Mainstream Renewable Power Using Microsoft for Complex Business Project Management

We’ve written in the past here and here about the unique business model of Mainstream Renewable Power, a company that designs and operates renewable energy installations around the world. MRP is unique in that it was an early adopter of the Smart Energy Reference Architecture to create solutions for its client engagements. Said another way, it is an all-Microsoft shop.

Now comes yet more acknowledgement of how well that has panned out for MRP, as evidenced by a case study here, that discusses how MRP has used Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft SharePoint to help it with wind and solar installments with Siemens Project Ventures. The firm is on its way to extending use of Microsoft Dynamics in the cloud, having already enjoyed these benefits:

· A future-proof strategy. “With Microsoft technologies, Mainstream was able to quickly grow from a small startup into a multinational business. And we’ve done this while retaining the same core set of applications with the certainty that we have a future-proof IT strategy,” says John Shaw, MRP’s chief information officer.

· Cutting-edge technology. What’s more, Shaw points out how each pillar of the Mainstream enterprise architecture has made full use of powerful niche capabilities not always found in competing solutions. From the document management functionality of Microsoft SharePoint, to the ability of Microsoft Dynamics AX to handle multiple legal entities, Microsoft technology underpins almost every aspect of the firm’s operations.

· Roadmap for future growth. The Microsoft technology roadmap and extensive investments in new capabilities are already helping to drive growth at Mainstream. “The coming year will see us moving our Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM functionality to the cloud, and upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012,” says Shaw. “We also plan to fully evaluate the project accounting module, and earned value analysis functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX.”

Take a few minutes to read the entire case study here. – Jon C. Arnold