Microsoft announced on Thursday a new “software-as-a-service” (SaaS) offering, called IoT Central, aimed at reducing the complexity of building Internet of Things solutions.

IoT Central allows developers to create software and hardware without cloud expertise, a necessity for large-scale IoT solutions in the past. Microsoft does not say exactly how the service reduces the need for cloud experience but said it will continue to update over the coming months.

See Also: The bot invasion is on, powered by $24B in funding

The new service is powered by Azure IoT Suite, Microsoft’s current central platform for IoT development. We assume for developers not accustomed to cloud computing, it will automate parts of the process.

“[IoT Central] has the potential to dramatically increase the speed at which manufacturers can innovate and bring new products to market, as well as lower the barriers to creating IoT solutions that generate new revenue opportunities and better experiences for customers,” said Microsoft.

Also updating Azure

Microsoft will also be updating Azure IoT Suite with a new “pre-configured solution”, called Connected Factory. The solution “makes it easy to connect on-premises open platform communications (OPC) UA and OPC Classic devices to the Microsoft cloud and get insights to help drive operational efficiencies.”

Connected Factory has built-in cloud security to make configuring devices in the cloud a safe experience. Microsoft has partnered with Unified Automation, Softing, and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise to build “turnkey gateway solutions” for the Connected Factory, using Azure cloud services.

Microsoft has made big investments in IoT and cloud over the past year and they appear to be paying off. Even though Amazon still controls most of the market-share for cloud computing, Azure is catching up.

Microsoft’s phone sign-in works similarly to Google’s sign-in prompts in that it uses a mobile app (available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone) to confirm your identity, but you’ll never actually need to type a password when signing on to Microsoft services. Once you’ve set up your Microsoft Account in the app, you can enable phone sign-in through the settings menu. The next time you log in to your Microsoft Account on the desktop, you only need to enter your username and you’ll receive a notification on your phone to approve the login. Tap approve, and you’re in. The notifications act as a safeguard against unauthorized login attempts and the app can also create a unique code that works as a second authentication factor for OAuth logins.

Of course, you can always switch back to your password if you’ve somehow been separated from your phone, but Microsoft says the whole process is “easier than standard two-step verification and significantly more secure than only a password.”

There’s no doubt that virtual and augmented reality are quickly gaining in popularity. From expensive options like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift to more affordable options like Daydream View and Samsung Gear VR, virtual reality really is accessible to everyone. With devices starting to ship with AR capabilities and Microsoft’s Hololens on the horizon, augmented reality is gaining steam as well.

CVR 2017 is Canada’s biggest virtual and augmented reality conference and will be in Vancouver from May 5th through 7th. The three-day conference will showcase the latest and include presentations and hands-on demonstrations from the likes of NASA, Ford, and Microsoft.

Check out the full press release below and let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook if you’re planning on attending.

CVR 2017, Canada’s Biggest Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Conference is Coming to Vancouver from May 5th-7th

Three-Day VR/AR/MR Convention Featuring the Latest in Cutting-Edge Entertainment and Presentations from Tech Giants Including NASA and Ford

VANCOUVER, April 11, 2017: The Virtual and Augmented Reality community will descend on Vancouver during the month of May as today Archiact announced CVR 2017. The three-day event, which goes from May 5-7, will showcase a world-class selection of top industry experts, the latest technologies, and hands-on demonstrations of the latest products. The event will be open to industry professionals on Friday and the general public for two days over the weekend.

“We are excited to bring back CVR to Vancouver for another fantastic virtual reality show,” said Anne-Marie Enns, Executive Producer of CVR. “This really is a collection of the best and the brightest products in virtual, augmented and mixed reality – all under one roof. CVR is the biggest AR/VR conference in the Pacific Northwest and it will allow the general public to try out the newest, cutting-edge products right here in Vancouver.”

CVR 2017 is sponsored by BCLC, Creative BC, VEC, Microsoft, YDeams and Cloudhead Games among others, and will feature speakers from some of the biggest companies in the world including NASA, Ford, Delta Airlines and Super Ventures. Representatives from these companies will speak about topics such as solving problems in outer space with VR, designing the future of Virtual Humans, and featuring the latest evolution in entertainment.

“I’m very excited to be presenting at the CVR 2017, the Canadian’s premier VR/AR/MR conference,” said Evelyn Miralles, Lead VR Innovator, NASA, “VR’s a technology that has been with us at NASA for several decades used for astronaut space training. But the technology has now come of age and it’ll be changing the way we interact with people and the environment around us.”

In addition to the VR/AR companies participating, the industry event will be kicked off by welcome remarks from Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson.

CVR 2017 will be held May 5-7th, 2017 in West Exhibition Hall A of the Vancouver Convention Centre. The show hours are as follows:

• Friday, May 5 (Industry Only): 9:00am-6:00pm


• Saturday, May 6 (Expo Days): 10:00am-6:00pm


• Sunday, May 7 (Expo Days): 10:00am-4:00pm

For more information on CVR 2017, such as ticket or specific show programming information, please visit: www.cvr2017.com.

About Archiact
Archiact is a premium virtual and augmented reality studio headquartered in Vancouver, Canada with an additional office located in Shanghai, China. Archiact specializes in virtual reality game development, publishing, and custom business solutions. As the host of CVR, North America’s first consumer-facing VR/AR/MR conference and expo, Archiact actively powers the growth of the virtual reality industry for both businesses and customers alike. Founded in 2013, Archiact is now one of the world’s largest dedicated immersive reality studios.

Here at TechCrunch, we tend to pay close attention to the earnings reports of the big companies. And for good reason! It gives us some insight into major technology trends and some signals that can help us not only predict what products are going to be around in a few years (not mentioning any names), but also directionally what kinds of startups might be successful.

But!

Sometimes these reports can be dull. And sometimes these reports can be quite boring and fall directly in-line with what Wall Street and everyone else expects. We have a couple new entries this quarter like Snap, but since we’re here, we might as well have a little bit of fun. So we’re going to set out some of the odds of some of the fun, stupid and interesting things that might happen this earnings season.

NOTE: WE ARE NOT GOING TO PAY OUT THESE BETS. WE DON’T HAVE THE MONEY OR RESOURCES. OUR PARENT COMPANY JUST BOUGHT YAHOO FOR SOME REASON.

Twitter

Anything bad happens because it’s 4 A.M.: 3/2

Jack Dorsey says he’s still running both companies: 3/1

Twitter’s ad business shrinks: 2/1

Twitter talks about its great new executive team: 5/1

More Twitter layoffs: 50/1

Jack Dorsey accidentally calls Twitter “Square” and has to apologize: 25/1

Square shares go up after Twitter falls for some reason: 3/2

Apple

Apple grows revenue and/or iPhone sales: 5/1

Over/under on “Customer Sat” mentions on the earnings call: 3

Apple breaks out Apple Watch numbers: 100/1

Apple services revenue breaks $9 billion: 10/1

Self-driving car mention: 15/1

Tim Cook says services revenue will be “size of a fortune 100 company” in 2016: 3/1

Someone mentions augmented reality: 15/1

Apple stock rises more than 3%: 7/1

Over/under on number of Qualcomm lawsuit mentions (analyst or otherwise): 3

An Apple executive actually names Qualcomm on the call: 7/1

Greater China revenue shrinks: 4/1

Someone says something about the Apple car: 15/1

Apple TV is called a “hobby”: 25/1

Alphabet

Line on Other Bets loss: $900M

Larry Page shows up to earnings call: 40/1

The Waymo lawsuit is mentioned in some fashion: 20/1

Someone actually mentions Uber by name: 50/1

Alphabet breaks out cloud revenue: 25/1

Alphabet cost-per-click grows: 50/1

Alphabet declares a regular dividend: 3/2

Alphabet shares go up more than 3%: 6/1

Someone mentions currency fluctuations: 7/1

Yahoo

Yahoo discloses another hack: 25/1

Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg says something about his USA tour: 3/2

Instagram is fully broken out: 100/1

Analysts ask about fake news: 5/1

User growth stalls completely: 50/1

A Facebook executive actually addresses fake news: 15/1

The number of stories posted to Instagram is mentioned: 3/2

Someone says anything about GIFs: 10/1

Facebook stock goes up by 3%: 8/1

Snap

Snap somehow discloses some number that’s beating Instagram: 50/1

A Snap executive actually mentions Instagram by name: 75/1

A Snap executive actually answers the inevitable question regarding Instagram Stories DAUs with some clarity: 45/1

Snap actually beats expectations enough to warrant its current revenue multiple: 25/1

Snap announces some new corporate governance method to share control with public investors: haha yeah right

Snap stock goes up by 3%: 4/1

Snap breaks out Spectacles revenue: 10/1

Microsoft

Microsoft discloses last quarter’s Windows Phone sales: 100/1

Microsoft breaks out Surface Studio sales numbers: 75/1

Microsoft breaks out Azure-specific run rate: 25/1

Google Cloud or AWS is actually mentioned: 30/1

Satya Nadella quotes some poetry: 35/1

Microsoft shares go up 3% or more: 9/1

IBM

Some ominous mention or signal of additional future layoffs: 5/1

Amazon

Amazon actually breaks out Kindle sales numbers in absolute terms: 15/1

Amazon makes money by some accident: 5/1

AWS hits a $12B annual run rate: 8/1

Amazon shares go up at least 3%: 3/1

Media is mentioned for some reason: 4/1

An Amazon executive mentions the number of Alexa skills: 3/2

Over/under on number of Alexa skills if mentioned: 7,000

Box

Box returns to negative free cash flow: 5/1

Over/under on mentions of “cohort analysis” during earnings call: 2

Box stock goes up 3% or more: 6/1

Verizon

Verizon apologizes for calling it “Oath”: 100/1

TechCrunch shoutout: 200/1 (come on Tim!)

Netflix

Netflix somehow beats expectations for domestic subscriber growth: 7/1

Netflix original series The 3% is mentioned: 8/1 (great show by the way)

Over/under on 2017’s content spend if mentioned: $6.5 billion

Iron Fist is mentioned by an executive or analyst: 5/1

Paypal

PayPal’s stock goes up 3% or more for some reason: 4/1

PayPal actually has some breakout of Venmo: 5/1 (💪💪💪)

Qualcomm

Apple is actually mentioned by name with regards to the pending lawsuit: 15/1

Over/under on number of mentions or questions regarding the Apple lawsuit: 5

Fitbit

Fitbit’s market cap falls below GoPro after its report: 3/2

Over/under on gratuitous vanity metrics mentioned: 7

Tesla

Tesla is GAAP profitable: 7/1

Tesla actually beats expectations for car shipments: 5/1

Tesla says it will raise more money with a stock sale: 25/1

Discussion concerning the raising of new external capital: 5/1

Over/under for the number of analyst questions regarding SolarCity: 4

Pandora

Someone says Pandora is “exploring strategic options”: 5/1

Cisco

Something interesting enough that’s worth mentioning happens: 50/1

GoPro

GoPro’s stock hits another all-time low: 7/1

Something dumb happens: 3/1

Square

Another minor beat: 3/1

Be sure to check out TechCrunch in the coming weeks for its coverage of earnings for major tech companies.

Alex Wilhelm, editor-in-chief of Crunchbase News, contributed to this post.

Featured Image: Drew Angerer/Getty Images