Microsoft joins other industry leaders to create the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), which is committed to furthering industry standards for the Internet of Things. Along with founding members Cisco, Electrolux, General Electric, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung and others, Microsoft is part of the world’s largest open IoT standard group. Together, the goal of the Foundation is to accelerate industry innovation for all customers, ultimately benefiting billions of people around the world.
The OCF will create a set of open specifications and protocols to enable devices from a variety of manufactures to securely and seamlessly interact with one another. Regardless of the manufacturer, operating system, chipset or transport – devices that adhere to the OCF specifications will simply work together.
Despite the opportunity and promise of IoT to connect devices in the home or in businesses, competition between various open standards and closed company protocols have slowed adoption and innovation. Much like W3C manages the standards for the World Wide Web, the IEEE sets electrical engineering standards and the UPU sets the global postal code – standardization can help consolidate industry attention and create opportunity, via an agreed upon set of protocols that move industries and the world forward.
Windows 10 devices will natively interoperate with the new OCF standard, making it easy for Windows to discover, communicate, and orchestrate multiple IoT devices in the home, in business, and beyond.
Source: Windows Blog