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Power & Utilities

Microsoft's Smart Energy Reference Architecture

Microsoft has developed a reference architecture based on familiar, cost-effective Microsoft platforms that can serve as the basis for development of the “integrated utility of the future.” The Microsoft Smart Energy Reference Architecture (SERA) is Microsoft’s first comprehensive reference architecture that addresses technology integration throughout the full scope of the smart energy ecosystem. SERA has been endorsed by a number of global solutions providers whose energy industry solutions span the entire energy ecosystem — from the power grid to the home. SERA helps utilities by providing a method of testing the alignment of information technology with their business processes to create an integrated utility.

Holistic Life-user Experience

A holistic life-user experience enables all participants to view the smart energy ecosystem from the perspective of other participants. This equates to ensuring that the host company understands how customers experience the world and how technology fits into that experience. A technology architecture that facilitates the smart energy ecosystem will consist of:
  • A rich, integrated technology user experience for home, car, control center and field workers.
  • Browser-based collaboration using rich clients rendered appropriately across a multitude of devices.
  • Supporting functionality for collaboration and mashups through the use of Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server and services.
  • A unified communications infrastructure, where the nature of the underlying communication infrastructures are transparent to users.