a digital building platform that helps users digitalise, manage and optimise their building operations, paving the way for sustainable, autonomous and profitable assets. It is part of Siemens Xcelerator (xcelerator.siemens.com), an open digital business platform that enables users to accelerate their digital transformation easier, faster and at scale.