Microsoft Corp. has just made it a little easier to build Internet of Things applications that rely on the popular open-source Apache Kafka streaming data ingestion engine.

The company has just released a tool called Kafka Connect for Azure IoT Hub, which is an open-source connector that allows for telemetry data to be fed into its cloud-based IoT management service.

Apache Kafka is a useful technology for anyone building IoT applications. It acts as a queuing system for larger IoT deployments, giving storage and analytics systems time to catch up on the massive volumes of data produced by connected sensors and other devices. This is necessary to ensure that systems are not overwhelmed by a flood of data.

“Azure IoT Hub provides secure two-way communication with devices, device identity and device management at extreme scale and performance,” Sam George, partner director at Microsoft Azure Internet of Things, said in an announcement. “Kafka Connect for IoT Hub can also be used with the new managed Kafka solution available in Azure HDInsight.”

Microsoft announced Kafka Connect just weeks after adding new device management features onto the Azure IoT Hub. Those new capabilities include a new “Device Twin” feature that creates a cloud-based digital portrayal of a customer’s physical devices, and allows settings to be synced betwee the two.

In addition, Microsoft added new device management libraries so customers can apply firmware updates or reboot their IoT devices. The last feature added was the ability to roll back IoT devices to their original factory settings, or configure them using their virtual twin’s parameters.

Besides enhancing Azure IoT’s functionality, Microsoft has also recently extended its security capabilities. In October, the company launched a new Security Program for Azure IoT that pairs customers with the most appropriate security firms. Microsoft’s customers can offer end-to-end security audits to ensure that every link in their IoT chains, such as devices, gateways and cloud connectivity components, are all secure. Microsoft’s IoT security partners include Casaba Security Inc., CyberX, Praetorian and Tech Mahindra Ltd.

Photo Credit: TechStage Flickr via Compfight cc