Peak Performance Initiative: Our mission in manufacturing
A Q&A with Charles Johnson, worldwide managing director of manufacturing industry solutions at Microsoft
Published: June 7, 2005
The Microsoft Peak Performance Initiative is designed to accelerate insight through advanced analysis services, drive innovation through collaboration, and improve performance through increased visibility into operations across the manufacturing value chain. Microsoft and its partners are delivering mission-critical solutions focused on four areas: new product development performance, plant floor operations performance, global value chain performance, and sales and customer performance.
In this interview, Charles Johnson, the worldwide managing director for manufacturing industry solutions at Microsoft, provides an in-depth look at the company’s dedication to the manufacturing industry.
Johnson’s primary responsibility is to lead the development and implementation of the company’s global manufacturing strategy, including the prioritization of industry solutions and their alignment to its worldwide partner ecosystem.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View all answers
Q. What is the Microsoft vision for technology in manufacturing?
A. Our job is to help companies realize their full potential. Our vision is to accelerate our manufacturing customers’ insight into their business operations and empower their innovation through the effective use of technology.
We want to help our customers win in the global marketplace, and we believe that Microsoft products and Microsoft partner solutions can equip them to do so.
Q. What is the Peak Performance Initiative?
A. The goal of the Peak Performance Initiative is to focus on specific solutions that address manufacturing business and IT challenges. Manufacturers face unique challenges today, including increased demand for product innovation, competitive pressure to meet customer demands, an increasingly complex global supply chain, and operational productivity challenges.
As part of the Peak Performance Initiative, Microsoft is working with world-class partners to deliver solutions that enable manufacturers to achieve peak performance in new product development, operational performance, sales and customer service, and global supply chain performance.
Q. What prompted Microsoft to pursue this initiative?
A. Microsoft has been in the manufacturing space for more than 10 years. For many of those years, we focused exclusively on operations. In the past three years we took a proactive approach to developing solutions for the entire line of manufacturing business. We talked to customers and analysts who told us about the challenges manufacturers face today. We developed the Peak Performance Initiative to help manufacturers respond to these challenges.
Q. Which partners are participating in this initiative with Microsoft?
A. We have more than 35 unique partners participating directly in this initiative, including Invensys, Dassault, UGS, HP, Capgemini, Schlumberger, GE Fanuc, ABB, Aspentech, and SAP. The whole Microsoft partner ecosystem consists of more than 10,000 partners. We believe that all of our partners play a central role in helping us meet the needs of our manufacturing customers.
Q. What is the Microsoft financial investment in this initiative?
A. We invest a tremendous amount in Research and Development to make sure we understand and can address our manufacturing customer requirements.
We also draw on the expertise of people from across the organization to develop technology that can benefit the manufacturing industry.
Q. What are the key technologies supporting this initiative?
A. It’s very difficult to single out a specific technology; our customers really benefit from the entire stack of Microsoft products. Windows Server 2003, BizTalk Server 2004, and the .NET platform are critical to system integration efforts. Microsoft Office, SharePoint Portal Server, and Live Meeting play an important role in enabling collaboration.
It is really quite impressive how our customers are leveraging Microsoft technologies to improve innovation and collaboration, and to gain insight into plant operations.
Q. Can you give some examples of how the Microsoft platform and partner solutions are helping global manufacturers?
A. In terms of operational performance, we partnered with GE Fanuc to help Nissan add intelligence to the manufacturing floor. The Proficy Tracker, which is built on the .NET Framework and SQL Server, and the CIMPLICITY HMI/SCADA enabled Nissan to connect data across the entire assembly operation. The end result was a record launch of six new car models in 14 months and decreased integration costs by 80 percent on future projects.
In terms of new product development, we partnered with UGS to help Proctor & Gamble connect all internal and external global product teams. By deploying SharePoint Portal Server and a TeamCenter Community on every Desktop, Proctor & Gamble saw a 50-70 percent reduction in design review time.
Q. How does Microsoft technology help to improve communication and collaboration across manufacturing enterprises?
A. Having a geographically dispersed workforce makes collaboration and communication across enterprises much more difficult. Tools like SharePoint Portal Server, in combination with Microsoft Office 2003, make it much easier for engineers, suppliers, and managers to share documents. If there’s a need for immediate collaboration, they can turn to services like Live Meeting.
It’s these and other tools that ensure manufacturers can develop and deliver products that meet customer demands as efficiently as possible.
Q. Why would a manufacturing company choose Microsoft technology over that of another company, such as IBM, that is proven in this arena? Is Microsoft enterprise ready?
A. We realize that there are many established vendors in the manufacturing sector, but we think there are many reasons to choose Microsoft over companies like IBM. First, we have a proven track record of continuous innovation. Second, our platform offers a significant level of interoperability and seamless integration across multiple forms. Third, our solutions provide customers with the best total cost of ownership. The Microsoft platform is easy to use, easy to integrate with other systems, and highly adaptable to the manufacturing business. Finally, we have a strong partner ecosystem that enables us to develop solutions across all manufacturing areas.
Q. What about the security risks associated with the Microsoft Windows platform? Why should manufacturers place their confidence in Microsoft technology?
A. Microsoft is committed to building software and services to help better protect our customers and the industry. In addition to the many security services we provide, we’ve helped our customers figure out the appropriate architecture to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their data and systems. And we’ve worked with our partners to ensure that their platforms are more secure as well. Our customers can be confident that security is one of our biggest priorities.
Q. What steps is Microsoft taking to ensure that security is addressed in organizations across the manufacturing industry?
A. Microsoft supports efforts to advance security within and across manufac