Technology Record - Issue 24: Spring 2022

105 “All the capabilities manufacturers need exist today across Microsoft and our partner ecosystem” also investing in low-code/no-code solutions such as Microsoft Power Platform – including PowerApps and Power BI – to quickly connect different applications.” That need for connectivity also extends to sales and services, says Masson. “Manufacturers are increasingly having to sell and provide complex service packages remotely. To enable that, we’ve tightly integrated mixed reality and Teams into our service and sales solutions so representatives can show the customer the product or run the configurator with them. Today, these capabilities are more critical to agile manufacturing than ever.” Those transformations are happening today. Mitsubishi Electric, for instance, is using Microsoft cloud capabilities to support new ways of working that transcend organisational boundaries and physical distances. It adopted Microsoft 365 to build the Mitsubishi Electric Global IT Platform Service for employees working in offices, at customer sites and on production floors around the world. As well as streamlining communications with email and document sharing services, the company adopted Yammer for open information sharing and Teams for chat and videoconferencing – a solution that employees readily accepted because of its quality of communication and ease of use. In addition, HoloLens provides a mixed reality environment for collaborating and sharing expertise on the frontline. Meanwhile, manufacturer Eaton is using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and Dynamics 365 Guides on HoloLens 2 across its vehicle group plants worldwide. It’s enabled collaborative problem-solving, enhanced employee training and onboarding using simulated environments, and remote audits and inspections whenever they’re needed. As well as minimising downtime, Eaton has also accelerated product development. Fast, connected responses are crucial to the always-on service models that keep manufacturing firms, and the businesses that depend on their equipment, up and running. MANU FAC TUR I NG & R E SOUR C E S

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