Windows 10 and the Microsoft cloud help Hendrick Motorsports gain a competitive edge

Kit McDonald

When you’re on the racetrack, everything moves at a faster pace. When you’re on the side as an IT team, the action can be even faster. In a recent blog post written by NASCAR fan Jason Campbell of Windows Commercial, he tells readers about how Hendrick Motorsports tackles the challenges of crossing the finish line with the help of Windows 10.

Hendrick Motorsports has transitioned all of their drivers and workers to Windows 10 operating systems and services. That’s approximately 600 employees that are on the Windows 10 Enterprise. According to their IT team, they saw a significant 64% reduction in installation and patching time which would be spent being a bit more productive.

According to their IT team, they saw a significant 64% reduction in installation and patching time which would be spent being a bit more productive.

Hendrick Motorsports uses Skype for Business and OneNote to keep each other in the loop with messages and conferences whether they are on the track or at their home base.

When the cars and the drivers are on the racetrack, the people behind the scenes work diligently to collect data about how the car is running, how the person is driving, and what can be done to improve their combined performance. At one point, they would have a team spend hours managing data into formats. But now a lot of their free time has been opened up with the use of Azure Cloud to parse the information for them.

Because Hendrick Motorsports needs some high power to manage all of that data, they chose Azure combined with Cortana Intelligence Suite where they can switch virtual machines one and off as needed without wasting money on their hardware.

A season is a marathon of 39 races. When you’re successful, it’s the challenges you win that you remember, not necessarily the champagne at the end,” says Doug Duchardt, General Manager at Hendrick Motorsports. “We’re using Windows 10, Microsoft Cloud and Office 365 to work together and get better every day—just as we do across all our race teams.”

The team felt confident that Windows has managed through the trial by fire out on the nontraditional field of the racetrack and that it plays a major role in the outcome of their sport.