To make the business case for virtualization, Tacoma Power management reviewed the costs and benefits. The justification was clear, as the company proved a small upfront investment with savings in the long run through speed, uptime, and significant risk reduction. With approval and support to proceed at the executive level, Tacoma Power added virtualization to its regular budget for system life-cycle replacement, leveraged an IT consultant for expert advice, and planned its deployment process.

The company deployed a multi-phase virtualization project with GE Digital’s HMI/SCADA iFIX using Microsoft Hyper-V across its hydroelectric and fish hatchery facilities. In addition to visualization and control, Tacoma Power also implemented iFIX for trending, troubleshooting, and continuous optimization. Data collection and management is critical for regulatory reporting as well as day-to-day operations. And, giving operators access to HMI screens from remote devices was important for speeding response to hatchery related alarms.