Technology is a powerful tool in helping the world make more sustainable choices. As customers around the globe increasingly prioritize sustainability, Microsoft partners play a critical role in delivering software solutions that empower greener choices. Whether analyzing data to assess energy investments or platforming an agricultural IoT network, our intuitive programs support customers at each development phase. Together with partners, we are successfully addressing environmental impacts in order to advance organizations’ forward-looking initiatives.
Delivering smarter data
Like so many other Microsoft resources, our sustainability solutions begin with bringing together knowledge and specialized tools. Tools that will help you measure and monitor your internal footprint, adopt more sophisticated solutions to minimize the impact of your organization and supply chain, and assist in reimagining your business systems and business models while meeting the needs of the planet. Customers who are looking to invest in sustainable infrastructure or renewable energy want to be sure that they are making a sound business decision. This is where partners have the opportunity to provide data solutions that make it easier to analyze their options and make an informed decision. By building on our cloud-based platforms, partners can help businesses unify data across different sources and customize the insights they receive.
That is what Agile Solutions did for Renewable Energy Systems (RES)—the world’s largest independent renewable energy company. As a global company, RES was managing data from business units and projects spread out among multiple geographic regions. Agile Solutions, a Microsoft partner with a gold competency for Data Platform in the Microsoft Partner Network, worked to flow all financial reports into one set of Microsoft Power BI dashboards. This gave RES a central destination to see their entire financial picture and to analyze financial forecasts years into the future.
AVEVA is another Microsoft partner that aims to inspire sustainability through its software. They leverage the power of Microsoft Azure to deliver actionable information and AI capabilities to global manufacturing companies. This cutting-edge analysis empowers customers to identify opportunities that benefit the environment, including actions related to energy transition, smart cities, and smart manufacturing.
Customizing sustainable solutions
Once companies have charted a course for more efficient operations, partners are in position to help them develop and implement whatever new systems may be necessary. For example, Poland-based Digital Crops wanted to build a solution that would help farmers predict adverse weather, like heavy rain or drought, and automatically adjust their irrigation to preserve water. They connected with Microsoft partner Agri Solutions to build a platform on Azure that could integrate with farms’ weather stations and wireless IoT sensors in the soil. Building within the Azure environment helped Digital Crops and Agri solutions develop, deploy, and go to market with their solution within their industry deadline.
In addition to crafting mass market solutions, partners can also work one-on-one with customers to customize apps to their specific needs. When the City of London needed to modernize its public garden management system, they found Valto through the Microsoft website. Moving away from a pen-and-paper tracking system, Valto worked with London’s field workers and staff to pilot a Microsoft Power App solution that was backed by Microsoft Power Automate and SharePoint Online. After finetuning based on user feedback, Valto scaled the app to support over 100 City of London employees, ultimately reducing issue reporting times from seven days to 24 hours.
Integrating device and data security
As with other sectors, solutions developed with sustainability in mind must be intentional about mitigating any security risks. Compromised systems can have negative impacts on agriculture, the natural environment, and customers’ financials. The advantage of building on Microsoft platforms such as Azure or Power Platform is that our world-class security software is baked into the infrastructure. Partners who specialize in cybersecurity can help customers advance sustainability while safeguarding their new systems, offering both device-level and data-level protection.
The sustainability opportunity is different for each customer. Some businesses have made going green their whole focus, while others are simply looking to augment their existing systems. Whatever the scale of their needs, partners can connect them with valuable insights and capabilities through various Microsoft platforms. Offering best-in-class agility and security, we are excited to work with partners around the world to combat climate change and imagine a more sustainable future together.