Mainstream Renewable Power is set to adopt Windows 8 as part of its ongoing mobile IT strategy across its global operations. Mainstream is driving the Energy Bridge project in Ireland to develop and export 5,000 MW of new wind energy directly to the British market.
Mainstream is also a leader in Europe’s offshore wind energy, with a portfolio of over 5,500 MW across the North Sea waters of Scotland, England and Germany. A further 9,500 MW pipeline of onshore wind and solar projects are in progress across Canada, Chile, South Africa and the US.
As member of Microsoft’s Smart Energy Reference Architecture (SERA) programme, Mainstream is currently piloting Windows 8 across several offices. Once the pilot concludes, Windows 8 will be rolled out to all of Mainstream’s employees globally.
As part of the pilot, Mainstream were looking for
* A consistent and intuitive interface across PC, Tablet andMobiledevice
* Easy integration within an existing IT infrastructure
* A solution that would preserve its existing investment – no rip and replace or up skilling training required.
* A user interface delivering a very powerful experience that would be easy to adopt and efficient to use.
“Using Windows 8 has been a revelation,” says John Shaw, CIO, Mainstream. “The user interface is elegant, consistent and intuitive across multiple devices and its integration with our existing IT infrastructure means it is the perfect fit both culturally and technically. There has been no impact on the bottom line or to our cost of ownership. Ultimately, it has helped unify Mainstream’s outsourcing model.”
“Mainstream is a great example of an innovative early adopter using Windows 8 to both mobilise its staff and increase productivity without having to retrain staff or endure downtime to rip and replace,” says Martin Cullen, director SMS&P, Microsoft, “Given the size and scope of Mainstream’s global projects, its long term strategy adopting cloud services requires devices and services that can be easily and quickly adopted and adapted for their specific needs. We believe Windows 8 can deliver the perfect fit.”
Mainstream plans to develop future apps based on Windows 8. In the long term, Mainstream wants a cloud ready operating system as they fully migrate to tablets and other mobile devices.