The Record - Issue 20: Spring 2021

72 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om “Automotive today is touching so many other aspects of our daily lives” F E ATUR E W ith the development of electric, con- nected and autonomous vehicles, the automotive workforce is facing new lev- els of complexity. Carmakers are equipping their workforces with new technologies to address this challenge and take advantage of the new opportu- nities digital transformation is creating. One of these opportunities is found in the ever-increasing amount of data available to busi- nesses, which has the potential to offer valuable insights on how they can improve their opera- tions. Yet to leverage their newly acquired data effectively, organisations will have to rethink their approach to handling and sharing it. “Automotive companies come from a tra- ditional way of working, organised in silos,” says Juergen Imhoff, senior digital advisor for Microsoft. “But it’s a tradition that’s hindering the workforce from improving their perfor- mance. Today, the most significant inefficiencies are driven by the front-line workforce not being able to access back-end systems and data, which they need to be more effective.” To address this crucial inefficiency, automotive organisations can make use of Microsoft Azure to reimagine the way in which they handle their data. By creating a single data lake, powered by Microsoft Azure, organisations can use both built-in and third-party services to generate insights into their operations. By giving work- ers easier access to these insights, it becomes possible for them to identify ways in which to improve their productivity. “Once you’re able to use all the data you have to hand in one common data lake, the opportunity is immense,” says Imhoff. “A lot of people iden- tify Microsoft Azure as a cloud platform, but it has an extensive range of value-add services on top of that, including IoT, streaming services and artificial intelligence. Automotive organisations can leverage these Azure services to make the most of their data, using all of the knowledge at their disposal to draw better and more produc- tive conclusions.” The benefits of cloud services can also extend into the design and testing of new and innovative By empowering workforces with Microsoft solutions, automotive organisations will be able to deliver successful digital transformation BY A L E X SM I TH automotive Driving productivity