Do these alliances suggest that plant automation and working with plant automation vendors is a new strategic focus for Microsoft?
Richardson: Historically, Microsoft has had a strong presence in manufacturing automation, since the PC and MS-DOS were first used in the 1980s by some vendors and manufacturers for developing plant floor applications. The subsequent launch of the Windows operating system with its rich graphical user interface offered manufacturers a low-cost, intuitive platform on which to develop the next generation HMI and SCADA solutions. One of the biggest problems the manufacturing organizations face, due to factors such as globalization and shorter product life cycles, is increased pressure to cut costs from the manufacturing process. While manufacturers have already realized significant productivity gains from new technology, there is opportunity to cut costs further by reducing the latency in the supply chain and by adopting lean manufacturing processes. To do that effectively, companies need to get their enterprise operations tied more closely to plant floor operations. That’s where we believ
