Customer Success Stories

AMI Entertainment Network, a leading developer of touch-screen games for the entertainment industry, wanted to stay ahead of the competition with advanced connectivity and improved support for hardware and 3-D game developments. AMI replaced its Embedded Linux operating system with Windows Embedded Standard 7, implementing cloud-based services to enhance the gaming experience and give game operators enterprise management capability and better business. The solution allowed AMI to cut development time by 50 percent, and enabled game operators to increase revenue.

AREVA Multibrid GmbH, a leader in wind power plants, teamed with embedded industrial automation leader Beckhoff to solve many of the reliability issues associated with generating wind power at sea. An embedded controller, running the Windows Embedded Compact family and motion-control software, transformed the Multibrid M5000 wind turbine into a fully automated, self-monitoring energy plant. Six M5000 turbines, capable of powering up to 50,000 German households, were recently installed in a North Sea test site, where they reliably and efficiently generate clean energy with predictable service intervals.

BMW drivers expect a premium experience in their cars and the company always delivers. Continuously innovative, the company turned to Continental Corporation to design an affordable infotainment system while maintaining rigorous standards for quality. Powered by Windows Embedded Automotive, the solution offers multimedia entertainment, support for mobile phones, media players, and integration with numerous other embedded systems in the car with a well-supported platform that includes updates for future mobile devices and familiar development tools. The benefits are extended to car aficionados worldwide, who can enjoy easy connectivity with multiple devices and services across the BMW product line.

Bravo Outdoor Advertising, which sells and manages advertising panels on public transit vehicles and roadways in Ireland, wanted to secure new business by delivering content on digital panels. Pica Vision, a provider of digital media solutions, designed an intelligent digital advertising system anchored by Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Microsoft SQL Azure. The innovative new solution has the potential to attract 50 percent more views over a traditional static panel and uses GPS information to customize content in real time based on route and vehicle. By taking advantage of an intelligent system, the company is increasing revenue, cutting maintenance costs and gaining a stronger competitive advantage.

Carl's Jr. of Las Vegas, a quick-service restaurant chain, wanted to upgrade its point-of-service (POS) solution by connecting local POS devices with the corporate network, improving profitability and customer service, and supporting business growth. To meet its goals, Carl's Jr. implemented a POS system based on PAR EverServ QSR software and Windows Embedded. Now the company has an end-to-end solution that helps it serve customers faster and gain better control of food and labor costs. Carl's Jr. has also eased management and business expansion with cloud-based reporting and administration tools.

The Cincinnati Reds, one of baseball's most historic franchises, has also become one of its most technology-savvy, with intelligent systems that enhance their fans' experiences and improve operations. From ticketing and sales, to marketing, creative, operations, accounting and even scouting for players, connected systems based on Microsoft technology create efficiencies and cost savings, and improve the fans' experience. At the gate, tickets are scanned instantly using Windows Embedded-based handheld devices; the data is synced to a SQL database for back-office business intelligence. Vendors’ menus and other concourse displays are controlled centrally, and display technology at the ballpark extends across the stadium concourses into vendors’ booths throughout the facility, so fans never miss a play.

To expand market share in an increasingly competitive marketplace, Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company wanted to improve the quality of its infotainment system by offering a customizable user interface and compatibility with multiple devices. Dissatisfied with its Linux-based system, Dongfeng Nissan chose a solution from Shenzhen Hazens Automotive Electronics Company based on Windows Embedded. The infotainment system provides high-definition satellite imagery navigation, digital television, rear-seat entertainment, digital media player functionality and compatibility with diverse standards of 3G/4G networks. The extensible solution also works with a variety of downloaded applications and peripheral devices. Dongfeng Nissan reported increased sales of its car models equipped with the new infotainment system. Moreover, the solution is more reliable, easier to maintain and delivers superior usability that further enhances customers' driving experience.

Europe’s most successful retailer of cosmetics and fragrances, Douglas, worked closely with Wincor Nixdorf, a leading provider of IT solutions and services, to develop retail point of service (POS) systems that meet its evolving business and technical requirements, while making its customer services more personalized, secure, speedy, reliable and desirable. Douglas migrated its cash registers to Windows Embedded POSReady for stronger security and remote management; standards-based plug-and-play support for peripherals; the flexibility to deploy flash-bootable devices for greater reliability; and the ability to add and remove components after deployment to enable new applications and business processes that enhance customer services.

One of the nation's largest discount retailers, Family Dollar Stores has strategic business initiatives in place to support its growth objectives. To get those strategies implemented at the store level, Family Dollar needed to revamp its 16,000 checkout lanes and legacy point of service (POS) systems. Toshiba TEC America and Microsoft Corp. partnered with Family Dollar to develop a POS solution designed to improve services, processes and business value. Windows Embedded for Point of Service provided a stable, secure, multitasking operating system and leveraged Family Dollar's existing investments in Microsoft technology. The POS terminal provided access to both centralized and decentralized store applications, enabling higher employee productivity, improved customer service and new revenue streams.

Fast Retailing, which operates 960 international clothing stores with 40,000 employees, wanted to improve customer service and business intelligence by automating its corporate inventory system and sales reporting while increasing productivity through improved employee time-management.

An iconic car manufacturer, Fiat Group wanted to build on its long history of continuous innovation by offering the most current communication and entertainment technologies in 15 car models, including Fiat and Chrysler. To meet that goal, the company turned to Continental to design an affordable infotainment system within 18 months. Powered by Windows Embedded Automotive, the solution offers multimedia entertainment, integration with the Fiat eco:Drive application, and support for mobile phones, media players, and TomTom satellite navigation. The company projects an increase of up to 40 percent in market penetration by adapting the affordable, high-quality system to multiple brands and models. Fiat has also cut its own deployment time and risk while enhancing driving experience, safety and fuel efficiency.

Ever since Henry Ford built the world's first manufacturing assembly line in 1913, the Ford Motor Company has been a symbol of innovation worldwide. In the 21st century, Ford is breaking new ground in telematics. Partnering with Microsoft, Ford created SYNC, its best-selling infotainment system to date. At the heart of SYNC is Windows Embedded Automotive, which delivers a powerful and reliable platform with numerous connectivity options and turns SYNC into a gateway for phones, digital music players and more. SYNC not only helped sell more Ford cars, but it strengthened consumer perceptions of Ford as a leader in safety, quality and smart technology.

Giletta, a leading winter-services-equipment manufacturer in Italy, partnered with the European Commission to create an intelligent road de-icing system. Salt spreading is essential for winter road safety, but the large quantities of salt required have a high environmental impact and social costs. Giletta's system, based on Windows Embedded, receives weather information from Galileo satellites to provide remarkable improvements in terms of accuracy of the salt-spreading machine's position, allowing for a significant reduction of salt amounts needed for de-icing operations.

Hannover Medical School, a leading university medical center in Germany, required a new fleet of systems for critical patient facilities, intensive care units and operating rooms. Hannover turned to the Penta Medical Express system running Windows Embedded Standard 7 to meet its industry requirements, including connectivity to a wide range of medical devices and compatibility with thousands of healthcare software applications. The systems also help the school save time, increase productivity and improve data accuracy in managing patient information.

Hillcrest Family Health Center, a network of 12 family and specialty medicine clinics, needed a better way to manage hundreds of computing devices. An electronic health record system required constant patches and fixes, making support costly and time consuming. Roby Solutions, a local systems integrator, proposed a solution based on Wyse thin clients running Windows Embedded Standard to connect to Windows Server 2008 R2 running Microsoft Hyper-V Virtualization. The new system centralized IT resources for easier management; allowed users to connect to their personalized, dedicated desktop from anywhere; and reduced Hillcrest's infrastructure costs by approximately 35 percent.

Jeroen Bosch Hospital (JBH), an innovative medical center in the Netherlands, wanted to install interactive terminals at patient bedsides that would seamlessly connect doctors to patients. JBH chose Patientline, a leading provider of hospital bedside solutions, to deliver 800 touch-screen terminals in an intelligent system anchored by Windows Embedded. Managed by Patientline, the integrated solution gives patients and staff access to multimedia entertainment, communications tools and electronic health records. In addition, Patientline cut time-to-market in half and reduced related IT maintenance costs by 40 percent, while the hospital expects to gain 50 percent ROI by offering additional services.

Kia Motors wanted to build an infotainment system with voice- and touch-activated experiences that would match the expectations of people who play video games, connect to social media and carry mobile devices. Built on the Windows Embedded Automotive platform, Kia created the UVO system which fully integrates Microsoft Tellme embedded speech technology. UVO, short for 'Your Voice,' features a breakthrough user interface that provides simple and quick access to a vehicle's multimedia and infotainment systems.

As Korea's rail operator, Korail has a responsibility to ensure passengers reach their destinations on time and in the greatest comfort possible. With cashless payments on the increase in Korea, Korail wanted to embrace this technology on its trains and give passengers further payment options besides cash. The operator decided to roll out devices for card payments running Windows Embedded for Point of Service as the operating system to support this initiative. This decision resulted in a ten-percent increase in sales, improved efficiency in sales management and access to business data in real-time to drive future performance initiatives.

To handle continuous production for Chrysler Group's Jeep Wrangler, KUKA Systems Group needed an automated manufacturing solution that would connect assembly-line robots with a controller, multiple devices, applications and back-end systems. The company implemented an intelligent system anchored by Windows Embedded and Microsoft SQL Server that controls 246 robots and produces more than 700 car bodies each day. The new solution added flexibility to the manufacturing process, provided continuous uptime and increased visibility.

Nakajima USA, a specialty retailer best known for distributing Sanrio "Hello Kitty" products, wanted to improve the customer shopping experience while keeping tighter control over inventory and ordering for higher profitability. The retailer recently replaced its aging point-of-sale (POS) solution with Retail Anywhere's POS and retail-management system, powered by Microsoft Windows Embedded POSReady. Benefits of the new system included a 25 percent decrease in POS operating costs and significant improvements in credit/gift card processing and inventory functions.

The 2011 Nissan LEAF is the latest example of an affordable car that uses advanced technology to enhance the driving experience. The 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF uses its advanced intelligent transportation (IT) system to help drivers maximize their zero-emission driving capability. This advanced IT system delivers a steady stream of information, such as a real-time locator for public charging, timers for charging and running heat or air conditioning, energy usage and other tools to help the driver more efficiently use the vehicle. All these features can be quickly accessed through Nissan LEAF’s easy-to-use, touch-screen Information Hub, powered by the Windows Embedded Automotive platform.

Rockford Health System, an award-winning regional healthcare provider with over 3,000 employees, needed to speed adoption of electronic health records while allowing hospital staff to quickly and securely access disparate healthcare records and applications.

Royal Caribbean International wanted to gain better insight into customer behavior and enhance workflow for processes such as food-safety inspection on its innovative cruise ships. To improve operations, Royal Caribbean deployed a Windows Embedded-powered solution from Agilysys and ParTech (PAR) that includes point-of-sale (POS) and inspection products. By creating an intelligent system, Royal Caribbean implemented more effective selling strategies and automated data-handling processes to improve profitability and cut operating costs. Royal Caribbean also improved workflow throughout the ships, including reducing food-inspection time from five to two hours, and enhanced the customer experience by sharing data seamlessly among multiple devices and venues.

Shanghai CHILO Press Company, a Chinese manufacturer of iron core motors, wanted to increase profitability and accuracy by eliminating manual inventory-management processes. To improve efficiency, the company implemented an automated inventory solution based on an intelligent system that wirelessly connected Motorola handheld devices to a back-end ERP system. As a result, CHILO has cut its loss rate by 46 percent, gained better control over inventory, improved business agility and strengthened its competitive advantage.

SMG, a global leader in venue management, was focused on boosting profits at the 8,000-seat Sioux Falls Arena by replacing aging cash registers and menu boards. Value-added reseller Dakota Retail Technologies put together a solution based on Touch Dynamic Breeze All-in-One POS devices running Windows Embedded POSReady. SMG saw an increase in sales from new integrated high-speed credit card processing, new digital menu screens and connectivity with handheld POS terminals based on the Windows Embedded Compact family. Integration with back-office Windows Servers for advanced inventory control and reporting resulted in higher profits. As a result, full ROI is expected in less than 12 months.

South Jersey Healthcare wanted to improve patient care by providing critical data to medical professionals across multiple campuses. To improve efficiency, South Jersey Healthcare replaced manual medication-distribution processes with an automated dispensing system from Omnicell that runs on the Windows Embedded Standard 7 operating system. Because the solution shares information across multiple applications and devices, medical staff have better visibility into patient care and more control of their workflow. By using the automated solution, the pharmacy has cut delivery time for patient medication from two hours to 18 minutes. In addition, South Jersey Healthcare can more easily meet electronic health-record regulatory requirements, improve inventory control and simplify IT management.

State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the largest electric power transmission and distribution company in the world, wanted a monitoring and control system for power transmission and distribution equipment located in harsh, demanding environments. Working with ABB Group, a worldwide leader in power and automation technologies, SGCC implemented a compact and rugged data acquisition and supervisory control system for production process control and scheduling automation. A Windows Embedded Server appliance monitors and controls on-site equipment, including measurement, parameter adjustment and signal alarms. The system improves network reliability, security and efficiency, to achieve power transmission and distribution automation and modernization.

Syndicat Mixte Autolib’ is an electric car-sharing program established by the city of Paris and 46 surrounding municipalities to relieve traffic congestion, reduce noise and air pollution, and provide people with more flexible transit options. Implemented by logistics company IER, the intelligent system based on Windows Embedded provides connectivity between the in-car system, registration and rental kiosks, charging stations and a central management system. Available around the clock, the solution has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 metric tons annually and replaced 25,000 privately owned gas vehicles. By using Autolib’, former car owners have cut their transportation costs by approximately 90 percent annually. Autolib’ subscribers also enjoy an enhanced driving experience with GPS navigation, free parking and personalized settings. The flexible solution also simplifies implementation and minimizes deployment risk, which makes it easier for Autolib’ to implement new features and services.

To support growth and simplify innovation, the United Kingdom's fifth-largest food retailer, the Co-operative Group, replaced its Oracle customer-management system with a solution based on Microsoft data warehousing technology for strong support and interoperability. The solution reduced the cost of the company's growth plans by tens of millions of dollars, simplified reporting and development, and improved the security of customer information.

Hilton Reservations & Customer Care needed thin clients for a work-at-home program for room-reservation agents. Wyse V90 thin clients, based on the Windows Embedded Standard family, offered seamless compatibility with Win32-based applications, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, and connectivity with Citrix application delivery software. Confidence in this solution was boosted by the fact that the Hilton IT staff was already familiar with Microsoft tools and systems. At the end of fiscal year 2009, nearly one-third of Hilton's US reservation agents were working from home.

The world's largest home improvement retailer, The Home Depot, has made it a top priority to ensure its more than 300,000 associates spend as little time as possible on back-end tasks and instead serve customers. That requires technology that not only simplifies processes such as inventory management and business analytics, but also speeds up checkout, seamlessly connects online and store processes, enables quick communication between associates, and puts information at the fingertips of sales associates. To achieve this goal, a team consisting of members from Motorola Solutions, The Home Depot and Microsoft have defined a next-generation device that will give The Home Depot's sales associates advanced tools such as voice search and easy-to-use, touch-enabled line of business applications that can withstand the daily rigor of the retail environment.

Since 2006, University of Colorado Hospital, a leader in using technology to improve patient outcomes while reducing the costs of healthcare, has been rolling out Wyse thin clients running the Windows XP Embedded operating system. Hospital workers use more than 500 of these advanced devices to access health IT data quickly and securely with a familiar and easy-to-use interface. The thin clients save money by reducing energy consumption and system failures.