Cloud computing – ready when you are: Siemens offers services for remote maintenance based on Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform

Munich, Germany, Detecting system trouble early and fixing it without an on-site technician – the Common Remote Service Platform (CRSP) from Siemens makes it possible. To further improve this CRSP service, which uses a secure real-time data link between the customer’s IT system environment and Siemens’s service technicians, Siemens IT Solutions and Services has entered into a partnership with Microsoft and is one of the first service providers to offer software distribution via cloud computing on the basis of Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform. The advantages for the customer are obvious: Cloud services save costs, while the Azure platform ensures high availability as well as a flexible and scalable system environment.

Quick troubleshooting is a standard part of today’s service spectrum, but in times of tougher competition and rising cost pressures customers demand total support with contractually assured system availability. Global remote maintenance of systems and machines, also referred to as remote services, meets these requirements and delivers significant savings for investment and maintenance costs, because customers pay only for the services they actually use. One major challenge with regard to remote services is making the communication infrastructure for software distribution via the CSRP scalable and secure enough to prevent non-authorized access or data misuse. The Windows Azure platform from Microsoft provides the necessary functionalities. It features basic services such as system links, permanent data storage and high processing capacity which are available on a pay-per-use basis. What makes Siemens’s CRSP special: It exploits the Microsoft platform in order to benefit from its cost savings and its expandable links to customer networks.

“Reducing their IT costs continues to be a major challenge for our customers. Cloud-based solutions in connection with the Common Remote Service Platform can play a significant role in meeting this objective,” says Jürgen Müller, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Siemens IT Solutions and Services.

Siemens IT Solutions and Services is an internationally leading provider of IT solutions and services. It covers the entire IT service chain from a single source, from consulting to system integration, right through to the management of IT infrastructures. In addition, Siemens IT Solutions and Services extends the range of offerings of the other Siemens Sectors to include IT solutions. With its comprehensive know-how and industry-specific knowledge, Siemens IT Solutions and Services provides measurable added value for its customers. Siemens IT Solutions and Services employs more than 41,000 people and posts annual sales of about 5.3 billion euros, of which over 70 percent are generated outside of the Siemens Sectors. More information at: www.siemens.com/it-solutions.