In an unexpected but much-welcomed turn of events, Microsoft has confirmed that it will not be retiring Azure IoT Central after all.
In a blog post, GM and Head of Product for Azure IoT, Azure Digital Twins, and Windows IoT, Kam VedBrat, confirmed “a recent erroneous system message… regarding the deprecation of Azure IoT Central.”
“This message is not accurate and was presented in error,” VedBrat confirmed.
Azure IoT Central lives on
The initial announcement, made on February 14 through the Azure console, indicated that new application resources couldn’t be created from April 2024 onwards.
VedBrat said that the company follows a procedure whereby a three-year notification period is given regarding product retirements, and that such announcements would not be made via system messages.
When the news first surfaced, Microsoft was continuing to sell licenses, adding to the confusion. At that time, TechRadar Pro asked Microsoft to confirm the rumors, but the company still has not responded.
IBM’s recent decision to close its Watson IoT cloud management platform gave the rumored Microsoft retirement some credibility, however it’s now clear that this mistake meant nothing.
Having clarified that Azure IoT Central would not be retiring, The Register has criticized VedBrat and the company for failing to provide clarity on the future for developers using IoT Central.
Alluding to the fact that Azure IoT Central isn’t going anywhere, VedBrat added: “We will continue to collaborate with our partners and customers to transform their businesses with intelligent edge and cloud solutions, taking advantage of our full portfolio of Azure IoT products.”
