One of the keys to improving plant and asset performance is having the right information at your fingertips for better decision making. In the Utility context it’s about improving productivity, reliability, increasing operation efficiency and at the same...

We have written many times about our cloud momentum and how we have bet the company on the cloud and that most of the people who work on software at Microsoft are in some way working on cloud technologies and solutions. But real momentum comes from partners...

We just released our third Worldwide Utility Industry Survey for 2012 at the DistribuTECH Conference & Exhibition . The survey, a collaboration between Microsoft Corp. and OSIsoft, polled Utility professionals from around the world and highlights...

Microsoft Is Creating a Real Impact for Our Partners and Customers with Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft and our partners offer enterprise-class data management solutions to help you lower your total cost of ownership and manage data with unparalleled confidence...

Ten years ago, Bill Gates sent an email to all Microsoft employees announcing the creation of the Trustworthy Computing (TwC) Initiative . In that memo, Bill defined the key aspects of Trustworthy Computing, and set the company on a path toward ensuring...

Just a reminder that we will be releasing the survey results on how Power and Utility companies are approaching smart grid initiatives in 2012.  You can register for the webinar by going here . We hope that you can join us. – Jon. C. Arnold

We are excited to be a premier Opal sponsor at DistribuTECH Conference & Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas on January 24 – 26, 2012.  DistribuTECH 2012 is the utility industry's leading smart grid conference and exposition, covering automation...

We recently got to spend a few enlightening days with SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) owners and engineers from across the country at the Subnet User conference .  For those that are not familiar with Subnet , they are a Microsoft...

The march to realize the vision of the smart grid worldwide continues but the progress reflects differences in priorities and emphasis globally. To get a pulse on where smart grid efforts stand worldwide, Penn Energy Research Center has conducted an industry...

Earlier this month the Microsoft Power & Utilities Team spent a week visiting customers and partners in Japan. It goes without saying that the Power & Utilities sector in Japan is in unrest due to the earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima...

We have written in the past about the work we are doing with Convergys in Caring for Customers: A “Mashable Ecosystem” Model for Utilities and Driving Customer Success in the Smart Grid Era: Why the Time is Now for CRM .  These blogs point to the...

When we talk about the Future of Enterprise Utility Solutions , we cannot have the discussion without addressing Utility Asset Management and the importance of having a scalable and performance oriented architecture to support it. The underlying infrastructure...

From time to time I take a break from my day job in this blog to talk about other experiences that are significant or have touched me in a special way. During this US Thanksgiving holiday I had a couple of things that came to mind. One was Microsoft being...

The world of Demand-side management (DSM) involves reducing electricity use through activities or programs that promote electric energy efficiency or conservation, or more efficient management of electric energy loads. DSM programs can help customers...

Free Webcast  Wednesday, 11/30/11 | 1:00pm ET | Click to Register Today's utilities face the challenges of tighter IT budgets, reduced in-house development staff,and the need to quickly deliver business benefits through applications. Utilities also...

Last week in London we held our annual EMEA industry solutions university (ISU) event. ISU provides Microsoft account teams with customized industry training and thought leadership from leading customers, partners and our own industry experts. In the...

When I spoke last May at Bentley’s Be Together conference, I was extremely impressed with Bentley’s vision for changing the way companies go about designing, constructing and operating world’s infrastructure through software. Yesterday, Bentley announced...

Thanks to everyone that joined us for our webinar: Driving Customer Success in the Smart Grid Era. We had a great turnout and we appreciate the terrific evaluations! For those that either missed or would like to listen again, a recording of the webinar...

Utilities are faced with many challenges from an information management perspective. We often hear CIOs talk about the tsunami of data that comforts them in the smart Utility age. Stories are common place concerning the uncontrolled information growth;...

Productivity Future Vision (2011) When we at Microsoft think about the future we think about how people will get things done at work, at home and on the go. Five to ten years from now how will people create and share content; collaborate across teams...

“LURED by the potential to rapidly scale IT systems during times of peak customer demand, one South Australian company is taking its first steps into the world of public cloud computing”. This is a quote from the article titled Public system helps light...

We are very pleased to announce a webinar with our Global Dynamics CRM partner Convergys and Five Point Partners’ Strategy, Research & Advisory (SRA) practice . Five Points will discuss the results of their recent Utility survey where 81 percent of...

The cloud probably ranks right up there with the Smart Grid in terms of confusion to what it is and what it means for businesses and consumers. You hear about it on TV, radio and folks like me talking up the virtues of the cloud and how it transforms...

The Smart Energy Reference Architecture Program includes the notion of creation of “accelerators” to speed solution deployment and realize SERA alignment values. SERA Accelerators also reduce partner and customer risk. The accelerator program derives...

Several weeks ago we wrote about the Ferranti-Microsoft Global Collaboration for Utilities . Last week our partners Avanade and Ferranti announced their partnership to deliver innovative enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, based on the Microsoft...