Microsoft and BMW Firm Cloud Technology Partnership

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Achange to manufacturing industry. According to Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Microsoft Cloud + AI Group the technology giants are “joining forces with the BMW Group to transform digital production efficiency across the industry”. He also added, “Our commitment to building an open community will create new opportunities for collaboration across the entire manufacturing value chain.”

Microsoft and BMW are striving to make an easy way for manufacturers to create and develop  smart factories by relying on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Cloud Computing.

The automotive and technology powerhouses have, just recently, launched together a project initiative to start a manufacturing platform that will help seeking innovative ideas and contribute to the growth of Smart Factories. With cloud computing system, there will be a huge positive impact in lowering staffing costs, and also lowering licensing costs. 

After the great start with the teaming up of Volkswagen and Amazon Web Services to improve the production system and process of the German brand’s 122 plants, it’s now time for the second initiative that will push forward the efficiency in manufacturing using a network of the devices involved in production.

This means there will be several terabytes of data in this network flowing in Microsoft Azure Cloud platform (already in use by BMW’s own Internet of Things connecting over 3,000 machines, autonomous transport, and robots.) Microsoft Azure facilitates collaboration and also unlocks and standardizes data models to help enable analytics, equipment learning sources and a capability to develop their services and provide solutions.

Investing on this new approach will tackle issues such as proprietary systems that slow down productivity by creating “islands of information” that block the normal growth and profitability of a company.

OPEN MANUFACTURING PLATFORM

Transforming the traditional manufacturing process into Open Manufacturing Platform results in better output relying on the best use of technology, this IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) development will result in growth and bring 4.0 solutions to the usual errors and hurdles seen in the growth of manufacturing industries.

This initiative aims to have between four to six partners by the end of 2019 and a minimum of 15 use cases in production.

WHY OPEN MANUFACTURING PLATFORM?

There is an old issue that Microsoft and BMW are tackling now: bringing down the proprietary systems that are specific to each manufacturer and block the collaborative aspect of manufacturing.

The Open Manufacturing Platform (OMP) is created to lower and breakdown hurdles while creating an open technology framework in the industry community. OMP will not only support to industry but also be a helping hand in smart tech in the cross-industry community. The future with the inclusion of IIoT development is one of the best possible ways to address the many challenges to get ahead in the horse race that is the ever-fast-growing industrial area.

“Mastering the complex task of producing individualized premium products requires innovative IT and software solutions” said Oliver Zipse, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Production. “The interconnection of production sites and systems as well as the secure integration of partners and suppliers are particularly important.

We have been relying on the cloud since 2016 and are consistently developing new approaches. With the Open Manufacturing Platform as the next step, we want to make our solutions available to other companies and jointly leverage potential in order to secure our strong position in the market in the long term.”

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF OPEN MANUFACTURING PLATFORM?

There are many profits that open manufacturing platform brings to companies. Firstly, they transform industries into digital manufacturing business, while also breaking down data silos. In addition, they help to overcome the problems slowing down the production, unlock potential data and stay under controlled risk, allowing better security.
Moreover, it will offer too new opportunities for collaboration, quick industrial solutions and a reduction in cost and labor.