In developed countries we give little thought to whether our water is clean or how it got there. But for more than 40 percent of the world’s population having a clean, sufficient water supply isn’t reality. In some cities, the U.N. has found that in some cities, up to 70 percent of the water is lost due to leaks and pipe bursts.

Grundfos, a global leader in advanced pumping solutions and water technology, is doing its part to provide everyone with access to clean water and sanitation, and Azure IoT is part of the process. Since opening its doors in 1945, Grundfos has produced energy-efficient pumps that move water to where it should be, whether for drinking, for treatment, or for crops.

Currently, Grundfos manufactures more than 16 million pumps a year that feature its smart pumping solutions, which identify and isolate faulty pipes and reroute water to its intended location. Through the collective power of Microsoft Azure, the Azure IoT Suite, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, Grundfos has increased the intelligence of its solution and added remote monitoring and maintenance services that will reduce costs and save time responding to emergencies.

With the Azure IoT Hub, the company’s solution can establish a fully-managed service that enables secure, two-way communication between its pumps and a customer’s monitoring console. Using Azure IoT Edge, it can then collect pump data in real time and synthesize it with Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Armed with the resulting insights, Grundfos’ smart pumps can predict, prevent, and react to issues as they arise. And if the weather forecast calls for excessive rainfall, Grundfos can use that external data to help isolate water and prevent flooding. This sets the stage for new services that add value for customers, improve disaster relief and sanitation, and save lives.

Safeguarding the water supply isn’t Grundfos’ only concern. Water pumps consume roughly 10 percent of the world’s electricity supply, making it a key contributor to climate change. With the predictive analytics abilities in Cortana Intelligence, Grundfos has the potential to forecast when power usage is at its lowest and reschedule pumps to work during off-peak hours.

Clearly, there is more to be done, but with the power of Azure IoT, Grundfos is helping to ensure that the global water supply is safe, reliable and efficient.

Check out the full customer story to learn more about Grundfos’ intelligent pump solution.