Windows 10: Accelerating Industry Transformation for Utilities
It’s such an exciting time for our company with the recent release of Windows 10, which is Windows as you’ve never seen it. Windows 10 will transform your business. It is more mobile, more secure, and gives you more of what you want from your enterprise platform.
Some of the big benefits you’ll see in Windows 10 include:
- One converged platform & universal apps on a range of innovative devices: whether used by managers in corporate offices or your field service operations staff at a work site, the same app can be tailored and delivered through multiple form factors, helping workers achieve more with seamless solutions designed for their business.
- Security for a modern workforce: Windows 10 introduces a number of advancements in security and identity protection features that are easy for your business to deploy and manage.
- Continuous innovation using a single platform: since Windows 10 will be delivered as a service, you’ll have more flexibility to build on your current IT investments as you pick the speed of innovation that is right for your business.
Windows 10 for Utilities
But what is most exciting is how Windows 10 helps Utilities create business transformation with the Internet of Things (IoT). As we know, Industry 4.0 and IoT are revolutionizing the way Utilities interact with data and processes, enabling you to create new business models and transform your operations. With Microsoft Azure and Windows 10 IoT, you can use real-time analytics to monitor machine operations, improving troubleshooting capabilities through Windows devices and making mission-critical processes more efficient.
And we all know that mobility for production employees and field service and operations workers is a challenge due to the need for rugged products and high-processing power. Employees even bring in their own personal devices on the job site. Until the release of Windows tablets, the only tablets that were really available for Utilities were consumer-grade devices which couldn’t stand up to the sector’s tough work environments. Mobile devices are now becoming more mainstream as field laptop replacements so that staff can access information both at the work site and at the office as a key collaboration tool
With Windows 10, you can use devices to accelerate your field workers’ productivity through always-on connectivity, allowing them to access and update real-time data and corporate files. A common developer platform helps enable the best user experience across all or your platforms and devices. Apps, including Office, are built for touch and mobile so that managers and field crews can collaborate and complete work more efficiently.
With Windows devices, field workers can also respond to emergencies and production events, send data and digital forms to both clients and coworkers, and communicate with coworkers in real-time – all from a convenient device. Additionally, Windows devices are becoming more and more rugged, able to withstand harsh conditions and circumstances, including heat, dust, humidity, and risk of falls, found both in plants and in outdoor environments.
Another great Windows 10 feature for field workers is Continuum. Windows optimizes experiences for each activity and device so workers can stay productive across devices. You can even change from tablet to desktop mode anytime you want – or connect a Windows 10 phone to a mouse, keyboard, and monitor and use it like a desktop.
The key peripherals that keep your business running, from mobile printers, to barcode scanners, to customized mounting docks, can easily be deployed and help your staff in the field perform work more efficiently and deliver better customer service.
Since field engineers need to access a lot of data which may be confidential and regulated by government and industry, they need devices that allow them to securely access company data, even if it is behind a firewall. Advanced device security in Windows 10 allows only trusted peripherals, trusted platform modules, and trusted apps with Advanced Threat Resistance to be accessed from a device. And as your staff is traveling and in the field, they can stay up-to-date on the latest trends with modern web browsers Internet Explorer 11 and Microsoft Edge, which have built-in note-taking capabilities and automatically adjust to the device in use.
For those Utilities whose enterprise standards are still evolving, Windows 10 operates seamlessly, even if you are running older versions of Windows in your operations.
Our advice to Utilities looking to make the transition to a fully digital, Industry 4.0 world is to focus on transforming business models through connected mobile and cloud-based solutions that enable rich collaboration. And Windows 10 is how you will get there faster and more easily. It’s the most robust, secure and easily deployable Windows platform we’ve ever created. And especially for field workers, it is such a tremendous asset to your business. I encourage you to realize its benefits.
Take time to explore Windows 10 here!
LinkedIn: Larry Cochrane
