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Amazon Web Services today announced its new technology for the Internet of Things. The cloud services provider launched the suite from an announcement on the AWS Official Blog, but the software is still in its Beta phase. Amazon sees the Internet of Things movement as something that may very well go beyond a fad and instead change how we interact with what it calls our “things,” objects that we’ll connect to more intimately as IoT technology progresses. Amazon had previously acquired startup 2lemetry. The smaller business identified as an Internet of Things platform, suggesting Amazon integrated their technology into its existing services.
The internet giant made “AWS IoT” public when the company’s Chief Technology Officer Werner Vogels announced the product while at Amazon’s re:Invent conference. The service is emphasizing its ability to run on most types of devices. Amazon claims that a quick connection in a small package will allow for its service to be ideal for machines that may not have any power or battery life to waste. Amazon is hoping its technology will make everyday devices useful in a way that empowers businesses that decide to take advantage of it. If Amazon Web Services is everywhere, a company may find easier ways to manage itself as one entity instead of multiple departments.
Of course, the retailer has a lot to gain if it is able to impress customers with AWS IoT. Its competitors are attempting to pull Amazon’s clients away and onto to their own platform. Microsoft is a particularly large threat to AWS, especially considering its recent push in Internet of Things technology. Microsoft’s cloud service has aggressively gained market share and this next frontier in cloud computing tests both platforms. Cloud services aren’t the only ones looking at IoT to raise profits. Tech companies from many backgrounds are finding new ways to incorporate an increasingly IoT friendly world into their products. Google Inc. and Samsung Electronics are two of the tech industries biggest players, and both have expressed interest in the Internet of Things.
Amazon is not charging its customers any minimum fees for using AWS, so its IoT branch will operate in much the same way. Users will instead pay a fee for only the services they use. After a 12-month promotional period that will offer a small free tier, Amazon will charge clients $5 per every million messages sent out on the platform, though Japanese customers will be charged $8 per million messages. It’s important to note that “message” is not used in the traditional sense of the word. What Amazon really means is it will charge $5 for every million 512-byte blocks of data handled by its technology.