To address these growing challenges, energy and resources leaders are increasingly turning to digital technology solutions. By leveraging AI-driven insights and cloud-based operational technology (OT) systems, energy operators can optimize grid management, strengthen cybersecurity, and respond faster to operational inefficiencies. 

In the area of predictive maintenance, AI can analyze historical equipment performance and environmental data to forecast potential equipment failures, helping utilities avoid costly downtime while enabling uninterrupted service. For example, JERA developed an AI-based predictive detection application that provides everyday remote monitoring of power plants, enabling early detection of equipment issues and reducing unplanned outages.

“By enabling a 24-hours-a-day remote monitoring service, we will be able to provide value by preventing potential problems and by improving power plant availability through quick identification of problem causes. DPP’s primary role is to contribute to the stable supply of energy and sustainable power plant operations through transformations that utilize digital technology and data.”

Hiroaki Kamei, Executive Officer of the Digital Power Plant Promotion Group, O&M Engineering Strategy Division

This scenario provides a glimpse into the many ways AI is quickly becoming one of the most impactful tools for energy organizations and workers. Across the utility workforce—from engineering and grid operations to customer service and finance—employees are also seeing increased productivity with generative AI technology as they use tools like Microsoft Copilot to streamline tasks such as drafting emails, summarizing meetings, conducting research, analyzing data, generating manuals, and preparing presentations. This enables them to focus more on high-value work that fuels industry-wide growth and collaboration, accelerating the energy transition. 

Beyond task productivity, generative AI is transforming how utilities manage operations at scale. For example, National Grid is leveraging Microsoft Copilot and Azure to assist with automation, document management, and report generation across regulatory, finance, and legal operations, helping the company drive efficiencies in its mission to achieve net-zero goals. According to Shannon Soland, Chief Technology Officer at National Grid, “Microsoft Copilot is really going to be a difference maker for National Grid,” allowing the company to innovate rapidly with AI-powered solutions.  

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Enhancing cloud security with AI

AI is not just a tool for optimization—it’s becoming essential for energy security and operational resilience. As energy organizations modernize their systems and integrate new technologies to streamline workflows and improve operations, there’s a growing emphasis around overall security posture. That is why Microsoft is working closely with energy customers and partners to provide intelligent and scalable cybersecurity solutions that help set the stage for successful AI adoption and continued innovation—so they can focus on what matters most: meeting the world’s growing energy needs while ensuring a secure, sustainable, and affordable supply.

Solutions like Microsoft Copilot for Security are enabling energy organizations to identify threats faster, strengthen risk mitigation strategies, and respond to incidents more efficiently. For example, Uniper, a leader in the energy transition, has integrated Copilot for Security to manage the growing number of phishing attempts and hacker attacks they face as an operator of critical infrastructure.

“Copilot for Security immediately flags incidents, allowing us to identify risks up to twice as fast, assess them right away, and take the appropriate action.”

Damian Bunyan, Chief Information Officer of Uniper 

Routine security tasks, which used to take hours or days, are now handled in minutes through AI and automation, improving security response times and helping Uniper focus on their broader goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2040. 

We’ve embedded Copilot directly into the Microsoft Security stack, allowing energy customers to tap into built-in AI capabilities and industry-leading threat intelligence—regardless of the solutions they use. It’s all part of our effort to empower human defenders with AI tools and capabilities that provide an advantage against some of the energy industry’s greatest challenges.  

Microsoft partnerships help the energy industry embrace the future of work

Supercharging human ingenuity with advanced technology is just one way to drive a more sustainable, reliable, affordable, and secure energy supply. Another critical piece is global collaboration and partnership.

Microsoft’s collaboration with leading global systems integrators (GSIs) is driving significant innovation in the energy sector. Partners like Accenture, Avanade, EY, and PwC helping utilities globally leverage AI and Azure-powered technologies to modernize and enhance productivity. Accenture and Avanade, early adopters of Microsoft Copilot, are accelerating value by delivering intelligent, industry-specific solutions that empower workforce. Similarly, EY and PwC are working closely with Microsoft to provide cutting-edge tools that enable energy providers to streamline operations and strengthen their digital transformation strategies. 

Among Microsoft’s key collaborators is IFS, which plays a crucial role in transforming asset management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) for energy companies. Exelon, the largest energy delivery company in North America, is leveraging IFS technology to improve operational visibility and streamline the management of its extensive asset base across six utility businesses. According to Rob Biagiotti, Vice President of Assets and Core System Projects at Exelon, the company chose IFS for its cloud-based, agile platform that could meet the evolving needs of their business. By enabling Exelon to efficiently manage the full lifecycle of assets and integrate with their existing technology, IFS is helping them achieve their strategic goals of delivering reliable, affordable energy to over 10 million customers.  

GE Vernova has developed a solution underpinned with advanced AI models to improve wildfire risk mitigation, with their solution available on Azure to provide sophisticated analysis and better decision-making for environmental planning and response. Meanwhile, Schneider Electric’s DERMS EcoStruxure platform, deployed on Azure, is advancing distributed energy resource management, increasing grid flexibility and efficiency. This platform has been successfully implemented at Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), where it’s driving significant value by optimizing distributed energy resources and improving grid management across their network.

These are just a few of the many partners Microsoft collaborates with across the energy sector. The scale and complexity of today’s energy challenges make partnership essential; no single organization can drive this transformation alone. By working together, we can accelerate innovation and ensure a secure, sustainable, and resilient energy future. 

Sharing industry insights at Enlit Europe 2024 

We are excited to discuss the transformational power of technology and share new AI innovations with our partners as the AI sponsor of Enlit Europe 2024 at Fiera Milano di Rho in Milan, Italy. This opportunity enables us to deepen our existing partnerships and forge new ones with energy organizations from around the world. The event will run from October 22 to 24, 2024 and will be attended by 15,000 guests, including over 700 international exhibitors and 500 speakers from energy industry leaders.  

The Microsoft Energy and Resources Industry team will attend Enlit Europe 2024 to exchange insights on new technologies, discuss solutions to industry challenges, and highlight key achievements with our industry partners. On day two of the conference, we will feature Microsoft Copilot demos at the Digitalization Hub, offering a firsthand look at how AI can transform the way you work. In addition to demonstrating the benefits of Copilot, our team will be featured on several panel discussions and presentations on critical topics for the global power and utilities community.

Continuing to innovate across the energy sector with transformative technologies 

As technology advancements open doors for energy solutions, we’re eager to continue partnering with industry leaders to challenge the status quo with innovative approaches to some of the world’s toughest energy dilemmas. For many organizations, this begins by shifting internal conversations and establishing a data-driven culture that empowers people to solve problems using data. That’s why we work with leaders across the industry to build digital transformation strategies and modernize data management approaches so they can get the most value from their data through advanced AI and automation capabilities.

Explore this ever-evolving world with us at Enlit Europe 2024 and engage with the leading minds at the forefront of industrial change. Don’t miss out on the critical discourses, thought-provoking panels, and our Microsoft Copilot Hub demo station, where you can learn more about making the most of this everyday AI assistant in your organization. Join the Microsoft Energy and Resources Industry team as we bring new solutions to light and exchange ideas with energy pioneers from the world over. We hope to see you in Milan.  

Learn more about Microsoft for energy and resources 

• Visit the Microsoft for energy and resources page.
• Read the Microsoft Industry Blogs: Energy and resources to learn about critical actions for energy transition.
• Listen to the podcast AI for power and energy with Laurent Boinot where a Microsoft power and utilities leader discusses the intersection of AI and energy infrastructure.
• Read a Microsoft leader’s interview and gain perspective on how AI is a driving force in accelerating the energy transition.
• Read this new article on Power Change: Applying GenAI for Strategic Transformation in Utility Analytics.
• Watch our on-demand webinar, Rethinking cybersecurity in a renewable-powered energy system.
• Learn about Microsoft Security solutions and sign up for news and insights from Microsoft Security.

¹ European Commission, Future EU power systems: renewables’ integration to require up to 7 times larger flexibility, June 26, 2023.

2 Enisa, Cyber Europe tests the EU Cyber Prepardness in the Energy Sector, June 20, 2024.

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A growing need to transform security

Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) at power companies know this reality well. They’re tasked with managing a complicated portfolio while protecting against cyber risks from both insiders and nation-state actors. Left unresolved, these challenges create a ripple effect across the enterprise and lead to issues like:   

• Increasingly complex environments: Widespread digital adoption combined with evolving customer preferences, decentralized energy generation, and a changing workforce are driving utility providers to rethink their services and business models to help increase flexibility and maintain a resilient grid. In a recent survey conducted by Guidehouse and Public Utilities Fortnightly, 61% of respondents agreed that increasing flexibility to improve energy system resilience is the highest priority outcome for utility investments today.²
• Tool fatigue: Many power companies work with hundreds of disparate management tools that are costly to manage and limited in cross-visibility. These tools must be integrated and maintained by teams with the right skillsets. As tools are added or replaced and personnel come and go, companies face the inevitable costs of re-skilling and new integrations.
• Technical debt: While many utilities are designing new solutions in support of energy transition and the grid of the future, they still rely heavily on legacy infrastructures that carry significant tech debt. These legacy systems increase cybersecurity and operational risks as well as operational expenses through extended support costs, timelines, and integration complexities. Research shows companies pay an additional 10 to 20% to address tech debt on top of project base costs.³  

Modernizing infrastructure is costly and not easily adaptable as the risk landscape evolves. In fact, 59% of cybersecurity teams identify integration of legacy operational technology (OT) and modern information technology (IT) systems as their biggest challenge to securing OT.⁴ If you’re a CISO, how do you solve the challenge of securing both IT and OT against modern and fast-changing threats? 

The answer is to work with technology partners who not only understand threat actors around the world, but who also recognize the business risks and operational concerns across the industry. 

Increasing security and efficiency without sacrificing value 

With a unified security stack running on the Microsoft Cloud, utilities can significantly reduce the number of tools they manage every day for lower costs, time-savings, and better insight into IT and OT environments.  

For example, Turkish energy provider Enerjisa Üretim partnered with Senkron.Energy Digital Services to build Senkron ROC, a remote operations center that represents a critical piece of becoming cloud-native. Knowing that a single cyberthreat could shut down operations, Enerjisa Üretim also established its Operational Technology-Specific Security Operation Center (OT SOC), which relies on Microsoft Defender for IoT and Microsoft Sentinel to operate around the clock and process 3.3 million security events daily.   

The IBM Maximo Application Suite on Azure for asset operations and maintenance is another example. High performance and ultra-low latency combined with the multi-layered security capabilities of the Microsoft Azure stack provide a foundation for secure analytics that boost operational resiliency and reliability. With those advanced security features, utility providers can scale their operations to handle varying workloads without compromising operational security.  

Security solutions to meet your needs 

With Microsoft Security services, customers can leverage the latest technologies and deep industry understanding to enhance their security posture today. Microsoft Defender for IoT offers a complete inventory and continuous monitoring of connected assets across vendors and protocols; Microsoft Purview can secure and govern data across your entire estate while helping to reduce risk and meet compliance requirements; and Microsoft Sentinel provides enterprise-grade intelligent security analytics that help detect previously undetected threats and minimize false positives.  

Microsoft security solutions can also offer improvements across key use cases, including: 

• Augmentation of security operations centers (SOCs): Microsoft security solutions empower SOCs with cloud-native capabilities that enable faster detection and response times—even automating entire responses to security events. Machine learning, AI, and advanced analytics perform the heavy lifting so SOC workers can clarify what’s happening in the SOC environment and focus on the highest-priority events. Our unified security platform eases tool fatigue in SOCs with solutions that work together seamlessly for optimal visibility and efficiency. Solutions such as Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR and Microsoft Incident Response allow for expanded capabilities to support the SOC analysts in their mission.
• Business continuity and disaster recovery: Microsoft security solutions provide automated backup processes that are both scalable and cost-effective, and they can be integrated with on-premise data protection solutions. Our solutions include features like encryption and multi-factor authentication, which protect data during the backup and recovery process and help keep sensitive information secure. This holistic approach helps utility organizations quickly recover from data loss incidents, minimizing downtime and maintaining business continuity. 

Supporting the energy customer and partner ecosystem for a secure future 

To support continued innovation in data security and cloud adoption, we collaborated with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office on an initiative for seamless integration of cloud technology into the grid of the future. Now in its pilot phase, the Cirrus cloud feasibility assessment tool (Cirrus) offers strategic guidance on how to prepare for, or deploy, a cloud solution responsibly, with the ultimate objective to strengthen the resilience and future adaptability of a decarbonized electric grid.  

Built on the security and reliability of Azure, the online version of Cirrus is also accessible through independent platforms with a license. The tool provides valuable insights to integrators, stakeholders, and operators by clarifying goals, future plans, and risk tolerance.  

With visual outputs like key performance indicator (KPI) graphs and consequence diagrams, Cirrus offers contextualized understanding, helping users prioritize critical systems and data based on potential benefits and risks associated with cloud disruptions. Additionally, Cirrus incorporates threat detection and alerts, leveraging Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) principles to empower organizations to make risk-informed decisions and address high-consequence events. 

Opportunities on the horizon with AI 

It’s an exciting time for the industry as AI creates tremendous potential for energy companies to increase their security posture.  

Imagine equipping workers with Microsoft Copilot for Security to help them identify threats earlier, build their risk mitigation skills, and respond to incidents faster. What took hours or days to complete can now be finished in minutes with AI. The efficiency is about more than labor costs. Every minute that goes by gives attackers more opportunity to wreak havoc across the board.  

With AI advancements analyzing trillions of security signals daily, together we can build a safer, more resilient digital energy ecosystem.  

Learn more with Microsoft for energy and resources 

Ready to dive deeper? Don’t miss our webinar, Rethinking cybersecurity in a renewable-powered energy system on October 10, 2024, where we will be sharing how leading energy companies are using the power of technology to safeguard their businesses. Read more about the webinar and sign up to attend.  

• Visit the Microsoft for energy and resources page.
• Read the Microsoft Industry Blogs: Energy and resources blog to learn about themes and actions critical for energy transition.
• Learn about Microsoft security solutions.
• Read more from the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2023.
• Check out the Microsoft Defender family of products.
• Visit our Microsoft Copilot for Security Blog.
• Sign up for news and insights from Microsoft Security.

¹ Microsoft Digital Defense Report, October 2023.

² The Power Industry: Presently and Projected, Guidehouse, July 2024.

³ Breaking technical debt’s vicious cycle to modernize your business, McKinsey & Company, April 2023.

⁴ How is cyber innovation disrupting the energy sector and critical infrastructure?, World Economic Forum, October 2023.

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Enabling energy industry innovation through modern technology

The process of finding suitable CCS sites is costly and time consuming, and not without its own unique information security risks. Traditional energy industry technologies used during this process both increase in cost over time and contribute to the data silos that exist between the site selection process and operational concerns like site-specific safe liquid CO2 injection speeds and storage capacities. These factors have led to challenging commercial margins of CCS as a process, presenting a barrier to entry for many interested businesses.

The process is not unfamiliar to Microsoft, which has already invested in multiple large-scale CCS projects around the world, including Northern Lights, a partnership between the Norwegian government and energy companies Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies. Northern Lights was created to help accelerate the decarbonization of European industry and mitigate its otherwise unavoidable emissions. The project facilitates the capture and transport of industrial CO2 emissions, which it then liquifies and stores safely in the pores of saline aquifers 2,600 meters below the seafloor.

By 2030, Microsoft plans to have an established system that removes five million metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year. With Azure Data Manager for Energy and operations data management powered by Azure AI and Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft aims to help increase the return on investment (ROI) of CCS projects, helping customers optimize their costs with AI, automation, and the discovery of new best practices. Additionally, organizations can employ Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability—a growing set of powerful data and AI capabilities designed to help businesses create more accurate and reliable data intelligence to drive impact reduction efforts and business transformation. These solutions help users gain actionable insights to drive sustainable practices, providing visibility into sustainability performance with advanced analytics and reporting. The global Microsoft partner network, with its industry specific expertise and highly targeted CCS solutions, further strengthens these capabilities, providing customers with valuable resources and support

The path forward for carbon capture storage

There are two divergent paths ahead for the emerging CCS industry, both recursive in nature. On the first and more positive path, companies will see a clear value in negating and offsetting their carbon emissions efficiently and effectively. On the other path, companies could lack the tools that efficiently connect the dots between carbon emissions and offsets, and hence be left with a less clear value proposition. By underpinning the positive path with technology, Microsoft hopes to help industry and humanity at large meet their shared sustainability goals.

Azure Data Manager for Energy is aligned with the highly secure OSDU® and OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) data standards, which will ease the development of new services and workflows that transcend today’s data silos. This standardization also paves the way for the adoption of co-pilots and other time-saving AI solutions. Combining Azure Data Manager for Energy with other services, such as Microsoft Fabric, Environmental Credit Service, and Microsoft Sustainability Manager, helps organizations in the energy industry validate and demonstrate their CCS efforts and carbon credit purchases to regulators in the rapidly emerging and expanding ICM business.

Sustainability data solutions in Fabric offer unique capabilities that provide prebuilt and preconfigured Fabric resources. These resources include data stores in the form of data lakes, prebuilt notebooks, and dashboards to ingest, process, aggregate, and display data for various ESG scenarios. By combining and transforming disparate social and governance data into a standardized data lake, organizations can compute, analyze, and disclose social and governance metrics effectively. 

How scalability, standardization, and security contribute to sustainability

Data standardization and AI readiness are the first steps toward innovative capabilities, especially when paired with the hyper-scalability of Azure. During the process of identifying ideal sites for carbon storage, energy companies run multiple site-specific simulations that traditionally include the manual numerical simulation of seismic data. These simulations are time consuming, complex, and data intensive. They’re also critical to the site selection process, so when companies are given the opportunity to infuse them with AI and run them at scale, there’s massive potential for time savings and efficiency gains.

The ability to scale up the computing power required to run thousands of simulations against hundreds of potential sites when required could help shorten the CCS site selection process substantially. It could also help refine the simulations and their related data models and lead to further efficiency gains. Scaling compute back down after the simulations have been run can help energy companies not only reduce their costs, but also reduce the same carbon footprint the CCS process is helping to address. By running the simulations on Azure, energy companies are taking advantage of hyper-scalability on a cloud that has itself been carbon neutral since 2012.

After months of work going into the selection and analysis of a proper CCS site, energy companies want to make sure their data is not just secure but fully under their own control. If that information were to leak to either the public or their competitors, all that effort and investment could be lost. For this reason, Microsoft is working toward enabling Azure Data Manager for Energy on customer cloud tenants, which will grant them the control they require as well as the layered security of Microsoft managed services in the cloud. For real-time CCS operations data, Microsoft is also developing a reference architecture and toolkit to enable partners to build ICM solutions to deliver value to our customers. 

Clearer skies ahead

With Azure Data Manager for Energy and the power of Azure AI, Microsoft Copilot, and capabilities from Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, Microsoft hopes to give the energy industry the standardization and systemization that its past technologies may not have provided. To keep global warming within 1.5 degrees, the United States Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reports that the world needs to start removing 10 gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually by 2050.¹ To reach that important milestone in time, the energy industry needs a technological foundation to build its next wave of advancements upon.

If, as the Clean Air Task Force states, Europe alone has the storage capacity for 1,520 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions, helping energy companies rapidly, cost-effectively identify and provision CCS sites is a big step in the right direction, and one which Microsoft hopes to help the energy industry take.²

Explore more on carbon management

• Discover how Microsoft is powering the future of energy with Azure Data Manager for Energy.
• Learn more and connect with us at upcoming energy events:
  • Image: August 24–25, 2024, in Houston, Texas
  • ONS: August 26–29, 2024, in Stavanger, Norway
  • SLB Digital Forum: September 16–19, 2024, in Monte Carlo, Monaco
• Find out more about Industrial Carbon Management.

¹Diverse Approach Key to Carbon Removal, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 2023.

2Unlocking Europe’s CO2 Storage Potential, Clean Air Task Force, 2023.

The post Enabling carbon reduction in the energy industry appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

The goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 requires tremendous investment and rapid innovation. From solutions that optimize grid management and carbon capture and storage to more sustainable, resilient mines, AI technologies can help address the biggest challenges in the complex, multidimensional global energy transition.  

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Accelerate the clean energy roadmap with new AI innovation 

We’re proud to share some highlights from the past year, starting with the announcement that Cognite is Microsoft Partner of the Year 2024. Cognite and finalists Scheider Electric, Accenture-Avanade, and Kongsberg exemplify the new wave of innovation currently transforming the energy sector.  

Cognite is integrating new AI advances shared at last year’s Ignite event, including Microsoft Fabric and expanded Microsoft Copilot experiences. In January 2024, Microsoft and Cognite announced a collaboration that integrates flagship product Cognite Data Fusion with Microsoft Fabric and Azure OpenAI Service. Cognite AI is a prebuilt, comprehensive AI architecture specifically designed for energy and resource companies to deliver a faster path to implementing AI. Cognite Data Fusion incorporates AI across the data stack from generative AI-powered contextualization to an intuitive natural language Copilot interface embedded in day-to-day tools. Most recently, Cognite announced a new solution, Cognite Atlas AI which brings context augmentation generation to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, pushing the boundaries of what language models can do for industrial organizations

Schneider Electric continues making an impact with solutions that accelerate digital transformation and sustainability. Built on Azure, the Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Grid solution portfolio shows the company’s commitment to a more digital and electric world, and together with its Grid Operations Platform as a Service, supports the growth of distributed energy resources, microgrids, energy communities, and other flexible resources across digitally planned, designed and operated lifecycles. AVEVA, part of Schneider Electric, also uses Microsoft technology to help accelerate the energy transition and support long-term decarbonization with a cloud-native industrial data and application platform to give energy companies a digital backbone to unlock, contextualize, and share data for better decision making and more profitable and efficient operations. 

Driving more sustainable, efficient operations in asset-heavy industries, Kongsberg leverages the Microsoft Cloud and AI for its Industrial Work Surface, an industrial metaverse that includes mixed reality and digital twins. The solution is designed to help energy companies improve decision-making, maximize business performance, and drive value across the organization—in support of the world’s growing demand for more secure, equitable, and sustainable energy.

Microsoft partners SLB, Halliburton, and Accenture are also innovating with Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy, a secure, reliable, hyperscale and fully managed cloud-based data platform service. Customers can speed toward goals by taking advantage of easy interoperability across an extensible application ecosystem. They can integrate virtually any dataset, application, or cloud service while leveraging the applications they already use from SLB, Halliburton, Accenture, and many others. The platform is expanding to new regions and offers a new developer tier pricing to increase accessibility for more partners and customers. 

We are also pleased to announce EY as the Sustainability Changemaker for the second year in a row. Creating customer tools built on Microsoft technology has positioned EY as a leader in sustainability consulting within the energy sector. With EY’s tailored solutions, decision-makers in the energy industry can now oversee transformations across their enterprises, leveraging technology and data to modernize governance structures, tackle industry-specific risks, meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) obligations, and deliver value for both their organizations and their stakeholders. These solutions provide a comprehensive view into energy demand, verifiable and assured value chain data, and sustainability performance management, enabling energy companies to achieve their sustainability goals and enhance operational efficiency.

Sharing thought leadership at industry events 

You can learn more about Microsoft and partner innovations at Microsoft Ignite either online or in person in Chicago on November 18 to 22, 2024. This is the first Ignite event to include both customers and partners, and we hope you’ll join us to celebrate our partners and learn more about how the latest advances in AI are delivering business value to our energy customers. 

The Microsoft Energy and Resources Industry team is also excited to connect with customers and partners at upcoming events including the ONS conference in Stavanger on August 26 to 29, 2024 and the SLB Digital Forum 2024 in Monaco on September 16 to 19, 2024. These events will feature how new developments in AI and other digital technologies are transforming energy systems for a more secure, equitable, and sustainable energy future. You can always anticipate exciting news at the SLB Digital forum, where two years ago SLB announced the availability of the SLB Enterprise Data Solution, a comprehensive data management toolkit built on Azure Data Manager for Energy. The innovation is a result of the expanded strategic partnership between SLB and Microsoft, includes enhancements to Azure Data Manager for Energy, and a carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative with Northern Lights joint venture to support global climate goals by accelerating development of scalable, cost-effective solutions for the CCS value-chain. 

Energizing the energy transition with new startups 

The climate crisis affects people globally, and an inclusive startup ecosystem is critical for helping ensure that solutions have far-reaching benefits. We are proud to support underrepresented startup founders at events like CERAWeek and through programs such as Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders Program (ACCEL) from Greentown Labs, Browning the Green Space, and the Energy Transition Studio for Startups which we launched this year in cooperation with high-growth climate tech companies FlexDAO, Line Vision, and Utilidata. The program is designed to empower energy transition startups worldwide, and we are pleased to welcome six more companies to the first cohort, including Carbon Guardian, GridBeyond, Hygenox, IEMS, Noda Intelligent Systems, and Norwegian Hydrogen.

Investing in sustainable AI 

In addition to supporting startups, we are also engaging in strategic regional partnerships to help ensure a sustainable future and equitable access to energy and digital technologies for everyone. Microsoft is investing $1.5 billion in G42, a leading AI company based in Abu Dhabi, to co-innovate and deliver advanced AI solutions with Azure across the Middle East, central Asia, and Africa. Microsoft and G42 are partnering to invest $1 billion in a data center and Kenya, which will be powered by geothermal energy and give east Africa access to Microsoft Azure. Other global investments include a $2.2 billion investment in Malaysia’s cloud and AI transformation, and a significant commitment to enable a cloud and AI-powered future for Thailand. 

Unlocking the transformative potential of AI for sustainability also requires best practices for investment, digital and data infrastructure, resource usage—such as Microsoft’s deal with Brookfield Asset Management to invest more than $10 billion on renewable energy capacity to power data centers—policy and governance, and workforce development. To learn more about AI enablement, read the Microsoft AI and Sustainability Playbook. We are also investing in the sustainability of AI itself, with projects to optimize datacenter energy and water efficiency. 

Partnerships to advance our energy future 

This blog reflects the power of partnership and the growing importance and potential for AI in the energy industry and beyond. This has been a year of exciting change, with groundbreaking advances like the launch of Copilot+ PCs—from both Microsoft and our OEM ecosystem—partnership with OpenAI, and a rethinking of our cloud infrastructure to optimize performance and energy efficiency. 

Microsoft Copilot continues to evolve, with innovations that include the world’s first Copilot in both CRM and ERP with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot. Chevron is already using Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides to transform frontline operations and optimize its operations, empower workers, and infuse informed decisions throughout its value chain. 

Success stories like these remind us once again that people working together are at the heart of every broad-sweeping, foundational transformation. The world’s complex energy challenges demand global collaboration as we advance toward a more secure, equitable, and sustainable future in an ever-evolving ecosystem of innovation.  

Learn more about Microsoft Energy and Resources solutions 

• Energy and resources – Microsoft Industry Blogs 
• Microsoft energy partner webinar series 
• Microsoft AI solutions  
• Microsoft Azure AI services  
• Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform   

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Digital transformation is essential for a resilient, durable, and sustainable mining sector. Geopolitical volatility and trade uncertainties are disrupting supply chains, while the industry grapples with the challenges of meeting the soaring demand for minerals essential for the energy transition. 

Existing deposits are being exhausted and new deposits are increasingly more difficult and expensive to discover. In 2015, McKinsey & Company reported that worldwide mining operations were 28% less productive than they were a decade prior, even after adjusting for declining ore grades.² Nearly a decade later, the shortage now impacts the availability of metals creating a potential risk for a near-term supply shortfall, particularly for copper, lithium, and cobalt vital to the energy transition. There is an expected supply deficit in critical minerals like copper with a potential shortfall of 9.9 million tons by 2035.³ 

The mining industry also faces a chronic labor shortage which adds even more to its challenges, with 86% of mining executives finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain necessary talent.⁴ Amidst these complexities, mining companies are striving to balance productivity and profitability with purpose using cloud-based platforms, the Internet of Things (IoT), mixed reality, and more recently, generative AI.  

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Accelerating digital transformation

In the December 2023 blog, I discussed how mining companies are adopting digital technologies to enable business agility, drive efficiency, and accelerate innovation across the entire mining value chain, from exploration and extraction to processing and transportation. While these efforts have traditionally centered around specific business outcomes, current trends emphasize broader goals such as corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets and the transition to net-zero emissions. 

Meeting these goals requires a strong data foundation, digital effectiveness, and digital maturity. Transformation starts with technology-savvy leaders who have a grounding in AI and a focus on sustainability. With a vision informed by a clear understanding of their organization’s challenges and opportunities, effective leaders can take a leap forward on their innovation roadmap with solutions like Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform, which provides a single, flexible platform for databases, analytics, AI, and data governance.  

Digital maturity deepens with an empowered, skilled workforce that harnesses AI to make informed decisions and streamline repetitive tasks, gaining more time for value-added activities. For example, in my last blog, I shared how Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides combines generative AI with mixed reality to help frontline workers in industrial settings complete complex tasks and resolve problems faster for minimal downtime and accelerated learning. 

Exploring innovation with a future-ready mindset 

At Microsoft, our enduring mission is to “empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more.” We are privileged to work with a partner ecosystem that shares our vision.  

Digital innovation that stays relevant over time integrates people, processes, technology, and information. Multinational Japanese firm Asahi Kasei Group and ZEAL Corporation showcased that approach by implementing a data management platform based on Microsoft Azure Data Factory, Microsoft Purview, and Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics. The platform unifies 1,200 systems across multiple diverse operations such chemicals, healthcare, electronics, construction, materials, services, and engineering. By eliminating data silos, the team can gain new insights that unlock business advantages.

Siemens is another great example of enabling people to achieve more. To empower employees, the company created an AI-powered collaboration app based on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Teams. Siemens aimed to enhance innovation, efficiency, and problem-solving agility by connecting field and shop floor workers with operations and engineering teams. Now, frontline workers who find problems in the design and manufacturing process can easily connect with engineers to resolve them. 

Employees can receive notifications, create problem reports, and collaborate on tasks on any device. The app provides preconfigured industrial machinery solutions and accelerates knowledge-sharing with an AI-powered natural language interface. For instance, employees can report issues in their own language, which is automatically translated into a common language. 

In my final example, Schieder Electric wanted to speed innovation for key goals such as reducing carbon emissions. With a vast portfolio of connected devices, solutions, and services, AI has become essential for generating data-driven insights and actions The company is using multiple AI services to fast-track innovation, including Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing, Azure OpenAI, and Azure Machine Learning. Schneider Electric is using Copilot to automate routine tasks and to offer intelligent code suggestions that streamline programmable logic controller (PLC) programming. The company has also created bots to help with customer service and financial analysis. 

Creating durable innovation for a sustainable future 

Digital transformation can be a long journey, and the pressing issues of today can sometimes overshadow our efforts toward growth and innovation. For durable innovation, we incorporate the McKinsey Three Horizons Model into our digital transformation roadmaps. 

The model provides a structured approach that miners can use to allocate resources effectively, balancing immediate business needs with sustained innovation for future success. Organizations are encouraged to explore new markets and invest in business models, products, and technologies that align innovation programs with future challenges and growth opportunities. As a framework for strategic innovation and growth, Three Horizons Model can support miners during times of change, disruption, and uncertainty.   

In addition to innovation initiatives, we consider critical aspects such as user adoption, change management, change fatigue, organizational capabilities, culture transformation, workforce reskilling, and governance. These considerations are vital for futureproofing the mining enterprise and sustaining digital and AI innovation. 

How Microsoft can help

Digital transformation and AI adoption are poised to revolutionize the mining industry in the next decade and beyond. Microsoft technologies are already making a significant impact, with improvements in safety, productivity, profitability, safety, health, and environmental performance. From clarifying your vision for innovation and identifying top challenges to creating your solution roadmap, a disciplined approach is crucial for continuing this momentum. 

The digital sustainable mine of the future integrates physical, digital, and sustainable elements with information, innovation, and human ingenuity. The adaptive, resilient, forward-thinking mine offers a customizable reference model and roadmap to help mining organizations achieve their vision for the future. 

That vision isn’t just about the outcome, or business impact—it’s about investing in the processes and technologies that enable the mining industry to adapt to change and help us all accelerate toward a sustainable tomorrow.  

Learn more about Microsoft solutions

• Microsoft for Energy and Resources  
• Microsoft Industry Blogs: Energy and Resources
• Microsoft AI solutions  
• Microsoft Azure AI Services  
• Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform

¹Mining’s top ten ESG trends for 2024, Mining.com.

²Productivity in mining operations: Reversing the downward trend, McKinsey & Company.

³Tracking the trends 2024, Deloitte Global.

⁴Has mining lost its luster? Why talent is moving elsewhere and how to bring them back, McKinsey & Company.

The post Futureproof the mining industry with AI and digital innovation appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

During this wave, we’ve invested heavily in the development of copilot templates to enhance capabilities and integration across various industries. These customizable templates offer improved operational efficiency, enhanced customer engagement, and seamless integration with existing technology, all while supporting a diverse, global customer base. Copilots are valuable assets for Microsoft Industry Clouds customers, helping to drive customer and partner success. Microsoft’s partner ecosystem extends our offerings, with systems integrators and independent software vendors enabling factory data ingestion from different systems and building custom UI experiences for the copilot templates on Microsoft Azure AI.

Here’s a look at what’s been delivered since the release plans announcement in January 2024.

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing is introducing new solutions in preview to optimize factory operations. These include manufacturing data solutions in Microsoft Fabric and a copilot template for factory operations on Azure AI. These solutions enable manufacturers to ingest and unify data from diverse sources, standardize and enrich data for seamless interoperability, and utilize custom copilots for querying data through conversational interfaces. Fabric allows users to maximize the value of factory data and uncover operational insights for production optimization by unifying information and operation technology data into an open and secure data platform. The copilot template for factory operations on Azure AI enhances responsiveness and streamlines communication across teams and roles.

Azure Data Manager for Agriculture

This release of Azure Data Manager for Agriculture includes new copilot templates that can empower organizations to build agriculture copilots with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. These templates provide a powerful tool for organizations to use generative AI and data to optimize their operations and engage better with their customers. Customers are bringing generative AI to life for farmers. ITC, a multi-industry enterprise, has created, Krishi Mitra, an AI copilot, developed using Microsoft copilot templates. With this application, ITC seeks to empower farmers by providing them with timely and relevant information that can boost productivity, increase profitability, and enhance climate resilience.

Copilot templates can support use cases based on tillage, planting, crop protection, harvesting, and other types of farm operations. Users can submit queries such as “show me active fields” or “what is the average yield for my field?”. These use cases can help input providers to plan equipment, seeds, applications, and related services and engage better with the farmer.

Using data from Azure Data Manager for Agriculture and other sources, copilots can provide insights on topics like disease risks, yield forecasts, labor needs, crop protection, weather impacts, and harvest windows. Enabling seamless retrieval of data and allowing for plugins, embedded data structures, and subprocesses to be selected as part of the query flow allows organizations to extend their copilot use cases to many roles and scenarios along the agriculture value chain.

Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty

Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty is a solution that helps public sector organizations use the public cloud and advanced technologies while helping meet security, sovereignty, and regulatory requirements. The latest release of Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty introduces updates and new features to streamline the configuration and deployment of sovereign environments. Guardrails and codified architectures reduce complexity and make the process of building sovereign environments more predictable and repeatable. New preview tools include assessment, policy compiler, and drift detection analysis tools, as well as a new Azure service that allow users to create and deploy Sovereign Landing Zones (SLZs) within the Microsoft Azure Portal. Guidance includes sample reference architectures for using large language models (LLMs) and Azure OpenAI Service with SLZ, as well as guidance on workload migrations and Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft Dataverse configurations.

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability

In February 2024, Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability announced new data solutions and generative AI advancements in Fabric, providing new levels of speed and efficiency in processing data to help drive faster progress toward sustainability goals. These new features include sustainability data solutions in Fabric and natural language queries with Microsoft Copilot in Microsoft Sustainability Manager, among other AI-powered features now available in preview.

In March 2024, new features were added to Sustainability Manager, including the ability to create calculation models with Copilot using natural language input, a dedicated energy data model to help track energy usage, activity to emissions traceability to link underlying source activity data to emissions records, and the ability to create a Microsoft Power Query template to streamline and accelerate data import.

Additional release updates to Cloud for Sustainability include enhancements to environmental, social and governance (ESG) insights with what-if analysis to help organizations build the relationship between forecasting and reduction goal planning. Users can link forecasts to existing goals to track actual progress alongside the projected ones. In addition, forecasts with the same historical data can be layered onto a single view, allowing for faster analysis of optimal reduction opportunities.

Another new feature is the ability to import and calculate with product carbon footprint data. This feature allows you to use product carbon footprint data to calculate and understand value chain emissions in Sustainability Manager more easily. Organizations can determine the greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with a product family and more easily import and manage this data within Sustainability Manager.

Azure Data Manager for Energy

Azure Data Manager for Energy is expanding geo availability, adding the Australia east region. This additional region is enabled for both the standard and developer tiers of Azure Data Manager for Energy. Users can now select “Australia east” as a preferred region when creating an Azure Data Manager for Energy resource using the Azure portal.

External data sources (EDS) (preview) allow data from external data sources aligned with the OSDU® Technical Standard to be shared with an Azure Data Manager for Energy resource. EDS is designed to pull specified data (metadata) from OSDU-compliant data sources through scheduled jobs while leaving associated dataset files (such as LAS and SEG-Y) stored at the external source for retrieval on demand.

Microsoft Cloud for Retail

Microsoft Cloud for Retail now includes new features in its retail data solutions architecture, an industry-specific workload for unifying, enriching, and modeling industry data on Fabric. Retailers can take advantage of the available list of connectors, application templates, and business intelligence capabilities, which can be easily configured. Retail data solutions offer application templates tailored for retail-specific scenarios, accelerating time to market. These templates serve as customizable and extendable starter kits, allowing retailers to adapt them to their unique requirements. Additionally, application templates and connectors from specialized partners are available. These capabilities enable the seamless use of data to produce unique insights that can’t be achieved in isolation.

One of the new features is the copilot capabilities in Fabric, which bring new ways to transform and analyze data, generate insights, and create visualizations and reports in Fabric and Microsoft Power BI. Another new feature is the Sitecore OrderCloud data connector, which can be used to bring commerce data from Sitecore OrderCloud (preview) into Fabric in real time. The connector performs transformation and orchestration on top of the data from Sitecore OrderCloud to map it to the retail industry data model, reducing engineering effort and accelerating time to insights.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare

The 2024 release wave 1 also brings new features and innovations to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. One of the new features is the ability to improve clinical and operational insights by ensuring health data is accessible across provider, payor, and pharma; and facilitating clinical, operational, and performance analytics using healthcare data solutions in Fabric (preview).

Some other new features in the 2024 release wave 1 for Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare include support for additional data storage needs, support for availability zones for Microsoft Azure Health Data Services, FHIRLink Power Platform connector, and the ability to use the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) service with Azure Data Lake integration.

Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit

Microsoft Tech for Social Impact is proud to announce the April 2024 release for Fundraising and Engagement. This release brings significant enhancements, mainly to nonprofit gift processors, including valuable enhancements to Fundraising and Engagement Azure services and new Stripe API (payment intents) integration. Customers who rely on Stripe for their payment processing can now benefit from the latest Stripe APIs, addressing the requests of current customers and the requirements of future customers. It is highly recommended that customers upgrade and use the new Stripe API when creating a payment processor associated to a configuration profile. For more details, read more here.   

Learn more about Microsoft Industry Clouds

• Official Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing documentation
• Azure Data Manager for Agriculture Preview
• Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture Preview
• Official Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty documentation
• Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability documentation
• Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy
• Official Microsoft Cloud for Retail documentation
• Official Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare documentation
• Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit documentation

Microsoft Industry Clouds

Check out the latest innovations.

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The post 2024 release wave 1: New copilot features to enhance Microsoft Industry Clouds capabilities appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

To ensure that no one is left behind amidst rapid change, resolving the energy trilemma is a top priority for the industry with a focus on decarbonization, security, and reliable access to affordable energy.

Microsoft is dedicated to helping drive these changes. Our mission to empower every individual and organization on the planet is reflected in our sustainability commitments: To be carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050 to remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted since it was founded in 1975.

Microsoft for Energy and Resources

Achieve more in the energy and resources industry with trusted solutions from Microsoft.

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We recognize that the future energy mix will be based on cleaner hydrocarbons and renewables, and we are working hard to make that vision a reality. The world needs to invest in more low-carbon energy and infrastructure to meet growing demand and offset the decline of oil production, which falls by 3% to 4% annually.² From technology innovations like generative AI to global collaboration across the energy industry, we are working hard to help drive global change and make that vision a reality.

I’d like to highlight some of those efforts, which include joining other changemakers at CERAWeek 2024 and partnering on a broad range of exciting initiatives.

Driving global change

To increase energy resilience based on cleaner hydrocarbon and renewables, we need innovations and collaboration across the globe. Last month at CERAWeek 2024 in Houston, Texas, CEOs, policymakers, financial communities, and technology leaders gathered to offer insights into the roadmap of this multidimensional energy transition.

We shared insights with industry partners and other global energy stakeholders on complex challenges and multidimensional strategies for energy transition. Microsoft leaders across energy, sustainability, cloud and AI, and security addressed a wide range of topics including the transformative impact of AI and other technologies.

CERAWeek 2024 takeaways

You can read more about the event and Microsoft speakers in last month’s energy blog on enabling energy transformation with AI. Key takeaways included the role of AI in creating a sustainable future, the multifaceted approach required to decarbonize electricity grids, carbon capture, methane mitigation, green hydrogen, and other strategies for addressing climate change. Strategies include nuclear licensing and the AI-methane framework developed with Accenture that brings point solutions together through a strong, affordable digital platform and an ecosystem of partners for end-to-end methane management.

You can read more about how Duke Energy teamed with Accenture and Microsoft to innovate a pioneering solution to meet goals for curbing methane emissions and potentially advance industry and regulatory standards.

Other distinguished speakers at CERAWeek 2024 included Accenture’s Chair and CEO Julie Sweet and Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. Julie Sweet spoke about challenges and approaches for achieving decarbonization, the need to speed adoption of generative AI in the energy sector, and to dream big to advance the energy transition. She noted human innovation and participation are as important as the technology and data platform driving AI transformation.

Bill Gates discussed emerging clean technologies for investment and deployment, including nuclear and fusion energy, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). He also urged utilities to prepare for rising AI adoption, which he anticipates will increase power consumption, impacting chip makers and electricity cost. This was just one of many discussions at CERAWeek on the need to address AI energy use.

Supporting sustainable AI

During the past year, the pace of AI adoption has accelerated significantly, ushering in groundbreaking advances, discoveries, and solutions with the potential to help address humanity’s biggest problems. Alongside the incredible promise and benefits of AI, we recognize the resource intensity of these applications and the need to address the environmental impact from every angle.

In line with our commitment to responsible AI and our ambitious sustainability commitments, we’re determined to tackle this challenge so the world can harness the full benefits of AI. There are three areas where we’re deeply invested and increasing our focus. The first is optimizing datacenter energy and water efficiency. The second is advancing low-carbon materials, creating global markets to help advance sustainability across industries. And the third is improving the energy efficiency of AI and cloud services, empowering our customers and partners with tools for collective progress.

With AI we are enabling more efficient energy transmission and integration of renewable power. LineVision, an AI-enabled transmission line monitoring solution for expanding the capacity of existing overhead powerlines, is one of many Microsoft partners helping to accelerate the deployment of clean technology and a company which the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund has invested in. After successfully deploying LineVision Dynamic Line Rating in the United States, global energy company National Grid implemented the technology in Great Britain. The technology has the potential to unlock enough additional capacity to power more than 500,000 homes and save an estimated GBP£1.4 million (US$1.7 million) annually.

Powerful partnerships for transformative solutions

Microsoft and its partners underscore the value of collaborating to accelerate the energy transition in a fair and orderly manner while addressing climate challenges. It is no longer about point solutions, but an end-to-end energy value chain driven by digital and AI which will help us move forward in a rapidly changing world. Recently, EDP Renewables and Volt Energy announced their collaboration with Microsoft to help under-resourced communities build climate resistance.³ Another clean energy initiative announced during CERAWeek between Microsoft, Google, and Nucor Corporation intends to accelerate development of nuclear, next-generation geothermal, clean hydrogen, and long-duration energy storage.⁴

Northern Lights, a partnership between the Norwegian government, Microsoft, and energy firms Equinor, Shell, and Total aims to standardize and scale CCS across Europe. A new CSS plant is expected to process up to 1.5 million tons of liquid CO2 annually and more than 100 million tons over time.

In the United States, Conservation Science Partners, bp, and Microsoft have partnered to create a digital platform for environmental and biodiversity monitoring in Washington state. Called the Cherry Point Refinery, the solution shows how technology can advance our understanding of ecosystems and enable sustainable practices. Other projects include accelerating permitting processes, reducing risk and capital for implementation of carbon capture projects, helping enable the sequestration process for permanent storage with companies like SLB, and supporting environmental credit services.

The future of clean energy and sustainability

I also want to recognize some amazing, underrepresented climate tech founders and CEOs featured at the Microsoft Agora House at CERAWeek who are driving the future of clean energy and sustainability. If it takes a village to raise a child, it will take companies of all sizes and backgrounds to address the growing need for energy and decarbonization by simultaneously meeting goals for energy security, accessibility, affordability, and climate change: Adrienne Pierce (New Sun Road, P.B.C.),  Celine King (GreenIRR Inc.), Chidalu Onyenso (Earthbond), Christie Obiaya (Heliogen), Donnel Baird (BlocPower), Jhana Porter (Frakktal), Liz O’Connell (Arolytics), Nicholas Flanders (Twelve) and Steph Speirs (Solstice).

As part of our commitment to supporting the development of cutting-edge technologies to advance the energy transition, Microsoft is also proud to partner with Greentown Labs and Browning the Green Space’s ACCEL program to fund and mentor the next generation of underrepresented founders. Innovation is the key to solving the global climate challenge, and that innovation must be inclusive and equitable. Energy resilience depends on us all to come together to deliver reliable, accessible, and affordable access to a mix of cleaner hydrocarbons and renewable energy. Our complementary goals for achieving carbon-free energy by 2030 and empowering people and businesses to achieve more goes beyond technology.  

The complex sustainability challenges the world faces today require multi-sector, multidisciplinary collaboration.

We’re not only providing productivity applications, cloud capabilities, cybersecurity, and innovative technologies like AI for end-to-end digital platforms, we’re also honored to be partners and collaborators for accelerating a more secure, equitable and sustainable future.

Learn more about Energy and Resources solutions with Microsoft

• Microsoft for Energy and Resources
• Accelerating sustainability with AI
• CERAWeek 2024 
• COP28: Outcomes and Next Steps
• Transformative AI solutions powering the energy and resources industry

¹ The return of energy security | S&P Global

² World Energy Outlook 2023 Executive Summary, IEA

³ EDP Renewables North America and Volt Energy Utility Announce Solar Project with Microsoft Focused on Environmental Justice

⁴ Google, Microsoft, and Nucor announce a new initiative to aggregate demand to scale the adoption of advanced clean electricity technologies

The post From pledge to action: Enabling the multidimensional energy transition with data and AI appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Microsoft developed Dynamics 365 Guides to address these challenges. The integration of Microsoft Copilot into Guides brings generative AI to this mixed reality solution. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides transforms frontline operations, putting AI in the flow of work, giving skilled and knowledge workers access to relevant information where and when they need it. This powerful combination—mixed reality together with AI—provides insight and context, allowing workers to focus on what truly matters.

Generative AI represents an enormous opportunity for manufacturers

With 63% of workers struggling to complete the repetitive tasks that take them away from more meaningful work, many are looking eagerly to technology for assistance. Generative AI addresses these realities by equipping skilled assembly, service, and knowledge workers with the information necessary to keep manufacturing moving. Integrating Copilot into Guides furthers Microsoft’s commitment to this underserved group within enterprises. Workers are using Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service to complete repair and service work orders faster, boosting overall productivity. Copilot is already creating efficiencies for organizations worldwide, though still in private preview, we’re excited to see how Guides unlocks frontline operations and use cases.

Copilot makes information and insight readily available. Generative AI enables Guides to put these details in context against neighboring machine components and functions, enabling technicians to repair and service faster. Copilot removes the guesswork or need to carry around those dusty old manuals. Users can ask questions using their natural language and simple gestures. Copilot summarizes relevant information to provide timely virtual guidance overlaid on top of their environment.

Manufacturers will see this innovation firsthand at Hannover Messe 2024. Partnering with Volvo Penta and BMW Group, Microsoft will illustrate generative AI’s potential on service and manufacturing frontlines. Read what we have planned at Hannover with Volvo and BMW, and what other private preview customers are doing with Copilot.

Volvo Penta is focused on transforming training in the field

Volvo Penta, a global leader in sustainable power solutions, is always looking for ways to utilize new technology to increase efficiency and accuracy and has recently been utilizing augmented reality (AR) capabilities that enhance worker training and productivity. As an early adopter of Guides and Microsoft HoloLens 2, Volvo Penta was eager to participate in the private preview for Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides. For Volvo Penta, Copilot is another technology with the potential to unlock further value for their stakeholders.

Volvo Penta is part of a conceptual innovation exploration, to evaluate how Copilot can help optimize the training of entry-level technicians by enhancing self-guided instruction. As Volvo Penta’s Director of Diagnostics put it, “Copilot makes it feel as though a trainer is always on hand to answer questions in the context of your workflow.” Locating 10 to 15 sensors used to take new technicians an hour or more, and now it only takes five minutes. This time savings has the potential to significantly increase productivity and learning retention, helping Volvo Penta, its customers, and dealers, accomplish more. The company continues to innovate with AI and mixed reality solutions to modernize service and streamline frontline operations.

At Hannover Messe 2024, the company is showcasing how Copilot could serve their customers to improve uptime and productivity. In the demo scenario, Volvo Penta envisions its ferry captains using Copilot to address a filter issue prior to departure. Left without a service technician onboard, the captain troubleshoots replacing the filter, using Copilot and HoloLens 2 to do so with step-by-step guidance.

Volvo Penta

See how Volvo Penta streamlines frontline operations with Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides

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BMW Group is pushing the boundaries of vehicle design and development

BMW Group is improving its product lifecycle, incorporating generative AI, human-machine interactions, and software-hardware integrations for better predictability, optimization, and vehicle innovation. As a global HoloLens 2 customer, BMW Group has spent the last couple years developing its own immersive experiences and metaverse using mixed reality. Now participating in the private preview for Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides, they are exploring how the combination of mixed reality and generative AI, together, can push the boundaries of innovation.

In private preview, BMW Group’s Digitization and virtual reality (VR) Team within research and development (R&D) is the first to evaluate Copilot’s potential on design and development. With Copilot, product designers and engineers are simulating how the use of different materials and components impact vehicle design and their environmental footprint. The insights gained through this approach will help BMW Group optimize engineering and production processes. The organization believes generative AI will also benefit its Aftersales frontline workers, providing them access to expert knowledge and guidance, whenever and where it is needed.

This joint collaboration will ultimately enable BMW Group to spark innovation and target the use cases that drive its own digital transformation forward.

Chevron is exploring the potential impact on frontline operations

AI, automation, and mixed reality solutions are poised to reshape industries everywhere. Within energy, a focus on safety and the desire to accelerate skilling has Chevron looking to advance the capabilities of its frontline workers for the future. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides offers Chevron the opportunity to optimize these operations, empower its workers, and infuse informed decisions throughout its value chain. AI and mixed reality, together enables Chevron to define energy in human terms.

Through the private preview for Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides, Chevron is exploring new use cases at its El Segundo Refinery that could unlock further enhancements in worker skilling and safety.

Get started with Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides

Interested customers can get started by deploying Dynamics 365 Guides and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist on either HoloLens 2 or mobile devices as the first step. If you want to see how AI can transform your workforce, learn how you can start implementing Microsoft Copilot today.

The post Early adopters of Microsoft Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides recognize the potential for productivity gains appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy is a scalable, enterprise-grade, cloud-based OSDU® Data Platform service that aligns with the requirements of the OSDU® Technical Standard for open-source innovation. As the energy industry evolves, the OSDU® Data Platform will play a pivotal role in driving efficiency and innovation by bringing the industry’s domain data into the cloud. This will enable customers and independent software vendors (ISVs) to use the data estate to enable new AI scenarios. By embracing these changes strategically and leveraging Azure Data Manager for Energy and tools from independent software vendors, such as KADME, companies can maximize the value of their legacy assets while embracing the future of data integration and analysis. This can go further with generative AI applications that go beyond personal productivity.  

KADME is one of Microsoft’s partners within the energy industry, adding value for customers by developing tools that integrate with Azure Data Manager for Energy. Equipped with extensive knowledge of Azure Data Manager for Energy, KADME has designed tools that can extract information, but also fine tune document labelling for OSDU® Data Platform and Azure Data Manager for Energy manifests, significantly impacting the success of OSDU® Data Platform search queries. Furthermore, with this fine tuning, KADME can help contextualize information so generative AI can understand the search query in the proper context, minimizing hallucination and returning the correct results for ambiguous asks. 

With the KADME solution on Azure Data Manager for Energy, leveraging Azure large language models and domain specific semantic ranking algorithm, customers can: 

• Accelerate adoption of OSDU® while remaining at the cutting edge of AI, search, and enrichment technology.
• Control what goes into OSDU® and when, using LUMIN workflows and intuitive graphical interface.
• Discover subsurface data on the LUMIN map and the extracted, classified images.
• Use domain-specific natural language queries to discover documents in OSDU®.

Azure Data Manager for Energy

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Preparing data for machine learning with LUMIN

KADME’s platform, LUMIN, bridges the gap between different data types in Azure Data Manager for Energy by automatically translating data to fit its requirements, ensuring synchronization while leaving the data unchanged at the source. Leveraging Elasticsearch, LUMIN offers scalability and an intuitive interface for transforming data between formats and OSDU® Data Platform schemas, making it an appealing alternative to in-house development. Specializing in extracting information from unstructured sources like documents and PDFs, LUMIN acts as a high-performant search engine at scale, particularly adept at handling subsurface data. Its integration with Microsoft SharePoint and Azure Data Manager for Energy streamlines data ingestion and extraction processes, reducing the need for extensive data preparation for machine learning endeavors.

LUMIN extracts content from documents and images.

It extracts and classifies subsurface images.

It then enriches this content with Metadata and establishes spatial data.

It transforms this content into semantic vectors using Fabriq, a large language model orchestration platform, enabling users to converse using domain specific natural language.

Data is transformed from unstructured to structured data and delivered to Azure Data Manager for Energy.

Enhance workflow and data discoverability with large language models

Using an energy sector-specific approach with large language model is crucial for efficiency and relevance. The energy industry has its own vocabulary: fish, shoe, and Christmas tree all have specific meanings within the industry that without context, mean something completely different. A “radioactive trap” can be a positive sentiment whereas in other contexts it could be considered negative. When searching for data below a depth of 1,500 meters records must be searched for a total vertical depth above 2,700 meters. These industry and context specific meanings matter.

For generative AI in subsurface, KADME works exclusively with Fabriq. Fabriq (pronounced with a hard q, as “fabrique”), is a turnkey solution that weaves structured and unstructured data into workflows and copilots, secured and scaled in Microsoft Azure using OpenAI large language models through Cloud Native Micro Services. This approach delivers trustworthy answers to complex questions, reveals previously hidden business intelligence, and automates tasks that previously were out of reach for AI.  

In this example, the user question is: “Which formations are relevant for 30/9-11 A?” Fabriq recognizes 30/9-11A is a wellbore and conducts a spatial search in LUMIN to identify any other wellbores within a given range of this one. The model discovers another wellbore called 30/9-11 and adds it to the user’s question to provide geographically relevant context to the response.  

Fabriq empowers energy industry users with a natural language search capability on Azure Data Manager for Energy, ensuring that queries yield relevant and focused results, unlike non-contextual search engines. For instance, while a general search engine or public AI companion may return unrelated information for a query like “wherefore art thou Romeo,” Fabriq retrieves pertinent data, such as details about a field named Romeo, enabling users to swiftly access the information they seek without distractions.

Fabriq pulls data from LUMIN and then interacts with this data using natural language. It enhances the discoverability of data within Azure Data Manager for Energy in a conversational manner, allowing users to easily access knowledge that companies have heavily invested in—particularly final well reports. Not only does this make individual workflows more efficient, but it also allows companies to maximize their business knowledge and continue to build on decades of detailed reporting. 

Learn more about KADME and Microsoft solutions

• Learn more about KADME and Azure Data Manager for Energy.   
• Find Azure Data Manager for Energy solutions from KADME and other partnering ISVs on Azure Marketplace.  
• Learn more about the Enterprise Data Solution from SLB for Azure Data Manager for Energy.
• Learn more about powering digital transformation with Azure Data Manager for Energy.
• Learn more about how Microsoft partners with energy companies to accelerate digital transformation.
• Learn more about themes and actions critical for energy transition.

The post Maximize machine learning and data management in Azure Data Manager for Energy appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

From startups to global enterprises, Microsoft is helping organizations of all sizes unlock the power of data and AI to accelerate the energy transition and create a data driven digital foundation for a sustainable future. Microsoft, our partners, and customers, are deploying innovative solutions that enable energy transformation in ways that weren’t possible before—to empower employees, increase operational efficiency, achieve net-zero commitments, and grow sustainable businesses.

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CERAWeek always brings new ideas and people together, and we are thrilled once again to participate in this important exchange of ideas, insights, and innovation. We need a diversity of voices to tackle the multidimensional energy transition, and we’re committed to working with customers and partners to accelerate digital transformation and our journey to a sustainable future.

At CERAWeek 2024 from March 18 to 22, 2024 in Houston, Texas, Microsoft will address the complexities of the multidimensional energy transition—markets, climate, technology, and geopolitics. We hope to see you at this annual gathering of energy executives, policymakers, and thought leaders from around the world. This year, attendees will explore strategies for a multidimensional, multispeed, and multifuel energy transition. Look for us throughout the week on the main stage, in leadership circles, Innovation Agora sessions, and at the Microsoft Agora House, where we’ll showcase new technologies, solutions, and perspectives together with our customers and partners.

Accelerate the energy transition with AI 

Themes at CERAWeek 2024 include energy markets, climate and sustainability, new supply chains for net-zero, technology and innovation, and power markets in transition. Microsoft’s leaders from energy, sustainability, cloud and AI, and security will be addressing these topics and speaking about the impact of AI and other technologies at the following sessions:  

• Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President, Cloud + AI: “The Multidimensional Energy Transition: A world of choices.”
• Matt Kerner, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Cloud for Industry: “AI: How will it impact the energy business?“
• Kelly Bissell, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security: “AI Enhancing Cybersecurity across the Energy Sector.”
• Bobby Hollis, Vice President Energy: “Future Forward: Harnessing the power of Gen-AI in climate solutions.”
• Christoph Schittko, Principal Software Engineer and Kadri Umay, Principal Program Manager, Microsoft: “Empowering the Energy Industry to Achieve Net-Zero Carbon Emissions with Data and A.”
• Conor Kelly, Principal Program Manager and Dag Boye, Industry Advisor, Microsoft: “Accelerating Business Transformation and the Energy Transition with Real-World AI.”
• Hanna Grene, Global Leader Go-to-Market and Operations, Energy and Resources Industry: “Effectively Decarbonizing the Electricity Grid.”
• Hany Soliman, Americas Business Leader Energy and Resources Industry: “Hydrogen and Power: Keeping the lights on in a zero carbon system.”
• Hema Prapoo, Worldwide Oil and Gas Leader: “Unveiling the latest breakthroughs in climate change mitigation.”
• Sverre Brandsberg-Dahl, Partner Chief Technology Officer, Energy Industry: “Accelerating CO2 transportation and storage solutions.”

I am pleased to participate alongside my Microsoft colleagues as a speaker on the topic, “Will AI accelerate the energy transition” and in an interactive “Next Gen” session featuring rapid-fire insights by leading minds on energy innovation along with CERAWeek 2024 future energy leaders.  

Showcasing innovation with customers and partners

At the Microsoft Agora House, we’ll join our customers and partners in showcasing some of the latest innovations driving safety, productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. Visitors to our Agora House can learn about:

• Microsoft Copilot for Dynamic 365 Guides: Transform frontline operations with AI and mixed reality
  AI, automation, and mixed reality solutions are poised to reshape industries everywhere. While industrial organizations worldwide overhaul their operations, frontline workers are still awaiting their digital renaissance. Within the energy industry, a focus on safety and the desire to accelerate skilling has Chevron looking to better equip its workers for the future. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides offers Chevron the opportunity to optimize its operations, empower workers, and infuse informed decisions throughout its value chain. Together, AI and mixed reality enable Chevron to define energy in human terms.​
• Microsoft Copilot for Security: Protect critical infrastructure at the speed and scale of AI
  Discover how Copilot for Security helps a broader set of security and IT professionals protect both their IT systems and industrial assets at the speed and scale of AI. Witness the power of Copilot synthesizing data from new sources, adding context and enrichment, and delivering new levels of effectiveness and efficiency, all in natural language, powered by generative AI.
• Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy: Accelerate your journey to energy data modernization
  Azure Data Manager for Energy helps energy companies gain actionable insights, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate time to market on the enterprise-grade, cloud-based OSDU® Data Platform service. The Microsoft partner ecosystem plays a crucial role in Azure Data Manager for Energy. For example, SLB’s Enterprise Data Solution seamlessly integrates with Azure Data Manager for Energy and simplifies data handling and discovery for domain-specific applications. Customers like Equinor are targeting data efficiency and a low-carbon future with Azure Data Manager for Energy and Aker BP is leveraging the platform to transform its data and operations.
• Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability​: Unlock the power of AI to meet your sustainability goals​
  Discover how AI in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability helps unlock data insights to accelerate sustainability progress, business growth, and climate innovation. Now in preview, Sustainability data solutions in Microsoft Fabric allows organizations to accelerate their time to insights and sustainability progress by providing out-of-the-box environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data model, connectors, and reporting. By connecting your ESG data with Fabric you can turn volumes of sustainability data into meaningful insights and progress.

Partnerships for energy industry transformation  

Complex climate challenges require deep collaboration and innovation across industries and geographies. Microsoft values its partnerships and the industry-specific solutions partners provide, and we’re honored to highlight many of these change-makers at CERAWeek 2024. Microsoft partners in our Agora House are at the forefront of accelerating data modernization and leveraging generative AI so companies can achieve their safety, efficiency, productivity, and decarbonization goals. Featured partners and their solutions include: 

• Accenture is reinventing business and workforce productivity with generative AI. 
• Cognite is partnering with Microsoft to unlock real-time industrial insights with AI and to bring enterprise data operations to the generative AI era.  
• Schneider Electric is advancing decarbonization by integrating more distributed energy resources into the power grid. Microsoft and Schneider Electric are collaborating to leverage copilots and generative AI to transform outage management and control center operations.¹  
• SLB is accelerating the energy transition with speed and scale through data, AI, innovation, and partnerships with digital solutions enabling carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS).  

Other partners we are highlighting and presenting at the Microsoft Agora House include:

Customers leading the way with AI and Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365

Microsoft customers are at the forefront of digital transformation with AI. For example, Petronas, Cegal, and Microsoft have teamed up to drive innovation with an innovative platform based on Microsoft Azure high-performance computing (HPC) and AI technologies.² This initiative, which involves moving HPC workloads to the cloud, is anticipated to benefit energy operations for Petronas. 

More energy companies have announced commitments to implementing copilot to empower their workforce and advance their digital transformation journeys. Pacific Gas & Electric is leveraging Microsoft Power Platform, including AI and copilot features to address up to 40% of help desk demands to save more than $1 million annually. Global energy firm TotalEnergies is using Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Power Platform to improve operational efficiency, and this year all 100,000 employees will be trained to use these AI tools.³ Bp will also roll out Copilot for Microsoft 365 to its global workforce and empower them to improve workflows and enhance productivity.⁴

Startups speeding the energy transition 

The climate crisis impacts everyone, and diversity in the startup ecosystem helps to ensure that solutions also apply to everyone. People of color are disproportionately affected by climate change, yet Black and Latino founders receive less than 1.5% of total United States venture capital funding, women-founded organizations received 1.9% of those funds, and Black and Latino women founders less than 0.1%.⁵ 

Transformation starts with people, not technology, and Microsoft is proud to support underrepresented climate tech startups. At CERAWeek 2024, we are honored to feature nine startup pitch sessions with underrepresented founders and chief executive officers who are driving the future of clean energy and climate tech innovation at our Experience Zone. The Microsoft Agora House presents a unique opportunity to meet these startup leaders and learn about their innovations. The lineup includes: 

Other startup presenting in our Experience Zone include FlexDAO, Line Vision, and Utilidata from the Microsoft Energy Transition Studio for Startups, a new program designed to empower energy transition startups worldwide. By providing technical expertise, commercial support, and access to capital, the Microsoft Energy Transition Studio for Startups aims to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, carbon capture, carbon management, and geothermal, to help the world get closer to and achieve net-zero. If your organization is developing energy transition or climate tech solutions, or to nominate a company, apply to the first cohort of Microsoft Energy Transition Studio for Startups.

See you in Houston

We hope you’ll join us in person at the conference and in the Microsoft Agora House, where we can connect and share more on transformational technologies like generative AI and their impact on the energy ecosystem. See you in Houston, Texas from March 18 to 22, 2024.

Learn more about Energy and Resources solutions with Microsoft

• CERAWeek 2024 
• Transformative AI solutions powering the energy and resources industry 
• Microsoft for Energy and Resources 

¹Schneider Electric drives Generative AI productivity and sustainability solutions by integrating Microsoft Azure OpenAI, PR Newswire.

²Petronas, Microsoft, Cegal join forces for upstream digital innovation, Gas Pathways.

³TotalEnergies unlocks the potential of generative artificial intelligence for its employees, TotalEnergies.

⁴bp looks to leverage power of generative AI with Copilot for Microsoft 365, bp.

⁵McKinsey and Company, Underrepresented start-up founders: The untapped opportunity, June 2023.

The post Microsoft at CERAWeek 2024: Enable energy transformation with data and AI appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.