Microsoft AI Hub is a new initiative that the Redmond company has activated as part of the quin plan quennial Ambition Italy # DigitalRestart. Microsoft has decided to also focus on artificial intelligence because this technology is able to help companies to grow rapidly, accelerating digital transformation processes: according to the study The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Italy conducted by AmCham Italy , companies that adopt these technologies will see an increase in turnover that is 3 percentage points above the average.

L’ But Italy is not yet ready for this revolution: only the 39% of companies are evaluating or testing AI, and only 23% of the projects are at an advanced stage . This is why it becomes important to spread knowledge through various initiatives.

Microsoft is also keen to underline an important aspect: AI should not be considered a trend, it should not be introduced just because everyone is doing it. For a successful implementation it is essential to start from the real needs and focus on the data , even before focusing on the experience. Once the needs have been identified, artificial intelligence can become a fundamental tool for meeting needs, thus showing the full potential of technology.

What is the Microsoft AI Hub

As part of the AI ​​Hub initiative , Microsoft will make available its skills and the Azure cloud platform with the aim of developing application scenarios that leverage data and AI, with the aim of identifying the realities that have the greatest potential for growth through a Date & AI Maturity Check-Up. Companies will be proposing pilot projects and sharing their expertise, while Microsoft will support them in development and implementation together with partners such as Accenture, Alterna, Altitudo, beanTech, Capgemini, DataSkills, Factory Software, Hevolus Innovation, Iconsulting, Integris, NTT DATA, Porini, Sopra Steria, 4ward.

The initiative will be aimed at companies operating in 6 key sectors for the Italian industry: manufacturing, financial services, health, energy, infrastructure and Made in Italy, which includes retail, fashion and design.

Microsoft AI Hub will also have the function of competence center, with the aim of spreading the digital culture and, as Ambizione Italia envisages, helping to bridge the knowledge gap digital. The platform will therefore be equipped with a section dedicated to training, with courses dedicated to young people, partners and companies. These are supported by the AI Business School of Microsoft , which plans to create training courses built around its needs and the sector in which you operate, courses that will also allow you to obtain certifications.

“ Italy has good potential, since the i-Com index on the degree of development of AI sees it in 13 ° position up 27 EU states, not far from Germany. To seize this opportunity, more needs to be done by helping companies to get closer to Artificial Intelligence and to develop projects with a real impact that can be easily replicated in the key sectors of the Italian economy, contributing to a virtuous cycle of relaunch “- he has declared Silvia Candiani, CEO of Microsoft Italy – “For this reason also the ‘AI is at the center of our commitment with the Ambition Italy #DigitalRestart plan, which just eight months after its launch has already seen us collaborate with companies and institutions to launch many initiatives aimed at contributing to the digital transformation of the country, from the Alliance for Smartworking to the Alliance for Sustainability, from support for SMEs to digital training for students. “.

AI, cloud and augmented reality: Microsoft’s customer success stories

During d In the presentation of AI Hub, Microsoft brought a few examples of companies that have leveraged its technologies to transform their business. Starting from the UNESCO site of Castel del Monte, which thanks to the collaboration of Hevolus, Infratel Italia and MS itself has introduced a visit modality phygital , which combines physical and virtual experience. Visitors to the museum will be able to access a series of augmented reality content via their smartphone while visiting the museum, via the app MVRGIA .

The solution implemented in Castel del Monte also provides the possibility to visit the museum remotely in Mixed Reality mode, using the HoloLens 2 viewer.

Another example comes from Ferragamo , well-known clothing brand, which created the service Tramezza Made -to-Order , which harnesses the potential of Azure and the HoloLens 2 headset.

Based on platform Augmented Store at Home by Hevolus , Tramezza Made-to -Order, allows customers to choose shoes from the Tramezza i augmented reality collection, observing a digital twin of the shoe and customizing its colors, details and finishes.

The last case of success given as an example is that of Stevanato , a specialized Paduan group in the production of glass containers for the pharmaceutical industry which in this period is producing components for Covid diagnostic tests – 19. In the two-year period 2018 – 19, Stevanato began his digital transformation journey by relying on Microsoft cloud and Microsoft 365, especially Teams. In 2020, in full pandemic, it was introduced Microsoft Dynamics , so as to obtain a single view on sales processes and customer engagement, and the group is continuing its journey by leveraging artificial intelligence and reality mixer . This has led to the launch of two projects in 7657 which, thanks to Hololens 2 and Azure Synapse, allowed to carry out virtual audio activities and to remotely run the Factory Acceptance Test , so as to be able to guarantee operations even during the lockdown.

Another project based on AI will allow to improve the performance of the inspection systems and recognition of defects in glass containers filled with different drugs: at the moment Stevanato is working on this solution, which will be completed for 2021.

“ The inspection systems work with three main parameters: speed linked to productivity, effectiveness in detecting defects (detection rate) and incidence of false positives that affect production costs “- explains Luca Vallati, Vision System Manager of Stevanato Group – “ In the pharmaceutical sector, artificial intelligence systems cannot operate in learning by doing mode, because the algorithms must be certified and crystallized. For this, reliable infrastructures (storage and computing power) and algorithms are required. Using different modules of the Microsoft Azure ecosystem and Microsoft’s Machine Learning and AI capabilities we have managed to reduce down to 10 times the false positives, therefore the deviations of pr oduction, and to improve the detection rate by 5%. The inspection machinery we supply to pharmaceutical companies is therefore increasingly intelligent “.