Amazon wants its internet cloud service to connect everything from trash cans to hand sanitizer dispensers.
At its annual re:Invent developer conference Thursday, Amazon Web Services launched a new internet of things (IoT) platform that helps devices easily connect to cloud applications and send massive amounts of data to be analyzed for future actions.
That means developers will now be able to connect cars, turbines, or even trash cans to AWS services to process data coming out of those devices and come up with meaningful actions. For example, if a hand sanitizer is about to get empty, it can send a signal to the AWS platform and get it filled up in advance.
The new platform makes Amazon the latest tech company to move into the IoT market, which is estimated to be worth $655 billion this year and grow into a $1.7 trillion market by 2020, according to IDC. Big incumbents like Microsoft and IBM, as well as software giants like Salesforce all have their own IoT platforms, signifying its huge market potential.
Amazon chief technology officer Werner Vogels explained the new AWS IoT platform will make it easier for developers to create apps that connect to devices. Until now they had to build their own custom "middleware" to allow devices to talk to each other and handle massive amounts of data coming out of them. But the new AWS IoT platform will speed up the process, by easily integrating with other AWS services like its database service DynamoDB and its real-time streaming data service Kinesis.
"The cloud has removed all the constraints we used to have. We can now start building apps the way we always wanted to," Vogels said during his keynote.
AWS has the largest market share in the cloud computing market, and has been signing up bigger customers including GE, Boeing, and Netflix lately. It's now on pace to record $7.3 billion in annual revenue run rate this year, up 81% from last year, AWS SVP Andy Jassy said Wednesday.
