Microsoft Announces Linux-Powered "Azure Sphere" IoT Platform

While back in 2015 there was Azure Cloud Switch as Microsoft's first foray into having their own Linux distribution that handles networking within their Azure data centers, today they have announced their Azure Sphere product for IoT use-cases and it's powered by Linux.

Azure Sphere is "the industry’s first holistic solution for securing MCU-based (microcontroller) devices from the silicon to the cloud."

With this new IoT platform designed for better security, their operating system is powered by Linux. Microsoft's own blog post confirming, "This OS incorporates a custom Linux kernel that has been optimized for an IoT environment and reworked with security innovations pioneered in Windows to create a highly secured software environment."

Those wanting to learn more about Azure Sphere can do so at azure.microsoft.com. That page too confirming Azure Sphere OS runs off a "custom Linux kernel."