• Data collection and processing at the edge: Providing secure, reliable, and low-latency data transfer and processing in highly sensitive and distributed environments.
• Secure communication and interoperability: Ensuring seamless integration and communication across different domains and platforms.
• Data security: Protecting sensitive information from cyber threats and unauthorized access.
• Real-time analytics: Providing real-time insights and analytics across a fusion of many different data types, to support decision-making.

By solving these challenges, decision-makers can act on near real-time updates and intelligence, enhancing situational awareness and enabling mission success.

How Microsoft Cloud helps solve legacy system challenges

Microsoft is well placed to respond to these challenges through the hyperscale cloud capabilities of Microsoft Azure, encompassing a global network of data centers, servers, and networks that power cloud services, including:

• The Microsoft Adaptive Cloud approach, which lets organizations use cloud-native and AI technologies across hybrid, multi-cloud, edge, and Internet of Things (IoT) environments. This helps defense organizations ensure consistent operations by extending cloud services to on-premises and multi-cloud environments, and it simplifies operations with centralized management, enhanced security, and seamless integration across diverse and complex environments. Additionally, it allows for easier application deployment and a common data foundation across environments.
• Azure Local, enabled by Azure Arc, which is a specialized offering designed to bring cloud computing capabilities directly to the edge, closer to where data is generated, and decisions need to be made. For defense and intelligence customers, this means enhanced security, reduced latency, and improved operational efficiency by processing data locally rather than relying solely on centralized cloud services. This approach is crucial for defense and intelligence operations, where timely and secure data handling significantly impacts mission success.

Adaptive Cloud and Azure Local solutions in action

By way of illustration, consider a joint task force assigned to secure a national border as part of a multi-domain operation (MDO). The objective is to identify and address potential threats, including unauthorized crossings, smuggling activities, and aerial incursions. This is achieved by using advanced technologies, which can potentially benefit the following warfighting functions:

• Land forces patrolling the coastline
• Naval units monitoring the sea lines of communication
• Air units conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) collection
• Cyber units ensuring secure communication and protecting against cyber threats
• Space units ensuring satellite availability for communications and geospatial intelligence collection

Let’s look at some specific scenarios and how technology can help achieve success:

Real-time data collection and edge processing

IoT data collection

Data is collected and processed directly from IoT devices in real-time, close to the source, reducing latency and enhancing security.

How it works:

• Ground sensors and drones equipped with cameras and motion detectors monitor coastline activities.
• Buoys and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) collect data on maritime traffic and environmental conditions.
• Drones and aircraft equipped with radar and cameras provide aerial surveillance.
• Azure IoT operations deployed on Azure Local securely process and normalize this data at the edge.

Edge processing

The data collected from sensors is processed and transmitted to Azure Local instances deployed at mobile command centers.

How it works:

• Local AI inferencing, such as Azure AI Video Indexer, allows the processing of data at the source. By conducting real-time analysis directly within an environmental context, defense organizations can respond faster and more accurately to emergent situations using AI and machine learning models to analyze patterns, detect anomalies, and provide actionable insights to field commanders.
• Azure Local supports both legacy systems and modern containerized applications, allowing the defense organization to run a mix of applications needed for the mission, from traditional command and control systems to advanced AI-powered analytics.
• Through edge processing, critical information can now be filtered prior to its transmission to the cloud—for instance, identifying potential threats, such as unidentified aircraft or submarines, and alerting the command center for appropriate action.
  • For all tactical units, where traditional terrestrial connectivity is limited or unavailable, low earth orbit (LEO) satellite connections provide connectivity to remote and mobile units, such as ships at sea, aircraft in flight, or land-based command and control nodes. Satellite communication can ensure continuous and secure data transmission, critical to information sharing in a joint operation.
  • Forward operating bases (FOBs) process data on Azure Local, securely transmitting it to the cloud using Azure ExpressRoute, which provides a private connection between the edge and Azure, bypassing the public internet and supporting encryption technologies like MACsec and IPsec to ensure data confidentiality and integrity.

Command and control (C2) situational awareness

The task force sustains a thorough and current operational overview by using data transmitted to Azure from Azure Local. With cloud technologies, command and control data flows seamlessly from collection to actionable insights. The C2 node assesses the situation and determines the appropriate response such as route planning, resource allocation, and threat assessment.

How it works:

• Real-time intelligence managed with Microsoft Fabric, a unified AI data and analytics platform, enables a C2 node to swiftly analyze data from the edge using technologies like Azure Event Hubs and AMQP for data ingestion, and Microsoft Power BI for visualization. The real-time hub provides a unified interface for managing streaming data sources, allowing for rapid decision-making and enhanced situational awareness. Data is further processed and made available to Azure AI Foundry, for use in advanced AI applications.
• AI Foundry uses this data to deploy AI models assisting commanders in analyzing battlefield data and suggesting optimal strategies—for example, using AI models to perform sentiment analysis on communication data from the field. By analyzing the sentiment of messages, AI can identify potential stress or urgency in communications, providing valuable insights to commanders. Additionally, AI can detect patterns and anomalies in the data, such as unusual movements or activities, and alert the command center for further investigation.
• Units can then swiftly adapt to the updated operational plan. Analyzed data and directives from the C2 node are sent to Azure Local. Military applications running on Azure Local Virtual Machine receive directives from the C2 node. The units reconfigure their routes based on the optimized path provided, ensuring efficient movement and resource utilization. They allocate resources as per the new directives, prioritizing critical areas identified by the C2 node. Additionally, the units enhance their threat assessment protocols, incorporating the latest intelligence to mitigate potential risks.

By using Azure Local, the joint task force’s multi-domain operation not only addresses immediate threats but also establishes a robust framework for ongoing border security enabling seamless coordination and integration across land, sea, air, cyber, and space domains. By extending Azure services and security to distributed locations, apps and data are better safeguarded against advanced threats, ensuring reliable protection and operational efficiency.

• Real-time situational awareness: Rapidly assess and respond to emergent situations ensuring the border remains secure.
• Enhanced security: Secure communication channels and robust cybersecurity measures protect sensitive information from cyber threats. This ensures that all units can communicate effectively and securely, maintaining the integrity of the operation.
• Efficient decision-making: Advanced analytics and AI-powered insights enable quick and informed decision-making. The command center can process vast amounts of data in real-time, allowing for swift and accurate responses to emerging threats.

Benefits of Microsoft Adaptive Cloud and Azure Local in defense operations

Enhanced security

• Hardened security posture: Azure Local instances are configured with secured-core settings and automatic data encryption by default, protecting sensitive military communications and intelligence data from cyber threats.
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud Integration: Azure Local integrates natively with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, offering comprehensive monitoring and advanced threat protection. This ensures that potential security breaches are promptly detected and mitigated.
• Network Security Groups (NSGs): NSGs in Azure Local manage and secure network traffic within the Azure environment, allowing for control of inbound and outbound traffic to virtual networks, subnets, and network interfaces with defined security rules. These rules can permit or deny traffic based on various criteria such as source and destination IP addresses, ports, and protocols.
• Trusted launch: Enhance protection against sophisticated threats such as malware-based rootkits and bootkits with Trusted launch security. This includes secure boot, which guarantees that only trusted software is loaded during the boot process, and a virtual trusted platform module (vTPM), which securely stores keys, certificates, and secrets.

Operational flexibility

• Disconnected operations: In areas with limited or no connectivity, Azure Local supports disconnected operations, allowing joint forces to maintain situational awareness and make informed decisions even when not connected to Azure. Data can be synchronized with the C2 node once connectivity is restored.
• Flexible hardware options: Azure Local’s extensive catalog supports rugged hardware suitable for harsh environments, ensuring reliable performance even in extreme conditions.
• Scalability: In support of mission needs, additional Azure Local instances can be quickly deployed to new locations, providing the necessary computing and storage resources to support expanding operations.

Explore Microsoft for defense and intelligence

Learn how Microsoft Cloud can help achieve mission outcomes to promote stability and security:

• Contact your Microsoft representative or technology solution partner.
• Visit the Microsoft for defense and intelligence website

Microsoft for defense and intelligence

Explore solutions

The post Microsoft Adaptive Cloud: Advancing edge computing in the defense sector appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

To help answer these questions, Microsoft leaders and industry partners will showcase the very latest AI innovation for manufacturers designed to help address today’s most critical challenges.

Dynamics 365 ERP solutions

Infuse AI across business processes and workflows.

Contact us to learn more 

AI agents will transform manufacturing in 2025 and beyond

Moving forward, four transformative trends will set the pace of growth and success in the evolving manufacturing landscape:

• Improving supply chain operations
• Driving operational excellence with operational technology data from siloed sources
• Delivering great customer experience
• Increasing energy efficiency and employee productivity

At the Microsoft expo booth, manufacturers will learn how they can achieve these trends by using agents across critical business processes and workflows with Microsoft Dynamics 365 autonomous ERP solutions.

Improving supply chain operations with AI agents

Manufacturers face increasing supply chain challenges, from fluctuating customer demand to geopolitical uncertainties that can pressure organizations to restructure supply chains or reshore operations to unaffected regions. It’s imperative to have the agility to adapt to rapid demand shifts while operating profitably and keeping costs in check.

AI agents can play a crucial role in manufacturing operations, autonomously monitoring processes for potential disruptions, with the ability to proactively mitigate potential issues before they’re serious issues.

The Supplier Communications Agent in Dynamics 365 autonomously manages interactions with vendors and suppliers to help ensure on-time delivery of purchase orders helping to avoid downstream delays to customers. The agent provides visibility into the supplier’s supply chain and allows teams to spend more time improving supplier relationships and negotiating better contracts, rather than firefighting shortages.

Lifetime Products—a global manufacturer of products ranging from basketball hoops to picnic tables, sheds, and kayaks—depends on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management to optimize operational capabilities. In addition to handling logistics and supply chain management more effectively, the manufacturer is implementing AI agents to “rebalance” its knowledge workforce to do more with same and be more efficient rather than reduce labor.

“One of our biggest learnings has been to let the autonomous agent run its own calculations. You’ll get a more comprehensive, better result.”

—Sinahi Lopez, Global IT Functional Manager at Lifetime Products

The company is now preparing to deploy the Supplier Communications Agent in Dynamics 365, to autonomously communicate with suppliers to proactively mitigate order delays and supply chain disruptions.

Based on study with IDC, $3.5 million in annual inventory-related cost savings using Dynamics 365, optimizing working capital​.¹

Achieving operational excellence with operational technology data from various silos

To stay competitive, manufacturers need to optimize operations by reducing costs, minimizing downtime, improving agility, and ensuring efficient production. This requires data-driven decision making that takes advantage of the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), AI-driven automation, integrated data clouds, and edge-to-cloud architectures to enable real-time insights, predictive maintenance, and quality control. Microsoft Dynamics 365 includes applications to manage finance, supply chain, sales, and customer relationships, designed to unify business data, improve efficiency, and simplify decision-making. The applications work seamlessly with Microsoft 365, which enhances productivity and collaboration with leading applications like Word, Excel, and Microsoft Teams, while Azure provides cloud infrastructure and IoT capabilities.

A key innovation is the AI agent, powered by Microsoft Copilot Studio, that automates tasks and streamlines workflows, securely grounded on data sourced from various systems by using Microsoft Dataverse as a central hub. Microsoft Fabric enhances analytics, helping businesses turn data into insights. For customization, Microsoft Power Platform offers low-code tools to build apps and automate processes, while Microsoft AppSource provides industry-specific solutions from Microsoft partners.

Together, these technologies create a connected ecosystem, reducing data silos and enabling businesses to operate more efficiently. With everything working seamlessly, organizations can focus on growth, innovation, and smarter decision-making.

Enerjisa Üretim, Türkiye’s largest private electricity generation company, replaced its legacy asset management system with Dynamics 365—a modern, user-friendly solution that provides end-to-end lifecycle management of all 312,500 assets across 29 power plants.

The organization is also transforming operations with Dynamics 365 and Azure, achieving efficiency, cost reduction, and workforce empowerment. Integration of asset management, IoT, and Microsoft Azure Digital Twins provides real-time insights for predictive maintenance. Unified systems improve data consistency, streamline workflows, and enhance collaboration, setting new standards for operational excellence in energy.

“Our equipment data is the key to operational efficiency. The Asset Management [capabilities] in Dynamics 365 extends the lifespan of critical infrastructure. By leveraging real-time data and advanced analytics, we can predict equipment failures before they happen.”

—Alper Serçe, Deputy General Manager, Enerjisa Üretim

Dynamics 365 integrates seamlessly with Enerjisa Üretim’s external systems like SAP, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency. Real-time inventory updates from SAP into Dynamics 365 helps ensures that technicians have the right materials. And integration with HRweb and Yüklenici Entegre Sistemi (YES) optimizes resource allocation, matching skills and qualifications to work orders.

Based on study with IDC, 85% reduction in unplanned asset downtime using Dynamics 365, ensuring smoother operations​.¹

Deliver better customer experiences

Manufacturers are facing intense global competition, making customer experience essential to maintain relevance. To differentiate and retain customer trust, they must reconsider traditional business models and explore new revenue streams like product-as-a-service and aftermarket services.

Dynamics 365 assists manufacturers in transitioning to a product-as-a-service (PaaS) model by integrating IoT, AI, automation, and flexible financial frameworks.

• Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Microsoft Azure IoT enable real-time product performance monitoring and predictive maintenance, reducing downtime, helping to ensure timely spare parts delivery and streamlined logistics, which are important for service-based models.
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service uses AI and IoT data for a predictive service model, enhancing efficiency and optimizing service contracts to improve customer satisfaction.
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance supports flexible pricing, pay-per-use, and subscription models, converting products into ongoing services.

Hobart Corporation, a provider of commercial food equipment, needed to modernize its field operations to better support nearly 400,000 customers across the United States and Canada and solve inefficiencies in service delivery.

By adopting Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Field Service, Hobart standardized processes, improved dispatch accuracy, and provided field technicians with mobile access to real-time inventory and customer data. This transformation enabled quicker response times, improved first-time fix rates, and better parts availability. The solution also facilitated predictive maintenance, ensuring proactive issue resolution before failures occurred.

As a result, Hobart significantly enhanced operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and workforce productivity, reinforcing its reputation for high-quality service.

Organizations facing similar issues can also use the recently announced Scheduling Operations Agent (SOA) for Dynamics 365 Field Service, now in preview. This AI agent creates optimized schedules for technicians, even as conditions change throughout the workday. Whether it’s traffic delays, double bookings, or last-minute cancellations, the SOA helps ensure that schedules remain efficient.

The SOA uses advanced algorithms to address common scheduling challenges. By considering factors such as technician skill sets, territories, and promised time windows, the SOA maximizes technician utilization and prioritizes work orders effectively. This enhances productivity and helps ensure that customer commitments are met accurately.

Based on study with IDC, 40% faster order and product delivery times using Dynamics 365, increasing customer satisfaction.¹

Operating sustainably by driving energy and employee efficiencies

Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining productivity. By integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP solutions and Sustainability Manager in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, manufacturers can gain real-time visibility, AI-driven insights, and automated tracking to drive sustainability at scale.

Dynamics 365 ERP collects energy consumption data from IoT sensors, smart meters, and production systems, offering a comprehensive view of energy usage across facilities. This data flows into Microsoft Sustainability Manager, where AI-powered analytics identify inefficiencies, benchmark performance, and recommend optimizations. Manufacturers can track carbon emissions in real time, ensuring they meet sustainability targets.

With predictive analytics and AI-driven workload balancing, manufacturers can optimize machine usage, reduce energy waste, and lower costs. Additionally, optimized supply chain operations help minimize environmental impact through smarter logistics and material sourcing.

Camfil, a leading manufacturer of premium clean air filtration solutions, is using Dynamics 365 to enhance sustainability and profitability. By implementing Dynamics 365 with a standardized data model, Camfil has harmonized its processes across more than 30 production facilities and nearly 6,000 employees.

The integration of Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and Dynamics 365 Sales has improved operations such as ordering, manufacturing, warehousing, shipping, and invoicing. This harmonization enabled by Dynamics 365 has led to better resource utilization, improved energy efficiency, a more connected and collaborative culture, and enhanced customer satisfaction through continuous innovation in air filtration systems—all contributing to a more sustainable and cost-effective manufacturing operation.

A well-empowered workforce can better manage inventory, demand planning, and supplier interactions, reducing waste and inefficiencies.

Based on study with IDC, 27% more manufacturing processes automated, 20% improvement of productivity across supply chain, procurement, and inventory management teams by using Dynamics 365 AI-powered ERP solutions.¹

Future-proof your manufacturing operations in 2025 

AI-powered solutions for ERP and service systems are more than a technological upgrade. They’re a strategic imperative for manufacturers aiming to improve the supply chain, drive operational excellence on the factory floor, deliver great customer experience, and operate sustainably and efficiently.

If you’re registered for Hannover Messe, we invite you to visit the Microsoft booth (#G06, hall 17) and join Sameer Verma, Microsoft’s GM, Dynamics 365 AI ERP, to learn how Dynamics 365 drives manufacturing excellence with AI agents. The session will take place on Monday, March 31, 2025, at 12 PM Central European Time (UTC +1).

Also, continue to visit the Dynamics 365 blog to learn more about how Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform are helping retailers reimagine the road ahead; and feel free to contact us to learn more about the Dynamics 365 AI-powered ERP system solutions. 

Source

¹ IDC White Paper, sponsored by Microsoft, The Business Value of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Manufacturers, doc #US53226425

The post The future of manufacturing with Microsoft Dynamics 365 is here—are you ready? appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Yet even with all this progress, for decades fragmented systems and heterogenous environments have kept digital threads within the industry largely aspirational, preventing most organizations from achieving synchronized operations. A persistent inability to connect modern technology solutions with aging infrastructure has also slowed the collaboration long promised to manufacturers. Together, unified data and AI are now enabling organizations of all sizes to break through these barriers, transforming digital threads from static, disconnected datasets to dynamic networks. With AI agents serving as the interface, every worker can surface the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), total cost of ownership (TCO), and return on investment (ROI) insights necessary to drive decision-making.

At Hannover Messe 2025, Microsoft is showcasing how new AI agents and partnerships with leading software vendors can help manufacturers deliver secure, scalable innovation from the shopfloor to the boardroom. Attendees will experience firsthand how data-driven intelligence and AI-enabled solutions will reshape manufacturing.

AI agents supporting the development of frontline workers 

Manufacturing transformation is reaching into every aspect of operations. Frontline workers now have access to AI agents providing them with enhanced guidance needed to make informed decisions. To expand this modern toolbox, we announced back at Ignite 2024 the public preview of Factory Operations Agent in Azure AI Foundry. An AI-powered assistant, Factory Operations Agent streamlines operations—enabling operators, production, and leaders to quickly access insights and optimize manufacturing processes through natural language querying. In doing so, the agent accelerates issue resolution and root cause analysis to improve productivity within day-to-day manufacturing operations.

As the industry struggles with turnover, worker skilling is an ever-present challenge. The World Economic Forum found that 63% of industry leaders believe skilling to be a significant barrier to growth.¹ Manufacturers need no-code and low-code options that democratize the power of AI without the need for extensive coding. With this in mind, we are announcing the same Factory Operations Agent now available in Copilot Studio in public preview, where with one-click it can be easily integrated into products like Microsoft Teams.

Finally, we’re announcing the public preview of Factory Safety Agent in Copilot Studio. This low-code, customizable solution provides workers with answers to occupational health and safety (OHS) questions and guidelines. It can also streamline safety inspections and personalize workforce training. 

Also, at Hannover Messe 2025, we will be showcasing state of the art technologies that will enhance the future of frontline work, like with our customer Sanctuary AI.

Sanctuary AI is shaping the future of frontline work, ushering in the era of autonomous labor with the power of Microsoft Azure. As frontline labor shortages intensify, manufacturers can explore deploying advanced general-purpose robots with dexterity-driven physical AI to automate repetitive, complex, and unsafe tasks to enhance operational efficiency. With Azure’s high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), Sanctuary AI can train machine learning models at scale, pushing the boundaries of dexterous intelligence. 

Advancing innovation in digital engineering with generative AI 

Manufacturers shape their market leadership through digital engineering and design. By accelerating development and prototyping, and reducing time-to-market, AI-powered generative design is empowering manufacturers to create new high-performing, customer-centric products.

GenAI use cases to modernize manufacturing

Explore the value generative AI creates across the organization

Learn how

Aras is introducing Aras InnovatorEdge, a low-code application programming interface (API) management framework embedded in the Aras Innovator® platform. This solution simplifies API creation and integration, enabling secure, scalable data connectivity and enhancing collaboration, operational efficiency, and decision-making across enterprises. It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Fabric, unlocking deeper insights and optimizing decision-making across the digital engineering landscape. 

Autodesk and Microsoft collaborate to create an AI-powered digital thread to help manufacturers gain efficiencies, reduce costs, and compete smarter. Autodesk® Fusion, the industry cloud for manufacturing, connects people, data, and process through the product development lifecycle. Autodesk Data solutions in Fusion Manage and Microsoft Fabric will enable efficient data management and process optimization. Additionally, Autodesk’s digital twin offerings with Tandem, factory simulation through FlexSIM, and factory operations management with Fusion Operations all benefit from this collaboration, ensuring that these tools work seamlessly across the IT and OT ecosystem. 

Windchill by PTC is a crucial platform for engineering and manufacturing teams globally. To support manufacturers aiming to integrate AI across their value chains, PTC and Microsoft are partnering to develop an enterprise data framework and multi-agentic model within Microsoft Fabric. This collaboration extends digital thread capabilities beyond traditional product lifecycle management (PLM), integrating data from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution system (MES) systems, and enabling AI-powered insights and workflows. 

Preparing the factory edge for AI  

AI is redefining factory operations, but to fully capitalize on shop floor investments, manufacturers need to integrate their on-premises industrial edge solutions with the cloud. 

A core component of the Azure adaptive cloud approach, Azure IoT Operations is built on industry standards. Capturing data from industrial equipment assets and devices, Azure IoT Operations normalizes it at the edge—sending operational insights to the cloud and back.

Husqvarna is leveraging Azure IoT Operations and AI tools to digitally transform its factory floors. Their AI Vision Companion enhances visual quality control for chainsaw production, while AI chatbots assist night workers with troubleshooting, improving efficiency, and reducing downtime. With these new capabilities, Husqvarna expects to double their in-market connected devices and boost robotic lawn mower sales, expanding Azure IoT Operations from two to 40 factories globally by summer 2025. 

Siemens and Microsoft have expanded their partnership, Siemens Industrial Edge works seamlessly with Microsoft Azure IoT Operations, making OT and IT data planes fully interoperable for manufacturing. This joint effort streamlines data flow between edge and cloud, enhancing machine performance, product quality, and maintenance efficiency, and enabling manufacturers to adopt AI and digital twin technologies for more adaptive, optimized production.

Making AI-powered digital threads a reality for manufacturers 

The nervous system of industrial operations, digital threads weave together critical information, processes, and people across manufacturing segments. Grounded in unified operational (OT), information (IT), and engineering (ET) data, the electronic frameworks can empower individuals with relevant, timely insights. From initial concept to customer support, this continuous flow of data connects and enriches every aspect of manufacturing.

For over a century, Rolls-Royce has been a force for progress; powering, protecting, and connecting people everywhere. Today, with digital transformation at the forefront, the company is redefining how its world-class products are designed, built, and maintained. Hannover Messe 2025 visitors will see firsthand how AI and cloud technologies are shaping the future of aerospace. With the help of Siemens and Microsoft, Rolls-Royce is leveraging AI to streamline production, boost engine efficiency, and predict maintenance needs before issues arise. Rolls-Royce is also helping provide more efficient, reliable, and low-emissions energy solutions, powering everything from critical infrastructure to data centers. Rolls-Royce isn’t just keeping up with the digital revolution—it’s driving it.

Without AI, manufacturing data is difficult to navigate. Data quality, standardization, and integration have been unreliable. Microsoft is helping manufacturers make sense of their data to unlock the AI opportunity. With Microsoft Fabric, manufacturers can integrate data across different departments and teams. Traditionally, this data is trapped within separate systems. Parsec and Tulip integrations mark another major step in our ability to drive operational intelligence, enhancing shop floor and frontline execution. 

Parsec, developer of the industry-leading MES, TrakSYS™, today announced an upcoming integration with Microsoft Fabric and the factory operations agent in Azure AI Foundry solution to help deliver generative AI to manufacturing organizations. Dubbed TrakSYS IQ, this industry-defining functionality will enable users to retrieve and analyze factory data through a conversational user interface, bolstering productivity and data-based decision-making. 

Tulip, a leader in frontline operations solutions, announces its integration with Microsoft Fabric. This integration enables the Tulip Frontline Operations Platform to deliver scalable analytics across multiple factories, leveraging rich datasets for machine learning to provide real-time feedback and alerts to supervisors and operators. 

See Industrial AI in action at Hannover Messe 2025

The future of manufacturing is powered by AI. This year, at Hannover Messe 2025, attendees will have the opportunity to experience how Microsoft and its partners are supporting the industry transformation—from digital engineering, on factory floors, with frontline workers, and through digital thread. Join us at Hall 17, Stand G06. 

Thanks to all partners and customers joining Microsoft at Hannover Messe 2025: ABB, Accenture Avanade, Autodesk, AVEVA, AVL, Bayer, Blue Yonder, Bosch, Bühler Group, C3.ai, Capgemini, Cognite, Databricks, EPLAN, Hexagon, Husqvarna, Kongsberg Digital, Litmus, MTEK, NVIDIA, NTT Data, o9, Parsec, PTC, PWC, Rescale, Rockwell Automation, Rolls-Royce, Sanctuary AI, Sandvik, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Sight Machine, Symphony AI, TeamViewer, TCS, and Tulip. 

¹WEF: Skill Gaps are the Biggest Barrier to Transformation, Skillsoft.

The post Industrial AI in action: How AI agents and digital threads will transform the manufacturing industries appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Historically, logistics has lagged other industries in digital transformation. More than 75% of industry leaders acknowledge that their sector has been slow to embrace digital innovation. Instead of prioritizing digital transformation, companies have traditionally focused on incremental improvements in operational processes. But in today’s fast-moving market, this approach is no longer enough as customer expectations have also evolved dramatically. A staggering 91% of logistics firms report that their clients now demand seamless, end-to-end logistics services from a single provider.¹

AI has become a game-changer for the industry to help overcome challenges and fulfill customer expectations. From enhancing customer experiences—such as shipment planning and service requests—to driving productivity in core supply chain operations and demand forecasting, AI presents a massive opportunity. AI can also improve safety, sustainability, and workforce reskilling, giving employees more time to focus on customers. The numbers speak for themselves: AI-powered innovations could reduce logistics costs by 15%, optimize inventory levels by 35%, and boost service levels by 65%. Over the next two decades, AI adoption in logistics could generate between $1.3 trillion and $2 trillion per year in economic value.² 

In fact, the AI revolution in logistics is already underway, and Microsoft is at the forefront, empowering businesses with Azure’s cloud capabilities and cutting-edge AI solutions.

With this article, Microsoft releases two new reference architectures—Adaptive Cloud for Logistics and Supply Chains and AI-enhanced experiences for Logistics and Supply Chain, enhanced functionalities in Dynamics 365 for Supply Chain, and showcases partner-led offerings.  

The use cases 

What are the use cases that AI can impact in logistics? The answer is simple: Almost everywhere along the value chain. This covers inbound logistics and outbound logistics as well as supporting activities, see the overview below: 

Inbound logistics 

One of the most critical use cases in supply chain optimization is demand forecasting. Accurate predictions by AI can serve as the foundation for downstream activities—driving efficiency and enhancing overall optimization. For example, precise demand forecasts play a key role in inventory management and storage optimization within warehouse management systems.  

SPAR Austria, a leading food retailer with over 1,500 stores, has significantly improved its demand forecasting capabilities through AI-powered solutions built on Microsoft Azure in collaboration with Microsoft partner Paiqo. This advanced implementation has achieved more than 90% forecast accuracy, leading to a 15% reduction in costs by minimizing waste.

AI-based route optimization can lead to significant fuel cost reductions, which is a substantial cost-saving measure for logistics companies and contributes to sustainability goals. Load management algorithms and real-time data analytics maximize space utilization in trucks, vessels, and warehouses. 

Additionally, AI-based scheduling, booking, shipping, and invoicing have significant impact on flexibility, cost, and operational process efficiency.  

Dow Chemical, a global leader in materials science, faced significant challenges with its existing freight invoicing system, which involved up to 4,000 daily shipments and various types of invoices. A newly developed invoice agent built with Microsoft Copilot Studio streamlines the company’s freight invoicing process by monitoring incoming emails for attached invoices, structures the data for analysis, and scans for billing inaccuracies. This automation helps Dow manage its logistics spending more efficiently, reducing potential overpayments and improving operational efficiency.

Outbound logistics 

AI and robotics play a crucial role in optimizing picking and packing processes. Additionally, advancements in technology enhance order processing and returns management—streamlining operations and driving cost reductions. 

Cutting-edge technologies like natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning are transforming customer interactions by reducing handling times and associated costs. With the deployment of virtual assistants and every day customer support, businesses can improve response times significantly.  

Global sports retailer Decathlon, in partnership with Microsoft partner Parloa, has successfully leveraged AI to enhance customer service. By implementing AI-powered solutions, the company has reduced the number of calls forwarded to live agents by 20%, demonstrating the power of automation in improving efficiency and streamlining customer interactions.

Supporting activities 

AI and emerging technologies are transforming key support processes across the logistics value chain. In procurement and pricing, for example, AI-powered agents streamline the request for proposal (RFP) and request for quote (RFQ) process. Additionally, dynamic pricing capabilities optimize revenue management, while AI-powered advancements enhance traditional finance and controlling functions. AI also plays a crucial role in simplifying customs management and ensuring seamless regulatory compliance. 

Below is an overview of solutions from independent software vendors (ISVs) and partners that can be leveraged out-of-the-box for selected use cases: 

• Wandelbots: Robotics for picking and packing
• Paiqo: Demand forecast
• InstaDeep: Load optimization
• Fareye: Route planning and optimization
• Parloa: Customer service
• Coneksion: Messaging
• CH Robinson: Mail AI agents
• Cosmo Tech: Supply chain simulation

3 building blocks for a digitized state-of-the-art logistics 

From a Microsoft perspective, there are three key building blocks for logistics and supply chain companies to build an AI-ready platform that can enable a variety of use cases: 

1. Adaptive Cloud: The modular base infrastructure 
   Microsoft adaptive cloud unifies siloed teams, distributed sites, and sprawling systems into a single operations, security, application, and data model across hybrid, multi- cloud, edge, and Internet of Things (IoT) environments. 
2. Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite: Microsoft’s comprehensive business suite 
   Dynamics 365 suite, including Supply Chain Management, offers comprehensive solutions to enhance visibility, streamline procurement, optimize fulfillment, and improve planning. 
3. AI and agentic AI: Solutions to automate business processes 
   Microsoft offers advanced agentic AI solutions which enable the creation and orchestration of agent- and multi-agent systems for enhanced productivity and automation. 

Adaptive cloud: The modular base infrastructure 

Within the logistics domain, adaptive cloud can address multiple areas for increased efficiency such as quality control, warehouse operations, damage detection, or robotics automation. With the capabilities of the full Azure stack on the edge, IoT operations, and a data fabric, adaptive cloud is the essential lever for improving business both in the cloud and on the edge. 

Adaptive cloud shifts organizations from a reactive posture to one of proactive evolution, enabling people to anticipate and act upon changes in market trends, customer needs, and technological advancements ahead of time. This strategic foresight enables businesses to pivot quickly, embrace continuous improvement, and integrate new technologies smoothly. By building resilience into their operational models, businesses can optimize resource usage and mitigate risks before they manifest. 

The adaptive cloud can be adapted or selectively applied to multiple customer scenarios. We map how commitments and promises are realized by system skills and capabilities below:

• Operate with AI-enhanced central management
  Elevate IT capabilities and focus on strategic work by abstracting resources from distributed locations into one operations and management layer with AI assistance and automation. 
  Critical capabilities:
  • Universal AI assistant, portal, and tools
  • Consistent configuration management
  • End-to-end observability
  • Governance at scale
  • Built-in security and control
• Rapidly develop and scale applications across boundaries
  Bridge OT and IT gap to transcend legacy system constraints with composable cloud-native tool chains, containers, and data services everywhere.
  Critical capabilities:
  • Kubernetes everywhere
  • Hyperscale cloud services to the edge
  • Central application deployment
  • Global orchestration and resiliency
  • Streamlined DevOps integration
• Cultivate data and insights across physical operations
  Supercharge physical operations with a unified data foundation, enabling efficient workflows, predictive insights, and cost-effective resource utilization from edge to cloud.
  Critical capabilities:
  • Common data foundation
  • Actionable insights with AI Coordinated workflow orchestration from edge to cloud
  • Contextualized data to information
  • Centralized device management

Dynamics 365 suite: Microsoft’s comprehensive business suite

The Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management portfolio outlines various stages and components of the supply chain process, divided into several categories, from design to decommission to record to report. The table below indicates the bandwidth of the suite capabilities: 

Microsoft Copilot enhances supply chain management by leveraging AI and automation. By integrating Dynamics 365 with AI-powered Copilot, organizations can significantly enhance their supply chain management processes. The combination of advanced AI capabilities and comprehensive business applications ensures that supply chain operations are efficient, responsive, and adaptive to changing conditions.  

The new Warehouse Management Only Mode is a specialized feature within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (and can also be used standalone) designed to cater specifically to warehouse management processes. This mode allows businesses to set up a legal entity dedicated solely to warehouse operations, providing warehousing services to other legal entities within Supply Chain Management or even to external enterprise resource planning (ERP) and order management systems. 

AI and agentic AI: Solutions to automate business processes 

The new AI-enhanced reference architecture for logistics brings it all together—from the connection to existing data systems to AI-enhanced experiences for various user groups like end-customers, warehouse managers, fleet managers, or customer service: 

The user-facing applications layer describes some of the common front-end experiences that can be built using Microsoft services. End users require mobile and web applications built using services such as Azure API Management, Azure App Service, and Azure Functions. Developers create AI-powered user experiences leveraging services such as Azure OpenAI Service. These applications can be deployed in Azure tenants and can scale to millions of users.  

Business users leverage Dynamics 365 (including Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, and Dynamics 365 Customer Insights) to manage business operations such as claims, promotions, and ticketing. Dynamics 365 has built-in custom agents for many common business use cases such as customer service, sales, finance, field service, and customer insights.

Front line workers are fully integrated into the business with customized workflows and automated operations with custom AI, tailored to their needs and the ergonomics of their workplaces, whether fixed terminals, mobile devices, or augmented reality.  

Microsoft Copilot Studio facilitates the creation of custom AI agents to support their work. Power Apps enable the creation of custom user interfaces, while Power Automate enables the creation of business workflows. With Microsoft 365 Copilot, employees can collaborate and communicate using Microsoft products such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook. 

The operation of supply chain and logistics generates large amounts of data. The data storage and analytics layer describe how to securely store business data to support operations and create insights. 

Microsoft Dataverse is a scalable data platform that securely stores and manages business data. The data model is a structured framework that organizes data in tables with relationships. It is possible to use industry models to harmonize and integrate business data across multiple applications.  

Microsoft Fabric is an end-to-end data and analytics platform that includes real-time analytics capabilities. OneLake is a unified logical data lake that centralizes and simplifies data management, with multiple analytical engines and workspaces. Fabric enables organizations to process and analyze data for timely insights and decision-making. Supply chain and logistics are established businesses. It is important to integrate existing data systems, such as connected assets as well as existing systems. 

Messaging services on Azure enable connectivity to assets and devices using standardized communication protocols such as Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) with Azure Event Grid, or data streams like Apache Kafka using Azure Event Hubs. Serverless solutions like Azure Functions provide compute to process messages. 

Get in touch with us 

Customers can work directly with Microsoft Industry Solutions teams on custom projects that offer a short go-to-market time. Whether you choose ready-to-deploy partner solutions or bespoke projects with Microsoft partners or Microsoft Industry Solutions, we provide the expertise and support to ensure your success.  

Visit Microsoft for travel and transportation or contact our team to learn more and take the next step in your Microsoft AI journey.

Microsoft for travel and transportation

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¹ Accenture, Freight and Logistics: Finding the right path to digital transformation, 2023.

² McKinsey, Digital logistics: Into the express lane?, December 2024.

The post The future of logistics: How generative AI and agentic AI is creating a new era of efficiency and innovation appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

AI innovation is a critical component of delivering more energy with less emissions—and combined with strategic partnerships and collective action, it’s a way to supercharge change. The World Energy Council elevates the idea of “Humanizing Energy” as its visionary foundation for transitioning the world away from fossil fuels. But change of this magnitude will be complex. According to the World Energy Council, humanizing energy involves “more people and diverse communities in understanding their roles and choices and remaining realistically hopeful about making progress by enabling hundreds and thousands of smaller steps along multiple, diverse pathways.”²

Microsoft for energy and resources

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At Microsoft, we believe that change happens through collective progress that brings people and technology together. Even as enterprise data management and AI solutions become key enablers for successful digital transformation, we can’t lose sight of the importance of keeping people and communities engaged. When people are actively involved in modernizing the processes, workflows, and tools they use every day, they’re empowered to not only work more efficiently but to recognize all the new opportunities and roles they play in supporting a more sustainable energy future.  

There are countless applications of AI in energy operations and workforce transformation, all of which can add up to big change. This blog explores just some of the industry-leading AI innovations and steps we can take to advance the global energy transition together.  

Protecting and strengthening critical infrastructure and energy operations 

Many energy systems today, especially power and utilities infrastructure, are prone to persistent cyberattacks. Left unresolved, security risks can quickly spiral and complicate already-existing issues like technical debt, tool fatigue, and employee burnout. It’s a prime example of how technology can enhance human capabilities to create a secure energy supply. Several of the industry leaders we work with are leveraging generative AI to streamline security processes and improve security posture, allowing their security personnel to focus on the highest-priority work. For example, international power company Uniper relies on Microsoft Security Copilot to help their IT security personnel work smarter and faster. Microsoft Security Copilot immediately flags potential incidents, allowing them to identify and address risks up to twice as fast. It also helps them manage access and quickly compile new emergency plans based on current drafts. It can even create a list of inactive devices that pose potential security risks.  

Uniper is just one of the many energy companies that keep critical services secure with a platform powered by the Microsoft Cloud. We continue working with industry leaders to secure the global energy supply, leveraging the enormous potential of data and AI to optimize systems and reduce emissions for a more resilient and secure digital energy ecosystem.   

Improving frontline worker productivity and safety with real-time insights 

The world runs on the products and services provided by millions of energy and resources workers. As the industry grapples with changing customer demands and pressures to reduce emissions, the workforce is undergoing a transformational shift to better accommodate these needs. But they also face gaps in areas like skilling and productivity that require strategy and innovation to overcome.  

AI-powered tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot empower workers with the right information at the right time. Industry leaders like TotalEnergies are using Microsoft 365 Copilot to help workers be more efficient and productive, with every employee receiving AI training throughout the past year. Another energy leader, Petrobras, uses AI technology from Azure OpenAI Service to power its custom text generation tool used by more than 110,000 employees. The tool helps democratize AI in a secure, compliant way and enables employees to perform their work in less time and with less manual labor. In yet another example, Repsol, a global multi-energy provider, is reaping the benefits of AI capabilities with a study showing that its adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot has helped employees with productivity gains of up to 121 minutes per week, with nearly 62% of employees reporting reluctance to return to work without access to Microsoft 365 Copilot. What’s more, the company reduced procurement costs by 15% while observing a 16% increase in deliverable quality.³ 

It’s clear from these examples that AI is a game changer when it comes to empowering the energy workforce. By connecting workers with purpose-built tools and experiences, energy companies can set the stage for maximizing productivity and working in new, flexible ways.  

Enhancing energy supply with real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance  

When it comes to the energy business, even a fraction of a percentage in efficiency can make a significant difference in providing a reliable, high-quality supply. Advanced data and AI solutions can pull together and organize vast amounts of disparate enterprise data, enabling energy suppliers to more effectively monitor operations, forecast production, and predict maintenance requirements.  

Enerjisa Üretim, for example, built a remote operations center that leverages advanced analytics powered by Microsoft Azure. The powerful data processing allows the company to monitor its 20 hydropower, wind, and solar plants every day and provide timely response to any operational or production issues. Enerjisa Üretim has also developed a tool that uses Azure OpenAI Service to access and analyze its Internet of Things (IoT) data from more than 40,000 datapoints and combine it with operational data to increase efficiency and streamline processes across power plants—ultimately reducing the data collection and analysis time from hours to seconds. The company also uses generative AI capabilities to forecast daily power generation for turbines by analyzing factors like asset condition, weather, and wind speed. The AI capabilities provide immediate answers and offer more flexibility when it comes to staffing multiple experts for every project. 

Accelerating research and modeling with insights and intelligent search  

High-quality data and advanced analysis capabilities are essential for the energy and resources industry. In mining, for instance, these are needed to create the 3D models necessary for accurate and efficient mineral recovery. The process of preparing the data, however, can be extremely time-consuming, as geologists must sift through massive volumes of documents that have often been accumulated over the course of several decades. Now, mining leaders are leveraging Microsoft AI technology to accelerate intelligent search velocity and accuracy across the large geological data sets they use.  

We recently worked with a mining industry leader to implement a solution built with Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Document Intelligence. The solution automates data extraction and storage, elevates the most relevant information, and produces critical insights quickly through a generative AI bot, ultimately enhancing accessibility and interpretation of geological, geophysical, and other data for users of all experience levels. Streamlining this process helps them create 3D models faster by significantly reducing the time spent searching and preparing data—from weeks down to just minutes. These overall productivity gains free up time to increase recovery, reduce waste, and improve safety and cost-efficiency.         

Streamlining permitting and automating complex utility rate case workflows  

In the energy and resources industry, permitting and rate case processing are common and necessary to adhere to important legal, financial, and environmental compliance and regulatory requirements. They can also be extremely costly and time-consuming, especially for nuclear energy permitting, which requires unique expertise and can often take many years and tens of millions of dollars to complete, and for complex utility rate cases, which require detailed data sources and documentation.

Generative AI can significantly reduce the time and costs associated with permitting and rate case processing. In a recent example of AI design innovation, Microsoft’s energy and resources industry team worked with Neudesic, an IBM Company, to develop a rate case assistance accelerator to streamline processes for leading utilities worldwide. The AI-powered solution significantly reduces the time and costs associated with internal processes, resulting in up to 22% productivity gains and saving up to USD45,000 in operational costs per document. With time and monetary savings, energy companies can focus on higher-value business goals, reliability, and customer service.    

Finding information faster with AI agents 

As AI becomes more prevalent across global industry operations, we’re increasingly seeing the benefits and vast potential for supercharging productivity. AI agents, for example, can help users find the right information faster, and they can execute a specific set of tasks, allowing workers to spend more time on innovative and creative work. This will be a gamechanger.

In December 2024, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced a new AI agent, currently in beta testing, that helps users explore the 2024 edition of the World Energy Outlook. The GPT tool, built on Microsoft Azure using Microsoft Copilot Studio, answers questions using natural language and helps readers quickly locate data and information of interest. AI agents like this one don’t just save time—they also make information more accessible to more people. That means you don’t need to be a data scientist or energy expert to interact with and understand reports and other scientific documentation. Instead, a reader can simply type a question using conversational language, and the AI models—trained on the industry terminology and relevant documentation—can provide user-friendly and fast responses.    

Explore more AI innovation in energy 

At Microsoft, we’re committed to working with the global energy industry to accelerate the energy transition and enable a more secure, reliable, equitable, and sustainable future. Through our cloud-based data and AI solutions, energy leaders can accelerate their digital transformation to maximize value across their entire enterprise—and we’re here to support along the way. You can check out our additional resources to learn more about working with the Microsoft energy and resources industry team. 

• Read the Microsoft Industry Blogs: Energy and resources to learn about themes and actions critical for energy transition.
• Learn how to achieve more in the energy and resources industry with trusted data and AI solutions from Microsoft.
• Explore innovation in sustainability through our publication, For Life on Earth.
• Learn about Microsoft security solutions. 

¹ Peak energy emissions: A historic moment overshadowed by the endurance of fossil fuels, World Economic Forum, November 2024.

² World Energy Trilemma 2024: Evolving with Resilience and Justice, used by permission of the World Energy Council, 2024.

³ MIT Technology Review, Impact of generative AI adoption on efficiency, quality and employee experience in a global energy company.

The post Charting a new energy future with AI innovation and collective action appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

These initiatives focus on harnessing data insights from smart technologies such as automation, Internet of Things (IoT), and AI, to improve how products are made and distributed. By unifying this and other data—including siloed data sets—into a single ESG data estate, manufacturing organizations can gain holistic views and granular insights to help them not only meet ESG reporting requirements, but also drive the sustainability of sourcing, making, transporting, and disposing of products—and implement business practices that advance a circular economy.  

To support your organization as you explore options and identify cost-effective steps in this era of industrial transformation, we’ve gathered learnings and recommendations into the Leader’s Guide to Sustainable Business Transformation. We’ve also created an ESG data readiness assessment to help you get started quickly. 

A more responsible, competitive path forward 

Manufacturing and mobility organizations that develop smart, automated, and data-driven processes as part of industrial transformation—and incorporate sustainability into those processes—are well positioned to gain a competitive advantage. ESG insights can help manufacturers achieve a range of goals across the value chain, such as:  

• Improved risk management and the protection of critical production processes.
• Engagement with vendors and suppliers to address Scope 3 emissions, reduce exposure to impacts from climate risks, and governance loopholes.
• Reduced costs and improved traceability with streamlined technology resources.
• More responsible capital deployment.  

With advanced solutions, organizations have already begun making these improvements. For example, Sandvik, a leader in mining industry manufacturing, implemented Microsoft AI and cloud technologies to enhance predictive maintenance and lower emissions, allowing them to cut down on waste and optimize resource use. 

ESG data: The input that fuels comprehensive sustainability 

To achieve the full potential of ESG data—from the shop floor to the board room—manufacturing and mobility organizations can benefit from evaluating sustainability comprehensively, in terms of environmental concerns as well as social and governance impacts. This approach uses ESG data insights to improve risk management and protect the value of critical product processes, and to make decisions that improve energy use, labor practices, supply chain transparency, regulatory compliance, and more.  

For example, Outokumpu, a worldwide leader in stainless steel production, tapped into the power of data by developing an industrial digital platform based on Microsoft Azure. The insights this platform provided led to significantly reduced waste (due to fewer defects) and energy usage—contributing to lower CO2 emissions. 

Key ways to maximize the benefits of ESG data in manufacturing and mobility include: 

• Build a data-driven infrastructure: ensure that systems are in place to collect and integrate accurate ESG data seamlessly across all departments.
• Leverage predictive insights: use AI and analytics to forecast and optimize operations, including by using natural language querying to enable all teams to access insights—enabling efficient resource use and proactive risk management.
• Foster a culture of sustainability: from executives to front-line workers, train employees in how ESG data can improve decision-making and drive sustainability outcomes. 

Implementing these ideas can provide the foundation for using ESG data to drive long-term success, and to make significant improvements relatively quickly. For instance, Nordic-based OSTP Group, which specializes in manufacturing stainless steel products and custom equipment, is using Microsoft technologies to track and report CO2 emissions. The data insights they gained led to a 70% reduction in direct CO2 emissions from 2021 to 2023. 

Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and industrial automation, has also reduced carbon emissions and optimized energy use—leveraging Azure OpenAI and other Microsoft AI technologies to boost not only sustainability, but also their engineers’ productivity. 

How Microsoft is powering sustainable transformations  

Microsoft has emerged as a leading partner for manufacturing and mobility organizations on their journey toward sustainability. We’ve designed our solutions to help businesses in three primary ways: 

1. Improve ESG data transparency: We’re continuously innovating to enable our customers to glean consolidated data intelligence from across their operations and value chain.
2. Deliver actionable insights: Microsoft has a deep slate of expertise helping manufacturers maximize operational efficiencies using sensor-enabled data management and automated scenarios powered by the Microsoft Cloud.
3. Create new opportunities: We are a global leader in enabling digital transformation through our data and AI solutions, to help businesses grow while becoming more sustainable. 

We’re delivering for these solution areas by bringing together a growing set of ESG data and AI capabilities from Microsoft and our global ecosystem of partners, in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability.  

A core solution in this suite is Microsoft Sustainability Manager, which allows businesses to more easily record, report, and reduce their environmental impact through data connections and powerful AI-powered analytics—and can be integrated with virtually any business system. With this solution, manufacturing and mobility teams advance on carbon, water, and waste management, as well as circularity.  

Businesses can also implement the purpose-built ESG capabilities of Sustainability data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, to integrate, normalize, and analyze ESG data—and other enterprise data—on a single digital platform. Together, these capabilities help improve ESG data accuracy and transparency, simplify reporting processes, and accelerate progress toward goals.  

Swedish forestry giant Södra is showing what’s possible with these capabilities. Södra utilizes Microsoft Sustainability Manager to improve supply chain transparency and track sustainability data across its entire operation, allowing them to reduce reliance on carbon-intensive materials, displacing 8.8 million tons of CO2 emissions annually. Södra estimates the positive impact of this accomplishment as equivalent to one-fifth of Sweden’s annual reported carbon emissions. 

A sustainable future begins with smarter solutions 

As manufacturing and mobility continues to transform, both smart technologies and ESG data will help companies drive sustainability, meet compliance and reporting requirements, and uncover new opportunities for growth. Microsoft is here to help organizations make the transition with solutions to help reduce their environmental impact, improve operational efficiency, and position themselves for long-term success in a rapidly changing world. To gain a view of your ESG data across key areas, as well as customized guidance on how to drive sustainability progress and add business value, complete our readiness assessment.

Explore ESG readiness for other industries

• Retail and consumer goods: Unlocking business value with data-driven sustainability for retail and consumer goods
• Financial services: ESG data readiness drives value for financial services firms

ESG Data Readiness Assessment

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The post Data is driving a more sustainable industrial transformation appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Beyond the illnesses they cause, food safety incidents have significant negative effects on economies, farmers, the environment in the form of food waste, and governments. Returning to the example of the United States for a moment, the federal government each year budgets over $7 billion of its tax revenue to foodborne illness response programs.³ This is a reactive system, and to reduce the human, financial, and environmental effects of food safety incidents, we need to become more proactive.  

The good news is that we have the tools at our fingertips to create much more predictable food systems. Removing the farming sector’s dependencies on paper record-keeping is a simple first step, as it increases the visibility and reliability of reports. With this groundwork, farmers can start digitizing the food system and using generative AI to analyze large datasets, identify trends, and present insights in easily digestible language and visualizations through tools like Copilot in Excel and Copilot in Power BI.  

Farmers and food suppliers can detect important issues easily with generative AI solutions, like a disruption in the cold chain between the farm and the grocer, which can lead to spoilage. Generative AI can also be used to check for compliance issues and security breaches. It can suggest process improvements, track demand, and trigger alerts that automate real-time responses—all with the goal of responding to food safety incidents before they transform into public health incidents. 

Paving the way for the advancement of AI 

Microsoft Copilot and industry-specific AI agents built by partners with specific expertise in the food production industry represent a potential leap forward in preventative food safety, but they aren’t the only benefit digitalization represents. Other solutions, themselves part of the roadmap toward generative AI adoption, are already enabling meaningful change for food producers. Recent advancements in both Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and the AI technology behind them have enabled technology to mimic the human senses of sight, hearing, and smell to improve traditional food sorting, grading, and inspection processes. Azure Data Manager for Agriculture helps collect data on farms, aiding in the identification of conditions likely to introduce bacteria to crops. 

For example, a food processing company can digitize its quality control process with the help of Microsoft Power Apps, Power BI, and Dataverse. Together, these technologies help the company better capture real-time data, generate more insightful reports and improve overall operational efficiency.

As companies build out capabilities like these, they gain the type of financial benefits and actionable insights and can simultaneously establish a deeper pool of information for future generative AI solutions to draw from. Microsoft Fabric also plays a crucial role in building an AI-ready data estate. By integrating data sources like IoT sensors, temperature monitors, and historical data, Fabric helps companies establish more comprehensive data platforms. With the advanced predictive analytics these platforms can generate, food suppliers can reduce product recalls, prevent the spread of counterfeit goods, minimize food waste, and increase consumer trust.  

Bringing better farming data into the mix 

By consolidating its data, increasing the number of advanced sensors it employs, and tracking broader types of data, the food production industry is making way for even greater advancement. Copilot and customized agents can rapidly analyze every stage of the food supply chain, from farm to table. Today’s visual recognition technology often identifies contaminants in food products faster and in smaller concentrations than its human counterparts. Generative AI models can use this data to aid in the detection of foreign objects and pathogens in either raw ingredients or finished food products. Analysis of historical and real-time data from temperature sensors in food production and warehousing facilities can help alert producers to conditions that contribute to excess food spoilage. When an agent recognizes farming or food processing irregularities, it can generate predictions based on historical data, check for compliance issues, and suggest operational improvements. By bringing together farm-specific data like local weather conditions, soil makeup, and pest populations, agents could help predict and mitigate seasonal risks to crops.

Looking ahead 

The future of food safety will rely on the continued integration of technology and data into the world’s food production and distribution processes. Customized agents powered by AI can perform tasks and provide decision support to improve food safety. These agents can be built to analyze vast amounts of data from spreadsheets, handwritten documents, voice memos, and videos, uncovering previously undetected errors and missing information.  

Companies in the farming sector can leverage Microsoft Copilot Studio to develop their own intelligent agents that assist with their most critical and risk-prone agricultural processes. Using the low-code interface of Copilot Studio, businesses can quickly create and deploy custom applications without extensive coding knowledge, enabling them to automate tasks such as crop monitoring, pest detection, and resource management. Companies can also choose to collaborate with Microsoft partners with industry-specific expertise, ensuring their solutions are tailored to their specific needs and comply with industry regulations. This partnership approach not only accelerates innovation but also ensures the deployment of robust and effective AI-powered solutions. 

By maximizing the potential of generative AI in food safety, we can predict and prevent many of the sector’s most prevalent issues, improve food quality, and prevent many food safety incidents. There are tremendous opportunities ahead, and collaboration between food producers, the regulatory bodies that oversee them, and technology companies are key to the success of these initiatives. By working together, we can create a safer and more sustainable food system for everyone. 

¹ Food Logistics, Food Recalls in 2024 are Surging. What’s the Crisis Response?, September 2024.

² World Health Organization, Foodborne Diseases Estimates.

³ U.S. Food & Drug, FDA Seeks $7.2 Billion to Protect and Advance Public Health by Enhancing Food Safety and Advancing Medical Product Availability, March 2023.

The post The growing need for AI in food safety appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

By holistically tracking, analyzing, and sharing information for each facet of their value chain, retail and CG companies can meet this moment while also addressing regulatory requirements—by turning challenges around ESG data infrastructure and organizational culture into an opportunity to build business resilience.  

Starting by understanding your current ESG data management can be a helpful first step: Assess your ESG data readiness.  

New opportunities require holistic, accessible ESG data  

Taking ESG data out of silos and into a unified, accessible system can help retail and CG companies identify and act on opportunities to advance sustainability goals. Eckes-Granini, Europe’s largest fruit juice producer, embraces this strategy by using Microsoft solutions to increase supply chain transparency. By adopting this objective, data-driven supplier management technology, now almost 70% of Eckes-Granini’s juice ingredients come from sustainable sources—putting the company on track to achieving their goal of using 100% sustainable ingredients by 2030.  

Key emerging areas where ESG data insights can help retail and CG companies drive sustainability and efficiencies include: 

• Circularity: Recycling, recommerce, and reusing or repurposing materials help companies reduce reliance on net-new or single-use materials, to help reduce waste and carbon emissions.
• Sustainable material sourcing: Integrating recycled and low carbon materials into operations and final packaged products helps companies minimize overall environmental impact.
• Increased transparency: Companies can improve brand recognition and loyalty by providing greater ESG transparency—which can also help identify new products or lines of business.
• Evolved supply chain: Data and AI-powered technologies can help streamline supply chain, reduce emissions, and minimize waste, while pinpointing ways to boost efficiency and decarbonization.

Today’s roadblocks and tomorrow’s benefits  

As discussed in Driving Business Value with ESG Data Readiness, creating a robust ESG data estate can strengthen business resilience, by enabling teams to make informed decisions as markets shift and opportunities evolve.  

For retail and CG companies, this capability supports decision-making as they explore sustainability improvements, from upgrading equipment to increase energy efficiency, to investing in new low-carbon or recycled materials. It can also help companies advance ESG data tracking in supplier regions where nascent reporting standards can impede transparency, consistency, or granularity of ESG information. 

Retail and CG companies can also collaborate across the value chain to share ESG data that helps unlock shared efficiencies, innovation, and greater trust. For example, by using Microsoft solutions to leverage integrated data analysis, sustainability-driven Radish—a food-delivery startup in Montreal—shares data insights with its restaurant partners to offset supply challenges, reduce food waste, and even access government assistance grants.   

Data that delivers more than reporting compliance  

Leveraging ESG data can also help retail and CG companies explore options such as AI-powered waste reduction, product recommerce services, or innovative, eco-friendly packaging and products. German cosmetics company Beiersdorf took this approach by using Microsoft solutions to build a simulation tool to assess scope 3 emissions for products and packaging, transitioning the company from emissions guesswork to objective insights.  

The power of ESG data insights is also boosting sustainability and improving decision-making for global bakery giant Gruppo Bimbo. The company adopted Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability to centralize emissions data across its operations—helping the company advance toward its sustainability targets for 2025, 2030, and 2050. And the Netherlands’ leading supermarket chain, Albert Hejin, developed an AI-powered solution in partnership with Microsoft to reduce food waste by dynamically adjusting prices on near-expiration items.  

Make ESG data work for you

To help unlock the value of ESG data, retailers and CG companies can benefit from setting up strong data collection and management systems:  

• Bridge the data gap: By investing in technologies that integrate ESG data across operations, companies can collect accurate and actionable information from all aspects of the value chain.
• Build trust through governance: Ensuring data accuracy is essential for both regulatory compliance and strategic decision-making, requiring strong governance and control practices around ESG data.
• Embed ESG into the company culture: Training and engagement programs can help integrate sustainability into a company’s daily operations—from executive leadership to frontline workers. And by enriching data with value-added insights from other departments, combined with natural language querying, more teams are empowered to make sustainability-informed business decisions.  

Following these steps—and the framework in the Leader’s Guide to Sustainable Business Transformation—can help you use ESG data to drive long-term success beyond reporting requirements, according to your unique business priorities. For example, industry-leading businesses like electronics retailer Kotsovolos-Dixons used Microsoft Solutions to create digital twins of its stores, reducing waste and boosting operational efficiency by 50%. Additionally, one of the United Kingdom’s largest food sellers, Co-op Group, adopted our hybrid cloud services to reduce its datacenter footprint to save £400,000 annually. 

Sustainability creates success

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability

Data and AI capabilities to help you transform for the future using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data intelligence

Start your journey

To stay competitive and in compliance, sustainability has become a necessity for the retail and CG industries. But starting with small steps works: ESG data can serve as the foundation for transformation, and help you advance no matter where you are in your sustainability journey.  

We’re ready to partner with you, to help you use AI-powered data technology and Internet of Things (IoT) to begin to accelerate your progress. The growing set of capabilities in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability are designed to help companies leverage ESG insights to report on and reduce environmental impacts while driving growth well into the future.  

To gain a view of your ESG data across key areas, as well as personalized guidance on how to drive sustainability progress and add business value, complete our readiness assessment.

Explore ESG readiness for other industries

• Manufacturing: Data is driving a more sustainable industrial transformation
• Financial services: ESG data readiness drives value for financial services firms

¹ McKinsey & Company, How to prepare for a sustainable future along the value chain, January 20, 2022.

² PWC, Integrated ESG Data in Retail: Why and How.

The post Unlocking business value with data-driven sustainability for retail and consumer goods appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

At Microsoft, our mission has always been one of empowerment. AI furthers this mission. When harnessed together with modern compute and infrastructure, Microsoft AI offers unprecedented access to information that can help solve complex manufacturing problems faster. To showcase this innovation, we recently attended the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, and demonstrated how Microsoft and its partners are accelerating industrial transformation outcomes with AI. Read on to experience IMTS for yourself, with our highlights and the 3 areas we believe the Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing and AI are driving real industry impact.

• Design better products with AI-powered insights
• Build products smarter with AI-optimized manufacturing
• Modernize frontline operations with AI-assisted workers

Design better products with AI-powered insights

Design is the cornerstone of manufacturing, shaping not only product functionality, aesthetics, and performance but influencing production efficiency, material use, and long-term sustainability. This critical stage presents significant opportunities to optimize manufacturing processes and reduce costs that are often locked in early. With generative design and AI-enabled solutions like predictive modeling and digital twins, we can analyze real-time performance data and simulate alternatives rapidly to minimize material waste, reduce errors, and improve time-to-market.

Moreover, for many modern connected products, software is an increasingly significant component—driving functionality, value, and the transformation of traditional dynamics. Generative AI streamlines software development by accelerating code generation with tools like Github Copilot, allowing engineers to iterate faster, improve overall quality, and design more sustainably. The combined impact is a more agile, efficient development process that reduces time-to-market, enhances product performance, and fosters sustainable innovation. As software continues to integrate deeper into connected products, generative AI empowers engineers to push the boundaries of what’s possible within design and manufacturing.

Harnessing data for streamlined product development with PTC

In the Microsoft booth, our partner PTC demonstrated the impact AI can have on product lifecycle with a well-managed digital thread. Their demo showed how Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer, leverages PTC’s design, Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions to develop products. PTC’s new digital thread solution uses Azure and Microsoft AI to bring these tools together to enable real-time data synchronicity, traceability, and version control across Vestas’ product lifecycle. This single source of truth simplified the development process and enabled Vestas to continue reusing valuable data throughout the product’s lifecycle.

Build products smarter with AI-optimized manufacturing

Manufacturing success today requires a seamless integration of materials, technology, and resources. With these complex environments, AI is changing how we think about industrial operations. The merging of physical assets with AI, IoT, and automation solutions is enabling manufacturers to optimize production, reduce downtime, and improve real-time decision making for greater competitiveness.

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing centralizes data in the cloud, unifying its structure. Once organized, AI solutions can extract data’s hidden value analyzing it for insights, including predictive maintenance by identifying shop floor patterns and anomalies that may indicate potential equipment failures. AI-enabled factories allow manufacturers to better manage supply chains, anticipate these production shifts, and optimize their resource allocation.

For mission-critical operations, Azure IoT Operations ensures your data is processed on-premises for immediate action, before being sent to the cloud for further analysis. Azure IoT Operations takes an adaptive cloud approach, supported by Azure Arc, which enables manufacturers to unify data across their hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge environments. An adaptive cloud approach simplifies infrastructure management and security while maximizing resource utilization and ensuring AI-powered solutions scale across production lines and multiple sites. By adopting this approach, manufacturers can streamline operations, improve scalability, and establish a standardized architecture, ensuring resiliency and continuous improvement across the enterprise.

Enabling OT intelligence for autonomous operations with Rockwell

AI has already demonstrated its ability to digest information and offer accurate recommendations. How does this translate to manufacturing factories? Rockwell demonstrated how IoT solutions can enlighten older OT assets and processes. Rockwell enables organizations to transform their factory equipment into IoT-enabled assets. This live operational data is then centralized in the cloud through Azure IoT Operations, where predictive AI can automatically identify and address maintenance needs, enhance workflows, and perform tasks that once needed onsite staff.

Modernize frontline operations with AI-assisted workers

Frontline workers and service teams are the backbone of manufacturing operations. Their expertise, adaptability, and problem-solving skills are critical for maintaining production efficiency—ensuring quality control and driving continuous improvement in environments where the digital world meets the physical world. When empowered by AI, these workers become decision-makers freed from repetitive tasks. AI allows frontline workers from the factory floor to the field to focus on higher-value activities, improves their productivity, and enables them to adapt to the evolving demands of modern manufacturing.

Generative AI enables service teams to seamlessly create work orders from unstructured data like emails, efficiently schedule resources, and provide timely support—particularly during high-demand periods. For frontline workers, AI offers fast and intuitive access to essential information, eliminating the need to manually sift through long standard operating procedures, equipment manuals or contact expert support. By delivering the right information at the right moment with natural language prompting, generative AI not only improves first-time fix rates but also accelerates worker upskilling, preparing them for more complex responsibilities and driving long-term productivity gains.

Delivering exceptional customer service with Dynamics 365 Field Service

At IMTS 2024 we showcased how Microsoft Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service is enabling workers to solve problems more efficiently and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Delivering exceptional service is key for building customer preference and loyalty. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service can help service managers and technicians efficiently create workorders, schedule workers and find the information they need to resolve issues right the first time while keeping customers updated at every step of the process. With the added capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist capabilities in Microsoft Teams, frontline workers can call for expert help and utilize augmented reality features such as spatial annotations reducing asset downtimes and efficient service experience for customers.

Continuing AI conversations beyond IMTS 2024

Manufacturing is undergoing a profound transformation. It is clear, AI will be at the heart of this change. From revolutionizing product design with AI-driven insights and optimizing manufacturing processes with predictive analytics to empowering frontline workers with easy access to information, AI is fundamentally reshaping how industries operate. IMTS 2024 underscored our vision for manufacturing and the impact AI will have on industrial operations. From PTC to Rockwell to Microsoft Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service, AI is driving innovation and enabling manufacturers to overcome operational bottlenecks.

As AI adoption accelerates, organizations will face challenges such as inadequate data, expertise gaps, and governance. Microsoft is committed to helping manufacturers overcome these obstacles and realize the full potential of AI. By combining modern cloud infrastructure and compute with powerful AI tools, Microsoft can enable every organization to scale their AI initiatives across multiple sites and functions, moving them beyond “pilot purgatory” to achieve long-term, sustainable transformation.

Explore Microsoft solutions

Now is the time. Along with its partners, Microsoft can help every manufacturer unlock the value in their data, streamline operations, and drive greater value chain efficiency. Whether you’re just beginning your journey or looking to scale, Microsoft can support you at every stage.

Industrial transformation

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• Learn how Microsoft can help you overcome barriers to AI adoption and drive real impact in your manufacturing value chain by reading this report we created in collaboration with MIT Technology Review Insights.
• Explore how Microsoft is helping other organizations accelerate their transformation on our industrial transformation webpage.

The post 3 practical ways industrial AI is reshaping manufacturing appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

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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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