Technology Record - Issue 22: Autumn 2021

50 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om COV E R S TOR Y The value of Microsoft’s effort here cannot go unnoticed. As we all come to terms with a growing environmental crisis, this new cloud platform is important as a tangible response to the current situation and as an example to other global organisations. And Hertogh believes that the ability to aggregate data – specifically about organisations’ carbon emissions – is at the core of its value. “Most businesses can only see a very small sliver of their emissions data because it is siloed and lives in various places,” says Hertogh. “Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability acts as a connector to aggregate the data, which provides accurate carbon account- ing that organisations can use to benchmark against their carbon goals. We refer to the ‘three Rs’ in this process: record, report, reduce. “Additionally, we are helping customers under- stand all points of the emissions value chain to bring unique insights on top of this aggregated data set to deliver on the overall ability to achieve net-zero emissions.” Microsoft launched the Cloud for Sustainability as a stand-alone platform because “it’s relevant to all industries, and the data coming from it pro- vides insights that are unique for each industry,” says Hertogh. “Sustainability is top of mind for every industry, and it will take all of us as a global set of organisations to come together to achieve the necessary targets.” And with every industry rapidly changing, Hertogh believes that industry practices and services from Microsoft – that its customers and partners know and trust – provide a golden architecture that enables them to build upon dig- ital capabilities that are relevant to their industry. “With all the clouds, there is the opportunity for partners to expand into new scenarios and verticals, and for Microsoft as a company, indus- try is how we become a digital partner for our customers in the future.” We asked a selection of Microsoft partners how they are using Microsoft’s Industry Clouds to deliver new services to their customers Partner perspectives Ravi Gopinath Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Cloud Officer at AVEVA “From Teams meetings to Remote Desktops, the pandemic has integrated technology into workers’ lives ever more closely, whether these are plant managers monitoring operations from their smartphones or delivery agents. That trend presages the rise of the ‘connected worker ’, a new category of workers who are integrated into their workplace environment by smart technologies. These first line workers – about 80 per cent of the workforce – will use data inputs from across the business to provide analytics and visualisation that improves decision-making across the value chain. The industrial internet of things is helping business operations collect more data than ever. IDC estimates a 15 per cent increase in 2021 over the previous year. AVEVA’s industrial software portfolio combined with Microsoft’s technology will give connected workers the context, insight and guidance to interpret this information and serve the enterprise’s objectives. When contextualised data, analytics and visualisation come together, digital teams can collaborate more safely and effectively while value chains are optimised.” “Sustainability is top of mind for every industry, and it will take all of us as a global set of organisations to come together to achieve the necessary targets”