Moxa has announced it is developing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) gateways that integrate Microsoft Azure IoT Edge, thereby strengthening its promise to accelerate the convergence of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT). The installment of Azure IoT Edge in Moxa’s IIoT gateways will provide Microsoft Azure customers with an easy-to-use solution to extend their IT infrastructure and enable OT data connectivity within their industrial applications. The IIoT gateways will also facilitate Azure IoT Edge’s dual benefits: getting data from field sites securely and reliably to the cloud for analytics and monitoring, as well as bringing intelligence to field devices.

Collaboration Benefits Customers
Integrating Azure IoT Edge with Moxa’s IIoT gateways benefit customers, especially those operating on Linux platforms, in a number of ways. The benefits include secured remote connections to enable deployment in remote locations, connectivity to allow existing brownfield applications to share data with the cloud, and device management and product longevity to ensure customers can deploy, scale, and maintain their IIoT applications.

Moxa brings IIoT expertise and 30 years of OT experience in connectivity. Emphasizing network security, its edge device security is based on TPM 2.0 and IEC 62443-4-2. Furthermore, its ruggedized computing hardware is designed for harsh industrial environments, ensuring that it withstands, for example, extreme temperatures and vibration. In addition to a five-year warranty for its edge devices, Moxa also provides a 10-year support life cycle for its industrial Linux operating system, thus future-proofing IIoT applications.

Bringing it Together with Moxa
“Our integration with Microsoft Azure will ensure customers can more easily deploy IIoT edge gateways into existing industrial environments with the right level of product integration to enable access to public or private cloud solutions, the security necessary in and end-to-end solution, and scalable device management architecture,” said Robert Jackson, Global IIoT Partner Manager for Moxa.

Sam George, Director of Azure IoT for Microsoft Corp. added, “The integration with Moxa will make it easier for customers who want to deploy IIoT-connected solutions for more intelligent industrial applications and field services. In addition, Microsoft Azure cloud and analytics services help customers accelerate digital transformation which, in turn, increases business value.”