030: Deep Dive into Azure Sphere

Welcome to episode #30 of IoT Product Leadership, a podcast featuring in-depth conversations with product leaders on what it takes to build great IoT products. I’m your host, Daniel Elizalde.     IoT security is one of the biggest challenges that IoT companies face today. In my previous episode, I had a very insightful interview with Matt Eble, where we discussed IoT Security from a process perspective, and we learned about the IoT Security Maturity Model that Matt created in conjunction with the Industrial Internet Consortium.    In today’s episode, we discuss security from a technology perspective, as we dive deep into the latest advances from Microsoft. My guest today is Galen Hunt, Distinguished Engineer and Managing Director of Microsoft Azure Sphere.    In this episode, Galen describes the research and philosophy around Azure Sphere and details how this technology incorporates advances at the silicon, embedded OS and cloud levels, which together, constitute the next generation of secure architecture for IoT products.     This is the third episode in my IoT series with Microsoft. And it’s an episode no IoT product leader should miss.        About Galen Hunt:  Dr. Galen Hunt, Distinguished Engineer & Managing Director, Azure Sphere, Microsoft Dr. Galen Hunt founded and leads the Microsoft team responsible for Azure Sphere. The mission of his team is to ensure that every IoT device on the planet is secure and trustworthy. Previously, Dr. Hunt lead the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft Research and pioneered technologies ranging from confidential cloud computing to light-weight container virtualization, type-safe operating systems, and video streaming. Dr. Hunt was a member of Microsoft's founding cloud computing team and helped build Microsoft’s first cloud operating system. Dr. Hunt holds 98 U.S. patents, a B.S. degree in Physics from University of Utah, and Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Rochester.   Topics we discuss in this episode:  Galen shares his background and about Microsoft Azure Sphere. How Azure Sphere got started and what its goal is. The components of Azure Sphere (MCUs, OS, Security Services). How Azure Sphere is different from other security technologies. Best practices in the IoT market today. What is missing that Sphere brings to the table. How Azure Sphere protects a product when it connects to non-Sphere powered devices. The impact that adopting Azure Sphere has on OEM’s product lifecycle. How Azure Sphere changes the way companies look at their security processes such as penetration testing. Advice for Product Leaders who are new at developing IoT solutions.      To learn more about Galen:  Galen on LinkedIn On Twitter @galen_hunt  Microsoft Azure Sphere Leadership Vision   Free download: Don’t forget to download my IoT product strategy template, for free.   Related Resources: What Is An IoT Product Manager? IoT Framework for Product Managers How to Build an IoT Product Roadmap