Pushed by inhabitants and financial progress, world power demand is anticipated to proceed growing within the coming years. With elevated consciousness round fossil fuels and local weather impression, traders are dedicating monetary assets towards extra sustainable strategies of producing and consuming power. For energy and utility suppliers, meaning a rising curiosity in renewable power, which noticed a 30% enhance final yr, in comparison with simply 13% in the identical interval the yr prior1.
The proliferation of distributed power assets (DERs)—small-scale items of energy technology and storage that function regionally and are linked to bigger grids on the distribution degree—can also be main energy suppliers to rethink how they function. DERs may dramatically scale back the necessity for centralized energy technology, however they might additionally push conventional operational expertise (OT) environments to their limits and create heightened want for safety.
A contemporary, versatile, and safe grid with unified data expertise (IT) and OT will grow to be more and more vital for grid operators as shoppers add photo voltaic panels, electrical autos, or battery storage and search to hook up with the grid. In truth, a latest survey performed by Guidehouse reveals that 61% of utilities executives consider that utility infrastructure investments ought to prioritize elevated flexibility to enhance power system resilience2. AI has the potential to spice up resilience by serving to suppliers forecast and handle load demand, preserve energy stability, improve safety, help predictive analytics and upkeep, and optimize workforce administration and dispatch, amongst many different use instances.
Energy and utilities corporations aren’t alone in recognizing the advantages of AI. A latest examine on AI adoption reveals that over the following three years, 92% of corporations will enhance their AI investments, notably in generative AI; but just one% take into account their AI deployment to be “mature,”3 indicating there’s nonetheless great alternative to drive continued AI transformation for improved enterprise outcomes. Critically, workers are prepared for this modification. In truth, 3 times extra workers are utilizing generative AI for 30% or extra of their work than their leaders think about.4 It’s an indication that for a lot of corporations, the AI transformation is already underway, and groups are desirous to unlock new ranges of inventive potential and productiveness.
An adaptive cloud method helps streamline operations and supply crucial energy service
By complete cloud, knowledge, and AI choices, Microsoft and its world accomplice ecosystem help energy and utility suppliers as they digitally remodel and drive sustainable enterprise progress whereas assembly buyer demand. The adaptive cloud method seamlessly integrates IT and OT, bringing collectively on-premises management programs and edge intelligence with cloud-scale analytics. This lays the inspiration for unlocking the facility of their knowledge, additional permitting them to make the most of AI to fulfill growing power demand and clear up their most complicated challenges.
Take Uniper, for instance. Because the world’s largest energy technology firm, Uniper wanted an answer to assist standardize IT and OT so it may handle all functions in a uniform method. An adaptive cloud technique helped standardize IT and OT environments, launch new providers quicker, and optimize efficiency.
Emirates International Aluminum (EGA) has one other adaptive cloud success story. EGA’s on-premises atmosphere couldn’t ship the extent of flexibility wanted to handle data-intensive operations with scalable computing infrastructure. A hybrid method allowed them to maneuver a part of their server base to the Microsoft Azure public cloud and one other half to run hybrid on the edge with Azure Native. This helped optimize latency, help superior AI and automation options, and provide sustaining business financial savings by making use of intelligence on the edge.
By embracing adaptive cloud, energy and utilities suppliers can future-proof their operations and construct the resilient power programs of tomorrow—with out compromising compliance, safety, or operational continuity.
Sharing success tales and insights at DISTRIBUTECH
In an period the place the crucial for clear, dependable, and accessible power has by no means been better, Microsoft depends on the information and revolutionary potential of its companions and clients to assist spearhead progress. The success tales talked about above are made potential via the collective efforts of an entire accomplice and buyer power ecosystem. The corporate seems ahead to connecting with this ecosystem at vital power {industry} occasions just like the upcoming DISTRIBUTECH Worldwide 2025 convention, the place it’ll share the newest in AI-powered insights on the annual power transmission and distribution occasion. Held in Dallas, Texas from March 24 to 27, 2025, this yr’s occasion guarantees partaking talking periods, exhibitions, and demos throughout trending subjects like power storage, transportation electrification, distributed power useful resource administration, and, after all, the newest on AI.
Microsoft will be part of its power companions and clients on stage and on the Microsoft sales space because it highlights its work to speed up the power transition and tackle a number of the greatest challenges throughout the facility and utilities sector. It’ll converse to a few of these challenges at its thought management periods all through the week, in addition to spotlight the alternatives to make the most of cloud and AI capabilities to deal with them. These conversations couldn’t be timelier, as points like cybersecurity and menace restoration impression energy and utilities suppliers around the globe every single day. To that finish, Microsoft Power and Sources leaders will take part in keynote periods on subjects like cybersecurity within the energy and utilities sector. They’ll dive into the evolving menace panorama, the intersection of regulation and innovation, and the important thing measures utilities can take to safeguard crucial infrastructure. Microsoft may also participate in a keynote session on remodeling energy and utilities with AI, the place the dialog will revolve across the methods wherein AI-powered options are revolutionizing utility operations.
Highlighting Microsoft’s accomplice ecosystem
Microsoft will be part of a number of power and expertise companions at DISTRIBUTECH to additional the dialogue on world collaboration and partnership as crucial facets of the power transition. It would function a visitor speaker for Schneider Electrical’s Information Hub session on grid applied sciences, diving into the ways in which AI and digital transformation are revolutionizing grid operations and administration. The event marks one other milestone within the deep Microsoft partnership with Schneider Electrical as we collaborate with the corporate on the discharge of its new digital grid resolution. Powered by Azure and AI, the brand new resolution is designed to equip utilities with the digital instruments to navigate trendy power challenges and help extra resilient power infrastructure.
Microsoft can also be working with longtime accomplice Itron to empower utility corporations with knowledge and clever analytics. Itron is integrating Microsoft Copilot expertise into its Clever Edge Working System (IEOS), a world knowledge platform working on Azure, to assist utilities to make use of pure language queries to extra simply entry important knowledge and insights to speed up resolution making, help innovation, and streamline repetitive duties. By using Microsoft AI options, Itron helps its clients remodel complicated knowledge interactions into easy, intuitive processes, considerably boosting operational effectivity.
As well as, Microsoft is collaborating with Siemens Power’s Industrial Cyber and Digital Belief groups inside Digital Options to reinforce cybersecurity within the power sector. By integrating Microsoft’s main cybersecurity capabilities with Siemens Power’s superior options within the gasoline turbine enterprise, we’re strengthening resilience in opposition to evolving threats. This partnership underscores our shared dedication to securing crucial infrastructure and driving digital belief throughout the {industry}.
Microsoft additionally lately introduced a collaboration with EPRI (Electrical Energy Analysis Institute) via the Open Energy AI Consortium to advance AI innovation within the electrical sector. This partnership focuses on growing industry-specific AI and generative AI use instances, creating accountable deployment frameworks, and establishing an AI sandbox on Azure for testing and refinement. By fostering collaboration amongst utilities and key stakeholders, we goal to drive steady enchancment, information sharing, and real-world impression throughout crucial infrastructure.
Microsoft will co-host a breakfast roundtable with Accenture together with our different power ecosystem companions AVEVA, IFS, Itron, and Schneider Electrical to debate the keys to unlocking return on funding (ROI) and overcoming limitations to scale AI and digital applied sciences. Along with utility clients, they are going to talk about knowledge challenges, regulatory points, and organizational limitations that utilities face of their knowledge transformation journeys.
Microsoft hopes to see lots of you at DISTRIBUTECH 2025 as they share power success tales and learn the way others are driving optimistic change for a brand new power future.
Discover extra power options and assets
Sources:
1 2025 Energy and Utilities Business Outlook, Deloitte, December 2024.
2 Public Utilities Fortnightly®, Particular Challenge, State and Way forward for Energy, Guidehouse, June 2024.
With almost 20 years on the forefront of the Energy and Utilities (P&U) {industry}, Bilal Khursheed holds the function of Worldwide Energy & Utilities Chief at Microsoft, main its go-to-market technique for P&U. Famend for merging innovation with tangible outcomes, Bilal drives Microsoft’s world P&U imaginative and prescient and dedicates his experience championing sustainability and mentoring the following technology of {industry} leaders.
