Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft has partnered with global engineering, management and development consultancy firm Mott MacDonald to deliver smart infrastructure. The collaboration will use advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to help asset owners, cities and governments provide sustainable and valuable public services.
The two firms will collaborate to enable clients to better understand where resources and investments should be made by using cloud computing and Azure’s multi-layered security. The data science and AI used will garner insights into the technical and financial performance of infrastructure, which will lead to better decision-making, enhanced operation and improved cost-efficiency.
“Smart infrastructure combines deep domain knowledge, digital technology and outcomes-based thinking to turn data into meaningful information that reveals new insights and empowers decision-making to generate much better results,” said Oliver Hawes, head of Smart Infrastructure at Mott MacDonald. “It is vital that smart infrastructure delivers social, economic and environmental benefits for society, as well as investment return for businesses.”
As part of the partnership Mott MacDonald will move its cloud-based analytics and digital twin platform Moata to Microsoft Azure. The platform is already helping Auckland City Council increase public levels of engagement and make more informed decisions by combining engineering principles with modern AI.
“This is the first time Microsoft has partnered with a company like Mott MacDonald which is not only leading the way in developing smart infrastructure but is actually implementing that technology to improve people’s lives through better decision making today,” said Trudy Norris-Grey, global managing director of local and regional government and CityNext at Microsoft.