Microsoft is betting on a world where there are three main computing locations: the cloud, in datacenters, and at the edge, with a layer of AI sprinkled over the top of it all. The company wants to do this with two key platforms: Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft 365. The key to this plan is the same as it was for Windows: developers. Or, they could use Azure IoT Edge instead and let Microsoft provide all the functions that are expensive to develop on your own, like an app and security update mechanism. When it's a commodity to have (because any competitor can just run IoT Edge as well) then it becomes a hygiene factor.

Source: Forbes May 09, 2018 12:11 UTC