Running and transforming a successful enterprise is like being the coach of a championship-winning sports team. To win the trophy, you need a strategy, game plans, and the ability to bring all the players together. In the early days of training, coaches relied on basic drills, manual strategies, and simple equipment. But as technology advanced, so did the art of coaching. Today, coaches use data-driven training programs, performance tracking technology, and sophisticated game strategies to achieve unimaginable performance and secure victories. 

We see a similar change happening in industrial production management and performance and we are excited to showcase how we are innovating with our products and services to help you succeed in the modern era. Microsoft recently launched two accelerators for industrial transformation:

• Azure’s adaptive cloud approach—a new strategy
• Azure IoT Operations (preview)—a new product

Our adaptive cloud approach connects teams, systems, and sites through consistent management tools, development patterns, and insight generation. Putting the adaptive cloud approach into practice, IoT Operations leverages open standards and works with Microsoft Fabric to create a common data foundation for IT and operational technology (OT) collaboration.

Azure IoT Operations

Build interoperable IoT solutions that transform physical operations at scale

We will be demonstrating these accelerators in the Microsoft booth at Hannover Messe 2024, presenting the new approach on the Microsoft stage, and will be ready to share exciting partnership announcements that enable interoperability in the industry.  

Here’s a preview of what you can look forward to at the event from Azure IoT. 

Experience the future of automation with IoT Operations 

Using our adaptive cloud approach, we’ve built a robotic assembly line demonstration that puts together car battery parts for attendees of the event. This production line is partner-enabled and features a standard OT environment, including solutions from Rockwell Automation and PTC. IoT Operations was used to build a monitoring solution for the robots because it embraces industry standards, like Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA), and integrates with existing infrastructure to connect data from an array of OT devices and systems, and flow it to the right places and people. IoT Operations processes data at the edge for local use by multiple applications and sends insights to the cloud for use by multiple applications there too, reducing data fragmentation.  

For those attending Hannover Messe 2024, head to the center of the Microsoft booth and look for the station “Achieve industrial transformation across the value chain.”  

Watch this video to see how IoT Operations and the adaptive cloud approach build a common data foundation for an industrial equipment manufacturer.

Find out how Microsoft Azure’s open and standardized strategy, an adaptive cloud approach, can help you reach the next stage of industrial transformation. Our experts will help your team collect data from assets and systems on the shop floor, compute at the edge, integrate that data into multiple solutions, and create production analytics on a global scale. Whether you’re just starting to connect and digitize your operations, or you’re ready to analyze and reason with your data, make predictions, and apply AI, we’re here to assist.  

For those attending Hannover Messe 2024, these experts are located at the demonstration called “Scale solutions and interoperate with IoT, edge, and cloud innovation.” 

Check out Jumpstart to get your collaboration environment up and running. In May 2024, Jumpstart will have a comprehensive scenario designed for manufacturing.

Attend a presentation on modernizing the shop floor  

We will share the results of a survey on the latest trends, technologies, and priorities for manufacturing companies wanting to efficiently manage their data to prepare for AI and accelerate industrial transformation. 73% of manufacturers agreed that a scalable technology stack is an important paradigm for the future of factories.¹ To make that a reality, manufacturers are making changes to modernize, such as adopting containerization, shifting to central management of devices, and emphasizing IT and OT collaboration tools. These modernization trends can maximize the ROI of existing infrastructure and solutions, enhance security, and apply AI at the edge. 

This presentation “How manufacturers prepare shopfloors for a future with AI,” will take place in the Microsoft theater at our booth, Hall 17, on Monday, April 22, 2024, at 2:00 PM CEST at Hannover Messe 2024.  

For those who cannot attend, you can sign up to receive a notification when the full report is out.

Learn about actions and initiatives driving interoperability  

Microsoft is strengthening and supporting the industrial ecosystem to enable at-scale transformation and interoperate solutions. Our adaptive cloud approach both incorporates existing investments in partner technology and builds a foundation for consistent deployment patterns and repeatability for scale.  

Our ecosystem of partners

Microsoft is building an ecosystem of connectivity partners to modernize industrial systems and devices. These partners provide data translation and normalization services across heterogeneous environments for a seamless and secure data flow on the shop floor, and from the shop floor to the cloud. We leverage open standards and provide consistent control and management capabilities for OT and IT assets. To date, we have established integrations with Advantech, Softing, and PTC. 

Siemens and Microsoft have announced the convergence of the Digital Twin Definition Language (DTDL) with the W3C Web of Things standard. This convergence will help consolidate digital twin definitions for assets in the industry and enable new technology innovation like automatic asset onboarding with the help of generative AI technologies.

Microsoft embraces open standards and interoperability. Our adaptive cloud approach is based on those principles. We are thrilled to join project Margo, a new ecosystem-led initiative, that will help industrial customers achieve their digital transformation goals with greater speed and efficiency. Margo will define how edge applications, edge devices, and edge orchestration software interoperate with each other with increased flexibility. Read more about this important initiative. 

Discover solutions with Microsoft

Visit our booth and speak with our experts to reach new heights of industrial transformation and prepare the shop floor for AI. Together, we will maximize your existing investments and drive scale in the industry. We look forward to working with you.

¹ IoT Analytics, “Accelerate industrial transformation: How manufacturers prepare shopfloor for AI”, May 2023.