From resilience to digital perseverance: How organizations are using digital technology to turn the corner in unprecedented times

Our annual partner conference, Microsoft Inspire, just concluded. The conversations I had with Microsoft’s partner community echo those I have had recently with leaders from both established organizations and earlier-stage enterprises. Leaders across industries share a commitment to innovation as the only path forward through uncertainty in global markets, especially as they continue to strengthen their security posture, reduce their carbon footprint, inject more visibility into their supply chains, and promote more inclusive prosperity in the communities where they operate.

I see this shared commitment as part of a trend I call digital perseverance. It is the ability of organizations to thrive despite risk when they harness and wield digital technology to achieve their business goals and do more with less. Here are examples of organizations that have embraced digital capabilities to persevere in collaboration with Microsoft.

Last week, Oracle and Microsoft announced the availability of Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure. Earlier this month, we completed the acquisition of Miburo to boost threat intelligence research into new foreign cyber threats, and Netflix announced Microsoft as technology and sales partner for its new consumer subscription plan. P&G has selected Microsoft as its preferred cloud provider to enable scalable predictive maintenance, controlled release, touchless operations and manufacturing sustainability optimization from diapers to paper towels. American Airlines has chosen Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform, applying AI, machine learning and data analytics to reduce time waiting on the runway, saving thousands of gallons of jet fuel per year and giving connecting customers extra time to make their next flights.

The industrial metaverse has the potential to simultaneously improve supply chain resiliency, business efficiency and sustainability. When organizations make or move goods, they leave a carbon footprint. With the industrial metaverse, they can simulate manufacturing processes and supply chain scenarios infinitely in the cloud before a product is made or moved. The result: less waste, water consumption and carbon emissions — all while creating better products more efficiently and sustainably.

Manufacturers set new quality standards with digital twins and mixed reality
Belgium-based AB Inbev, the world’s largest brewery, is creating a digital model of their breweries and supply chain with Azure Digital Twins, enabling brew masters to make the highest quality beer and front-line operators to remotely monitor quality and traceability data. Bosch is using an Integrated Asset Performance Management (IAPM) solution powered by a digital twin on Azure that enables rotating machines, like turbines and electric motors, to indicate when they need maintenance to run with optimal costs and maximum efficiency. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a global leader in industrial robots, is building a digital environment for robotics, which enables collaboration in the industrial metaverse and remote operations of robots utilizing Microsoft technologies like Azure IoT and Azure Digital Twins. Hyundai Motor Group is establishing an electric vehicle battery asset management platform with Azure Digital Twins to increase battery management efficiency. Denmark-based Novo Nordisk, a leader in the global production of diabetes medicine, is using technologies like HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 to make production processes more efficient while maintaining the highest quality standards and complying with authority requirements and regulations.

AI and supercomputing technologies unlock mobility innovations across the value chain
Croatian automotive company Rimac Technology is combining its high-performance engineering with Azure high-performance computing to build powerful electric vehicles through virtual prototyping. Automotive supplier thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology is standardizing its complex customer relationship management with Dynamics 365, reducing the time-to-quote by 75 percent. U.K.-based Wayve is scaling the development of AI-based models for autonomous vehicles with Azure supercomputing technologies. Germany-based Volocopter is working with Microsoft to develop an aerospace cloud system on Azure to address the cloud computing requirements of urban air mobility and autonomous aviation. With Azure OpenAI Service, CarMax is imagining new ways to make the process of buying a pre-owned vehicle hassle-free, bringing integrity, trust and transparency to the used car industry. With HoloLens 2, Volkswagen and Microsoft are putting augmented reality glasses in motion, unlocking new entertainment experiences for passengers.

Sustainability is today’s differentiator across industries for a better future
Norway-based energy company Equinor is establishing a Microsoft Power Platform Center for Enablement to nurture greater innovation through low-code development, helping the company achieve its sustainability goals as it transitions toward renewables. Czech Republic’s energy supply company innogy is using Microsoft Power Apps to create detailed proposals for custom home photovoltaic systems 25 percent faster. Grupo Bimbo, the Mexico-based producer of baked goods and snack foods, is rolling out Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability to all its global operations to collect, track and analyze strategic metrics of its sustainability strategy, working toward zero waste and zero carbon emissions. French start-up Metroscope is working with Azure Kubernetes Service and Microsoft security services to develop digital twin solutions for energy production plants which improve monitoring and efficiency with the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 900,000 tons per year. With Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, the Las Vegas Raiders, a U.S. National Football League team, can monitor energy, water and waste metrics and usage and keep track of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) electrical usage.. For example, its sustainability metrics dashboard helps analyze weather data and regulate the temperature within its stadium.

Cybersecurity solutions empower hybrid work and drive customer trust
The Food Standards Agency is overseeing food safety in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, keeping the U.K.’s food supply safe and secure with Microsoft Purview. The City of Marion in Australia is also using Purview to provide residents with secure government services. Adobe is giving Acrobat users the ability to apply Purview Information Protection labels and policies to their most important documents. The global exam provider Pearson VUE aces data safety with Microsoft Sentinel across a multicloud and hybrid cloud environment. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is shaping the future of work for state employees eight years ahead of schedule, enabling its 40,000 employees to work securely from anywhere with the help of Defender for Office 365, Microsoft 365 and Surface tablets. With Azure Active Directory and Microsoft Sentinel, iHeartMedia is delivering a more streamlined user experience and lower licensing costs in the audio media world where security is non-negotiable. Tower in New Zealand is enhancing its employees’ remote work experience with Microsoft Endpoint Manager. With attack simulation training in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Malaysia-based telecommunications company Celcom has reduced the time spent on creating attack simulations by 70 percent, improving awareness for its workers to recognize cyberthreats and phishing attempts.

Access to digital technology connects communities and helps people in need
U.K.-based nonprofit Barnardo’s is connecting hundreds of thousands of families and children in need to valuable social services each year, deploying Microsoft Cloud services and Microsoft Surface devices to help employees be more effective. Part of the United Nations, Switzerland-based International Organization for Migration is moving to the Microsoft Cloud to focus on its humanitarian mission of supporting end-to-end migrant journeys, helping 30 million people every year with practical solutions to migration issues stemming from social, cultural, environmental and economic causes. The Housing and Urban Development Company of São Paulo in Brazil is working with Dynamics 365, Power Apps and Microsoft 365 to identify community needs and create housing projects through a centralized customer relationship management system. Singapore-based Nanyang Polytechnic is working with Microsoft to open the Centre for Applied AI to nurture AI talent for the workforce of the future and empower small- and medium-sized enterprises with the tools and expertise they need to embark on their digitalization journey. Thanks to broadband access provided through the Airband initiative and local broadcasting partner Telecaribe, 650 children from eight schools around Ovejas, Colombia have been able to experience internet connectivity for the first time.

With digital perseverance as an imperative, companies have continued to deliver outsize business value and outcomes, despite significant challenges in recent years. We remain incredibly inspired by what they have achieved and how they are positioned to navigate the landscape ahead. Further, we are committed to serving as their digital technology partner of choice on that journey.

Tags: AI, Azure, Digital Twins, Dynamics 365, HoloLens 2, metaverse, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Cloud, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Teams, Security, Surface, sustainability