Software solutions that benefit Planet Earth
Howdy! That seems like a strange way to start a blog considering I was born in Southern California, but I just like the friendly ring to it. My name is Paul Burstein and I'm part of the Global ISV team, managing the Microsoft relationship with Autodesk and Infor Global Solutions. On my team, we like to talk about how our work impacts Microsoft partners, and helps to make our customers "people ready." I’d like to tell you two stories about these partners and how they are impacting the world in a very positive way.
One of Infor's customers is Mohawk Paper. The pulp and paper industry is the 3rd largest contributor to green house gases behind the chemical and steel industries. Mohawk Paper has a very aggressive strategy to curb its carbon footprint. One of the ways they are they are doing that is to reduce energy consumption, by using Infor's Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) product. This gives Mohawk Paper information it needs such as insights into energy usage on the factory floor, to make better decisions regarding energy management. This is a great example of a software partner using the Microsoft platform to create not only a strong benefit for their customer, Mohawk Paper, but also for the rest of us living on Planet Earth. You can see a case study about this in Microsoft's Case Studies website.
Autodesk has a major initiative around sustainable design -- allowing designers and architects, engineers and product designers to see and understand at a deeper level the impact of their creation, allowing them to predict the performance of their design with specific considerations about the environment. Using Autodesk products customers are reducing material waste in their designs, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing the time, resources, and costs of making energy efficient buildings and products. An example of how smart design can favorably impact the earth can be seen at Rana Creek Restoration Ecology, which is dedicated to restoring butterflies, biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems. They measure each step of the design process to ensure that the natural environment can thrive. The ability of Autodesk software to visualize in 3D aids Rana Creek in preserving our world one project at a time.
Additionally, this week we recognized the thought leadership that Green Building Studio brings to intelligent building design as part of our Ingenuity Point contest. Autodesk is acquiring Green Building Studio, betting they can provide a better way to create building information management analysis to dramatically and positively influence the environment.
There are many ways in which working with partners impacts our lives. I'll keep looking for other examples to post.
Paul Burstein
Microsoft Senior Business Development Manager