IBM is retiring its Watson IoT cloud management platform
>
IBM has issued users of the Watson Internet of Things (IoT) platform with an ultimatum: switch to another service or disconnect.
That’s according to The register (opens in new tab)who got hold of an email from a customer claiming the end of life of the IoT platform.
“Note: Devices will not be able to connect to the MQTT and HTTP endpoints and existing connections will be closed. All remaining customers using this service must switch to alternative services before then,” the statement said.
IBM’s Watson woes
Created to provide one central location for managing and monitoring IoT devices, the Watson IoT platform has partnered with companies such as Adesto Technologies, Geniatech Inc and IOTech Systems, all of which can be viewed on IBM’s partner locator website (opens in new tab).
IBM gives customers just one year to transition to a different IoT management platform as the end date of December 31, 2023 approaches.
Earlier this year, we reported that Google Cloud would also close its IoT Core. The company believed that the needs of its “customers could be better served [its] network of partners specializing in IoT applications and services,” but the tech giant has taken steps to make customer transitions less stressful.
In a blog post, the cloud computing giant explained that “if a deprecation or major change is unavoidable, the burden falls on them. [it – the company] to make the migration as effortless as possible.”
Tech Radar Pro has contacted IBM to see if the company will take similar action.
This isn’t the only product from the Watson brand that IBM has decided to ditch, as it sold Watson Health in January. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna later said this was because it had failed to acquire the required vertical expertise in healthcare, according to The register.