Microsoft solutions for manufacturing industry

The manufacturing market is a challenging and demanding environment, characterised by fierce competition and rapid change. A key element of all manufacturing strategies is information technology. The purpose of this document is to describe how Microsoft technology can be deployed to build up information technology solutions for manufacturing companies. The document is tailored for information system managers, design engineers, manufacturing engineers, production engineers and their managers. IT systems for manufacturing industry have to be flexible, integrated, easy to use and affordable. The paper shows how Microsoft is addressing these requirements, with technologies such as Windows NT, BackOffice, ActiveX controls, OPC and more. There is also practical guidance for manufacturing companies in developing an action plan to make the transition to a Windows NT environment