Here's how Amazon plans to run your home

Two months after Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) announced a platform to connect appliances to the internet, Amazon Web Services’ Internet of Things is out of beta and available to customers.

The platform – similar to offerings from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and IBM – can command smoke alarms and fitness trackers from computers.

Amazon wants you to choose its AWS over Microsoft to hook your refrigerator to the cloud

Moreover, it extends far beyond the home; it can monitor and manage critical infrastructure such as wastewater treatment facilities and wind turbines.

The Internet of Things, as it is known, is big industry for tech companies working to connect devices to the cloud. Microsoft – which estimates there will be 30 billion connected devices by 2020 – launched in the space last year with its Azure platform. Google-owned home automation company Nest, which makes smart thermostats and other connect devices, announced earlier this year plans to open a Seattle-area engineering center and hire 100 employees.

The market is expected more than double in the next five years — to $1.7 trillion in 2020, from $655.8 billion last year, according to a report from the International Data Corp.

Amazon’s platform will compete directly with Microsoft’s, adding a dimension to the two companies’ cloud rivalry. Microsoft has had more time to work on its Internet of Things platform, but Amazon Web Services has far more cloud customers.

Both Amazon and Microsoft have a presence in the Valley.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/techflash/2015/12/heres-how-amazon-plans-to-run-your-home.html