A high‐speed, industrial‐grade network infrastructure offers wind farm operators many benefits, including improved operational management, visibility and access to key data. Real‐time data access enables operators to monitor wind turbine uptime, performance and power output – even from remote locations. This data, which is used to track power generation efficiency and trends, provides predictive information that is critical to “Smart Grid” technology. After describing a typical wind farm environment, this white paper will explore six best practices that should be considered for effective wind farm operation.