On Windows, your first step is to try SetThreadExecutionState:
Enables an application to inform the system that it is in use, thereby preventing the system from entering sleep or turning off the display while the application is running
This is not a perfect solution but I assume this is not an issue for you:
The SetThreadExecutionState function cannot be used to prevent the user from putting the computer to sleep. Applications should respect that the user expects a certain behavior when they close the lid on their laptop or press the power button
The Windows 8 connected standby feature is also something you might need to consider. Looking at the power related APIs we find this description of PowerRequestSystemRequired:
The system continues to run instead of entering sleep after a period of user inactivity.
This request type is not honored on systems capable of connected standby. Applications should use PowerRequestExecutionRequired requests instead.
If you are dealing with tablets and other small devices then you can try to call PowerSetRequest with PowerRequestExecutionRequired to prevent this although the description of that is also not ideal:
The calling process continues to run instead of being suspended or terminated by process lifetime management mechanisms. When and how long the process is allowed to run depends on the operating system and power policy settings.
You might also want to use ShutdownBlockReasonCreate but I'm not sure if it blocks sleep/hibernate.
