As we celebrate 20 years of innovation at Mesh Systems, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the journey that brought us here. This three-part series traces the evolution of our company—from our earliest days pioneering connected products, to the strategic partnership with Microsoft that helped us scale, to the long-term customer relationships that continue to shape our success. Whether you’ve known us since the beginning or are just discovering Mesh, we invite you to explore the milestones, people, and partnerships that made the last two decades possible.
Becoming an official Microsoft Partner in 2009 wasn’t just a badge of honor for Mesh Systems—it marked the start of a collaborative journey that helped shape the future of IoT.
Early Cloud Pioneers
In the earliest days of Azure (while it was still in Private Preview), Mesh worked closely with Microsoft to build one of the first IoT applications ever hosted on the platform. This wasn’t just forward-thinking—it was foundational. Our team developed cloud-native middleware that addressed the device-to-cloud communication needs of connected products, laying the groundwork for what would eventually become Azure IoT Hub.
This deep collaboration with Microsoft helped define Mesh’s trajectory as a cloud-first IoT company. It also resulted in the launch of a novel lighting control application with WLS Lighting Systems—who, to this day, remains a valued Mesh customer.
Scaling Real-World Impact
Over the years, Mesh’s partnership with Microsoft has powered some of our most impactful customer solutions:
- In 2016, Mesh, BUNN, and Microsoft enhanced the BUNNlink Wellness Program, bringing predictive maintenance to commercial coffee machines through remote monitoring and analytics on Azure.
- In 2017, we teamed up with Steffes and presented at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. Together, we deployed a grid-interactive thermal storage solution in Hawaii using Azure to turn water heaters into a distributed energy storage network—blending renewable energy and IoT innovation in a groundbreaking way. (Video shown below.)
- In 2022, GOJO Industries—makers of PURELL™—chose Mesh as a long-term IoT partner to scale their PURELL SMARTLINK™ With 15 years of IoT experience, GOJO needed a future-proof, scalable solution. Mesh helped power their connected dispensers with Azure-based infrastructure, enabling real-time alerts, system health monitoring, and actionable data for improving hand hygiene compliance in clinical environments.
Recognition & Momentum
- In 2013–2014, the Microsoft Partner Network formally recognized Mesh for our innovation and customer outcomes.
- By 2015, we were named a Microsoft Gold Cloud Platform Partner.
- Today, we’re proud to hold Solution Designations in both Data & AI and Digital & App Innovation.
- We’ve even supported Microsoft’s own products, contributing to Azure Blockchain Workbench, Azure IoT Central, and Azure Sphere
From being one of the first to build on Azure, to helping customers scale connected products worldwide, our partnership with Microsoft has shaped how we deliver value through IoT. And we’re just getting started.
Coming Next Week: Part 3 will spotlight the real MVPs—our customers—and the measurable business outcomes we’ve helped them achieve over the last two decades.