Microsoft’s Azure cloud will take on a role coordinating the flow of cars and other vehicles in major cities, thanks to a new customer win announced by the company today.
Cubic Transportation Systems, a San Diego maker of traffic-control software, plans to use Azure in NextTraffic, a fledgling system it said will let cities use sensors, traffic signals and TV to monitor and manage traffic on all their freeways and city roads.
Most sensor information doesn’t require collection around the clock, so being able to scale the new system up or down as needed was important, said Andy Taylor, Cubic’s director of strategy, in the post. “We knew the cloud was the best choice.”
He said Cubic chose Microsoft in part because of CityNext, an initiative offering cities software and services from Microsoft and its development partners. Taylor couldn’t immediately be reached for further comment.
UPDATE, June 7, 8:28 A.M.: Cubic’s choice of Microsoft over AWS and Google was “never a foregone conclusion,” said Andy Taylor, the firm’s director of strategy, in a call from Glasgow, Scotland. “We did our due diligence.”
Microsoft offered “the best support — not just lift and shift but how to really use key functionality,” Taylor said. “Microsoft has experience with the Internet of Things, and our whole concept is using multiple TV cameras, sensors, electronic signs. When you think about adding driverless vehicles, IoT becomes even more important. And because a lot of our customers are cities and states, security is absolutely imperative.” With its Azure Government implementation, Microsoft excelled in that area, he said.
