The Record

The best of enterprise technology on the Microsoft Platform

Summer 2019

Editor: Lindsay James
Executive Editor: Andy Clayton-Smith

The Summer 2019 issue of The Record is out now and available to view free of charge in digital format.

As the magazine is published, technology companies from around the world are preparing to descend upon Las Vegas for Microsoft’s annual partner gathering, Inspire. As such, on page 14 we speak with Microsoft partners about what they will be showcasing at the event.

The Record offers an early view of the year ahead, as we talk with corporate vice president of Microsoft’s One Commercial Partner group, Gavriella Schuster on page 30.

Gavriella also provides input to our cover story highlighting how business discussions around the cloud have evolved from an ‘if’ to a ‘when’. Microsoft partners also provide their perspectives and we learn about the impact of improved cloud capabilities on their solutions.

One technology that has benefited most from the advance of the cloud is artificial intelligence (AI). Most people tasked with the management of a modern business or public service have AI at the top of their minds right now. For those using Microsoft’s technology solutions there is a clear path to adoption, and we are seeing a growing number of compelling customer stories from a broad spectrum of industries.

We take a closer look at the latest advances being made by companies such as Zone.tv in Canada, which has launched multichannel video services, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy which is installing and maintaining wind turbines across Spain. In the financial services sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities are leveraging the Microsoft Azure cloud to process colossal amounts of data without the requirement for an increase in existing computing infrastructure. AI is driving new and innovative service delivery at all levels, in all areas of life and across every region of the planet. Each of our industry sections, the first of which be found on page 91, begins with details of how businesses are tapping into the power of AI.

As always, The Record also includes executive interviews, news from all areas of worldwide enterprise and public sector activity and a wide variety of case studies and thought-leader perspectives which illustrate how Microsoft and its partner ecosystem continue to drive innovation.

There’s plenty more too – enjoy the issue!

Magazine highlights

MARKETWATCH

The latest news from Microsoft and its partners, including what to expect at Microsoft Inspire this July

Putting partners first

Microsoft has reinvented the way it works with partners to drive additional revenue

COVER STORY

Microsoft’s Gavriella Shuster and multiple Microsoft partners discuss the evolution of the enterprise cloud

An all-new Pexip

Anders Løkke outlines how the video collaboration technology provider has transformed into a global enterprise

Immersive invoice automation

Andrew Scarborough discusses how Bottomline Technologies is improving accounts payable processes with Microsoft Dynamics 365

Reaching new heights

interworks.cloud is helping Altitude 365 to boost customer prospects and slash administration costs with its CSP automation platform

The Last Word

Customer experience futurist Blake Morgan shares which innovations are transforming the workplace and personal lives

The growing need for security intelligence

Securing your digital transformation

Kevin Chapman from Avast Business outlines the major network security changes prompted by the move to the clouds

Industry highlights

Communications and Media

A rapidly evolving media and entertainment industry is discovering an ever-greater requirement to not only grow new audience numbers but also to find new ways of winning greater revenue from their existing customers – but how?

New ways of monetising media, analysing audience data and enriching the customer experience is the name of the game, and Microsoft products such as Azure Media Services and Video Indexer are driving the conversation. Read more in the pages that follow.

Download a PDF of the Communications and Media section of the Summer 2019 issue of The Record magazine.

Collaborative creativity

Teradici’s Ian Main on how virtual workstations enable studios to tap into a global pool of on-demand creative talent

Getting personal

Artificial intelligence delivered via the cloud helps media and entertainment firms deliver personalised customer servicesdiences

Financial Services

While it is unlikely that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace the role of the banker, it will almost certainly bring radical change to the way in which the banking industry works.

Industry analyst Gartner predicts that by 2021, AI augmentation will generate about US$2.9 trillion in business value and recover around US$6.2 billion in global worker productivity. Banks are on the brink of an entirely new way of communicating with their customers, gaining deep industry insight through the capture and manipulation of rich data made available at a cost and speed previously unimagined. We find out more in the pages that follow.

Download a PDF of the Financial services section of the Summer 2019 issue of The Record magazine.

A catalyst for transformation

A catalyst for transformation How artificial intelligence is empowering banks to gain competitive edge in a transforming industry

Banishing the IFRS 17 blues

Rakesh Patel of Willis Towers Watson on how organisations can prepare for a complex and highly regulated future

Manufacturing and Resources

Microsoft and its ecosystem of partners are at the heart of a tectonic shift ongoing throughout the world of manufacturing, by providing manufacturers with advanced software, teamed with a diverse set of networking, telecommunications and connectivity tools – at scale and with a high level of affordability.

Bring all this together in an environment which maximises the potential of a workforce by equipping it with a wide range of artificial intelligence and mixed reality services, and the factory of the future has finally arrived. In this issue we take a closer look.

Download a PDF of the manufacturing section of the Summer 2019 issue of The Record magazine.

Building the factory of the future today

Why manufacturing companies are turning to advanced cloud and digital communication technologies to empower business

Putting the ‘super’ in Super Bock Group

Microsoft partners BindTuning and DevScope discuss their success with Super Bock Group

Public Sector

Civic service provision has undergone radical upheaval in recent times, with government agencies, healthcare providers and educators all facing the challenge of doing more with less.

This comes at a time when citizens across the globe have higher expectations of their civic leaders, demanding greater information about services that they are ultimately funding. Public sector workers need the flexibility to connect from any location and to collaborate effectively with co-workers, whether by mobile, radio, tablet or desktop – one-to-one, in group calls or by public broadcast. In this issue we get to grips with where mobile solutions and cloud-based services are driving digital transformation.

Download a PDF of the Public Sector services section of the Summer 2019 issue of The Record magazine.

Connecting people and services

Government agencies, healthcare providers and educators are using innovative cloud and mobile solutions to connect their people and meet high citizen expectations

Why pharmaceuticals should choose the cloud

AX for Pharma’s Massimo Ruosi explains the security and regulatory benefits of cloud-based enterprise resource planning systems

Retail and Hospitality

In an increasingly competitive world, what is giving leading retailers an edge?

Technology providers like Microsoft and its ecosystem of retail partners offer tools that drive end-to-end engagement with the customer – from initial acquisition, through strategic early engagement to highly personalised shopping experiences that secure longterm brand loyalty and ongoing repeat business. In the pages that follow we take a closer look at the latest innovations happening within the retail, consumer goods and hospitality markets.

Download a PDF of the Retail and Hospitality services section of the Summer 2019 issue of The Record magazine.