Aker Solutions, a global integrated energy services company, is committed to driving sustainable change in the energy sector. With a strong emphasis on low-carbon and renewable solutions and a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the company is leveraging digitalization as a key strategy. Aker Solutions' adoption of Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) illustrates this commitment. Designed to address latency and workload challenges, AVD provides high-performance compute capabilities essential for its remote offshore installation workers. This initiative helps unify Aker Solutions' dispersed workforce while positioning the company at the forefront of the global energy transition.
"We engineer solutions that operate deep in remote oceanic locations worldwide. Precision in our designs is paramount; ensuring they are accurate safeguards both our personnel and the environment," explains Lijo John, Enterprise Architect at Aker Solutions, highlighting technology's pivotal role in supporting the Norwegian energy company's operations and ensuring safety for its remote engineers and machine operators.
"As a global company, our workforce is spread across the globe," John elaborates. "While we have office-based personnel, much of our work occurs at sea where engineers manage offshore installations."
The seamless and secure operation of these installations is crucial for Aker Solutions' service delivery. This requires remote engineers to run and visualize compute-intensive 3D simulation models for installation testing, maintenance, and other tasks—tasks traditionally reliant on physical workstations found in Aker Solutions' global office branches.
With Azure Virtual Desktop, Aker Solutions equips its dispersed workforce with the CPU and GPU capacity necessary to work from any location, optimizing cost savings and environmental benefits in alignment with the company's strategic goals.
"We are committed to significantly reducing our carbon footprint," notes John. "By 2050, we aim to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions—that's our target."

A company based on land and water
Aker Solutions, headquartered in Fornebu, Norway, operates globally with around 15,000 employees across more than 50 locations in 20 countries. The company focuses on providing integrated products and services to the global energy industry, emphasizing renewable solutions to meet future energy demands.
“Our mission is to solve global energy challenges for future generations,” says John, reflecting Aker Solutions' commitment to advancing low-carbon and renewable solutions and leading in the global energy transition through digitalization.
“We integrate physical operations with technology,” John explains. Each segment at Aker Solutions has a dedicated digitalization team that evaluates work processes to enhance efficiency, automation, and solution-oriented approaches.
Recognizing the potential of Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), John’s team identified significant benefits for Aker Solutions' diverse workforce. “We have two types of employees: office-based and field-based engineers delivering solutions to customers,” he notes. “Accessibility to technology and data is a major challenge for our dispersed workforce. Engineers in the field often face connectivity issues, hindering real-time data access, upload, and sharing.”
Engaging with Microsoft, Aker Solutions sought AVD to address these challenges effectively.
Providing high-performance computer power in a virtual environment
Managing technology costs across a fluctuating annual calendar poses a significant challenge for Aker Solutions.
“Our industry experiences rapid cycles of escalation and downturn,” explains John. “Projects intensify suddenly every few years, followed by periods of downturn where cost-cutting measures are implemented.”
“This cycle is constant. Therefore, having scalable technology that we can utilize as needed provides substantial cost-saving advantages.”

Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) enables organizations to provide full desktop computing capabilities to employees, regardless of their location or device.
“For Aker Solutions, this means equipping our offshore engineers with the high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities necessary for their roles,” John emphasizes.
“The AVD solutions we deploy for engineering applications are not standard virtual desktops; many are GPU-enabled to ensure users experience seamless operations similar to using physical CAD laptops in an office setting.
“This capability is crucial for tasks requiring detailed visual analysis, such as magnifying images or objects.”
Just by moving our global data center to Azure, we estimate we’ve achieved a 40% reduction in our data center CO2 emissions.
Lijo John: Enterprise Architect
Aker Solutions
Reaping the benefits of increased flexibility and scalability
Aker Solutions partnered with Microsoft's Cognizant to implement Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), leveraging Cognizant's expertise gained from ongoing digital transformation projects with the energy company.
Previously, Aker Solutions faced challenges with high business demand for short periods, requiring costly and inflexible capacity adjustments. Latency issues also hindered remote work efficiency.
With AVD and an Azure-based HPC cluster orchestrated by CycleCloud, these challenges were overcome. Users now enjoy consistent experiences whether in offices, offshore installations, or at home.
User feedback has been positive, emphasizing improved experiences regardless of data location. AVD's scalability aligns perfectly with Aker Solutions' fluctuating needs throughout the year.

Supporting the company to meet its carbon reduction goals
In addition to improving performance and adopting a more flexible and cost-efficient operational approach, Azure Virtual Desktop is pivotal in driving Aker Solutions towards its strategic objectives.
John emphasizes, "In addition to all the cloud's other benefits, we are committed to achieving our 2050 goal of net-zero carbon emissions. We leverage modern technologies like Azure to support this ambition. By migrating our global data center to Azure, we estimate a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions."
He concludes, "Our next step is to further close our on-premises data centers and fully transition our workloads to the cloud. With the support of Microsoft and Cognizant, we are confident in achieving our goals and exceeding expectations."
Learn more here.