Various moves seem to suggest that Microsoft has something up its sleeve for the Internet of things (IoT). The IoT refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an Internet-like structure. Citing a ZDNet report, VentureBeat reported that Microsoft's team focused in this area, formerly called Microsoft Embedded, seems to be widening its scope to include consumers from its previous mandate of only including enterprise or industrial customers. The transfer of the former Embedded team to the operating systems division of the tech giant from being a part of the Windows Server group also serves as a hint. Another clue that signifies Microsoft is series about the segment are the new members added to the team, which include Steve Teixeira, who as of December, served as the Director of Program Management of the Internet of things team, the report added.

In his updated LinkedIn profile, Texeira revealed that the role of the team is to come up with Internet of things software for "industry devices, wearables, automobiles, consumer electronics, etc." According to the report, Microsoft could give more attention to the Internet of things now that it has already appointed a new chief.

VentureBeat reported that Microsoft rolled out the 8.1 version of Windows Embedded in October as a possible operating system for a lot of things. This could be a good fit with various platforms such as the SQL Server for data management, Azure for cloud-based solutions, Bing for functions about search and Power BI on Office 365 for getting insights from data streams, among others. It could also go well with Microsoft's other projects like the HomeOS home automation system and its Lab of Things, the report said.

For Information Technology Intelligence Corp Analyst Laura DiDio, Microsoft's foray into the Internet of things is a strategy for the company to get back to mobile. She told VentureBeat in an interview that mobile can be viewed as "just being a part of the Internet of things, and Microsoft is going to keep kicking on doors until it finds the way in."