Microsoft Partners C3 IoT To Propel Enterprise AI Deployment

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and C3 IoT have collaborated to deploy new technology developments and improvise go-to-market initiatives. The aim is to arrive to a “better together” solution which accelerates enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) application development.

C3 IoT Platform is now fully integrated with Microsoft Azure. The“low-code, high-productivity” Platform as a Service (PaaS) capabilities of C3IoT will complement Azure’s services, including the likes of Azure IoT Hub and Azure Machine Learning, to name a few.

Focal Points of the Partnership

The focus is on delivering innovative co-selling and co-marketing strategies which enable rapid scale distribution.The marketing team will be provided intensive training as well, to “speed customers’ time to value.”

Services like AI, IoT and cloud computing based dynamic inventory optimization, predictive maintenance, CRM and precision healthcare are expected to be easily accessible to leading organizations, globally. As a result, the collaboration will fuel rapid deployment of transformative AI-based applications.

Azure Cloud Platform Gaining Traction

C3 IoT is an important player in IoT business arena. C3 IoT’s analytics services were recently selected by 3M Company (NYSE:MMM). C3 IoT has partnered with MapR in recent past to transform the way data fabrics are established.

The next generation capabilities and experienced IoT team of C3 IoT have selected Microsoft Azure as a preferred cloud platform. Further, Microsoft Azure’s intelligent cloud capabilities will be leveraged by C3 IoT.

3M and Shell (LON:RDSa) are already looking forward to scale the combined solution of Azure and C3 across its enterprise. We believe this is a notable feather in the cap for Microsoft and will enhance Azure’s market reach, going forward.

Notably, per a recent Synergy Research Group article, spending on cloud infrastructure services in fourth quarter fiscal 2017 increased 46% year-over-year. Highest increase of 3% in market share was recorded by Microsoft compared with 1% gain recorded by Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google.

What the Investors Need to Know?

The number of companies using AI is increasing. The companies want to leverage AI to render specific solutions and enhance solutions’ capabilities. This new alliance aims to provide a suitable AI architecture to the companies to help them realize their business goals.

Per a recent report of ResearchandMarkets, the global enterprise AI market will reach $6.14 billion by 2022, from $0.845 million evaluation in 2017 at a CAGR of a whopping 48.7%. Strong adoption of AI will strengthen the partnership’s initiatives.

Notably, shares of Microsoft have returned 42.4%, outperforming the industry’s rally of 31.9%. The company is remodeling its structure, with emphasis on Azure and building its AI capabilities. Robust performance of Office 365 and LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) are other positives for the company which also attribute to the momentum.

Underlying Risks

The company faces intensifying competition from all segments. Furthermore, its dominant position in the PC market continues to be challenged.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MLNX) and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) , currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The projected earnings growth rate (3-5 years) for Mellanox and Micron are 15% and 10%, respectively.

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