For the past several years, developers from around the world have gathered here in Seattle, the original “Cloud City,” to meet, exchange ideas, hone or learn skills, build community. This year, we won’t be meeting in person, but the spirit of the event will continue as we move online – and the response we’ve received from our community of developers looking to learn, connect and code at Microsoft Build 2020 has been overwhelming, and quite frankly, humbling. This will likely be our biggest event ever … not just for Build, but for all the events that Microsoft holds. Wow.
The title of our show is a fitting mantra to this unprecedented era we find ourselves in: Build.
Socrates (not the Greek philosopher; the gas station attendant) once said: “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” We believe the developer community is the next wave to join the ranks of those who will build and re-build organizations, industries, communities.
This week, we celebrate the critical role of developers and their tireless efforts to rally during this time of crisis. We’ve unveiled a range of new tools and services to meet their needs to provide immediate impact and value, empowering innovations that help organizations and individuals achieve more.
As work environments evolve, you’ll see how we’re creating solutions to help companies build, rebuild and thrive, including new tools that enable developers to design and deliver artificial intelligence (AI) applications in an ethical and responsible way, as well as help them build connected productivity experiences.
You’ll see an emphasis on impact and value, delivering solutions within Azure, M365 and Windows – from tools to help developers be more collaborative and productive at work, to services that give customers the flexibility to deploy AI capabilities in any environment – and with no prior coding experience.
And finally, you’ll see a nod to technical excellence, and how we’re looking to help developers achieve more in the future through AI and other technology advancements.
Key news highlights:
We’re introducing Azure Synapse Link, bringing operational database services and analytics together in real-time. Launched initially in Azure Cosmos DB, but coming soon to all operational systems, Azure Synapse Link helps customers lower costs and reduce time to gain valuable insights without managing data movement.
Platform enhancements to Microsoft Teams include a streamlined experience for developers to build and publish Teams apps from Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code; the ability for IT admins to evaluate and deploy line-of-business and ISV applications for their users in Teams; and new ways for people to discover and engage with apps in Teams.
We are announcing updates to Fluid Framework, including making it open source to developers, and introducing the first way for end users to experience Fluid with the upcoming availability of Fluid components and Fluid workspaces in Office.com and Outlook for the Web.
We’re delivering new Responsible ML tools in Azure Machine Learning and our OSS toolkits to help customers deploy AI models more responsibly by improving model interpretability, reducing unfairness while ensuring data privacy and confidentiality.
To help unify app development across 1 billion Windows 10 devices we’re introducing Project Reunion: our vision for evolving the Windows developer platform to make it easier to integrate across Win32 and UWP APIs and build great apps that work across all the Windows 10 versions and devices people use.
We’re further investing in bringing comprehensive low-code Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology into Power Automate with the acquisition of Softomotive, a leading provider of low-code, easy-to-use RPA development environments. Softomotive’s technology will complement UI flows to streamline how our customers get work done.
We’re announcing one of the world’s most powerful AIsupercomputers built in Azure. Developed in collaboration with and exclusively for OpenAI, this supercomputer is purpose-built to train massive distributed AI models, giving it all the benefits of a dedicated appliance paired with the benefits of Azure’s robust modern cloud infrastructure.
We’re highlighting pitches from six finalist teams in this year’s Imagine Cup, and unveiling the 2020 champion as part of Microsoft’s commitment to helping students develop big, bold ideas by providing tools, programs and technology to learn the skills they’ll need to create. Top ideas include solutions that help improve treatment of youth living with mental illness; tools that help battle misinformation in the media; and technology that better enable physicians to detect early onset Parkinson’s disease and track patient progress throughout treatment plans.
And lastly, we’re introducing Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, our first industry-specific cloud offering, which brings together capabilities for customers and partners to enrich patient engagement, connect caregiving teams, and improve collaboration, decision-making and operational efficiencies. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare will support capabilities such as the new Bookings app in Teams, now generally available to customers across industries to help schedule, manage and conduct business-to-consumer virtual appointments. Teams supports HIPAA compliance and is HITRUST-certified.
Thanks for joining us this year as we try something – and build something – new together.
Be sure to check out all the highlights on our Microsoft Build site – including key segments from Microsoft executives – and other session content available virtually.
Anyone who runs a business knows that one of the hardest things to do is accuse a customer of malfeasance. That’s why, before members of Scandinavian Airlines’ fraud detection unit accuse a customer of attempting to scam the carrier’s loyalty points program, the detectives need confidence that their case is solid.
“It would hurt us even more if we accidentally managed to say that something is fraud, but it isn’t,” said Daniel Engberg, head of data analytics and artificial intelligence for SAS, which is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
The airline is currently flying a reduced schedule with limited in-flight services to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Before the restrictions, SAS handled more than 800 departures per day and 30 million passengers per year. Maintaining the integrity of the EuroBonus loyalty program is paramount as the airline waits for regular operations to resume, noted Engberg.
EuroBonus scammers, he explained, try to gain as many points as quickly as possible to either book reward travel for themselves or to sell. When fraud occurs, legitimate customers lose an opportunity to claim seats reserved for the loyalty program and SAS loses out on important business revenue.
Today, a large portion of leads on EuroBonus fraud come from an AI system that Engberg and his team built with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, a service for building, training and deploying machine learning models that are easy to understand, protect and control.
The SAS AI system processes streams of real-time flight, transaction, award claims and other data through a machine learning model with thousands of parameters to find patterns of suspicious behavior.
To understand the model predictions, and thus chase leads and build their cases, the fraud detection unit relies on an Azure Machine Learning capability called interpretability, powered by the InterpretML toolkit. This capability explains what parameters were most important in any given case. For example, it could point to parameters that suggest a scam of pooling points from ghost accounts to book flights.
Model interpretability helps take the mystery out of machine learning, which in turn can build confidence and trust in model predictions, noted Engberg.
“If we build the trust in these models, people start using them and then we can actually start reaping the benefits that the machine learning promised us,” he said. “It’s not about explainability for explainability’s sake. It’s being able to provide both our customers and our own employees with insights into what these models are doing and how they are taking positions for us.”
Graphic courtesy of Microsoft.
Understand, protect and control your machine learning solution
Over the past several years, machine learning has moved out of research labs and into the mainstream, and has transformed from a niche discipline for data scientists with Ph.D.s to one where all developers are expected to be able to participate, noted Eric Boyd, corporate vice president of Microsoft Azure AI in Redmond, Washington.
Microsoft built Azure Machine Learning to enable developers across the spectrum of data science expertise to build and deploy AI systems. Today, noted Boyd, all developers are increasingly asked to build AI systems that are easy to explain and that comply with non-discrimination and privacy regulations.
“It is very challenging to have a good sense of, ‘Hey, have I really assessed whether my model is behaving fairly?’ or ‘Do I really understand why this particular model is predicting the way it is?’” he said.
To navigate these hurdles, Microsoft today announced innovations in responsible machine learning that can help developers understand, protect and control their models throughout the machine learning lifecycle. These capabilities can be accessed through Azure Machine Learning and are also available in open source on GitHub.
The ability to understand model behavior includes the interpretability capabilities powered by the InterpretML toolkit that SAS uses to detect fraud in the EuroBonus loyalty program.
In addition, Microsoft said the Fairlearn toolkit, which includes capabilities to assess and improve the fairness of AI systems, will be integrated with Azure Machine Learning in June.
Microsoft also announced that WhiteNoise, a toolkit for differential privacy, is now available to developers to experiment with in open source on GitHub and can also be accessed through Azure Machine Learning. The differential privacy capabilities were developed in collaboration with researchers at the Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science and School of Engineering.
Differential privacy techniques make it possible to derive insights from private data while providing statistical assurances that private information such as names or dates of birth can be protected.
For example, differential privacy could enable a group of hospitals to collaborate on building a better predictive model on the efficacy of cancer treatments while at the same time helping to adhere to legal requirements to protect the privacy of hospital information and helping to ensure that no individual patient data leaks out from the model.
Azure Machine Learning also has built-in controls that enable developers to track and automate their entire process of building, training and deploying a model. This capability, known to many as machine learning and operations, or MLOps, provides an audit trail to help organizations meet regulatory and compliance requirements.
“MLOps is really thinking around the operational, repeatable side of machine learning,” said Boyd. “How do I keep track of all the different experiments that I have run, the parameters that were set with them, the datasets that were used in creating them. And then I can use that to recreate those same things.”
Sarah Bird, Microsoft’s responsible AI lead for Azure AI based in New York City, helps create tools that make responsible machine learning accessible to all developers. Photo courtesy of Sarah Bird.
Contextual bandits and responsibility
In the mid-2010s, Sarah Bird and her colleagues at Microsoft’s research lab in New York were working on a machine learning technology called contextual bandits that learn through exploration experiments how to perform specific tasks better and better over time.
For example, if a visitor to a news website clicks on a story about cats, the contextual bandit learns to present the visitor more stories about cats. To keep learning, the bandit performs experiments such as showing the visitor stories about the Jacksonville Jaguars, a sports team, and the hit musical “Cats.” What story the visitor clicks is another learning data point that leads to greater personalization.
“When it works, it is amazing, you get personalization lifts that you’ve never seen before,” said Bird, who now leads responsible AI efforts for Azure AI. “We started talking to customers and working with our sales team to see who wants to pilot this novel research tech.”
The sales leads gave Bird pause. As potential customers floated ideas about using contextual bandits to optimize the job interview process and insurance claim adjudications, she realized that many people lacked understanding on how contextual bandits work.
“I started saying, ‘Is it even ethical to do experimentation in those scenarios?’” Bird recalled.
The question led to discussions with colleagues in the Fairness, Accountability, Transparency and Ethics in AI research group, or FATE, and a research collaboration on the history of experimental ethics and the implications for reinforcement learning, the type of machine learning behind contextual bandits.
“The technology is good enough that we are using it for real use cases, and if we are using it for real use cases that affect people’s lives, then we better make sure that it is fair and we better make sure that it is safe,” said Bird, who now focuses full time on the creation of tools that make responsible machine learning accessible to all developers.
Huskies, wolves and scammers
Within a few years, ethical AI research had exploded around the world. Model fairness and interpretability were hot topics at major industry gatherings and responsible machine learning tools were being described in the academic literature.
In 2016, for example, Marco Tulio Ribeiro, now a senior researcher at Microsoft’s research lab in Redmond, presented a technique in an academic conference paper to explain the prediction of any classifier, such as computer vision models trained to classify between objects in photos.
To demonstrate the technique, he deliberately trained a classifier to predict “wolf” if a photo had a snowy background and “husky” if there was no snow. He then ran the model on photos of wolves mostly in snowy backgrounds and huskies mostly without snow and showed the results to machine learning experts with two questions: Do you trust the model? How is it making predictions?
Microsoft senior researcher Marco Tulio Ribeiro found that many machine learning experts trusted this model that predicts whether an image is of a wolf or husky. Then he gave them the model explanation, which shows the predictions are based on whether there is snow in the background. “Even experts are likely to be fooled by a bad model,” he said. Graphic courtesy of Microsoft. Photos via Getty.
Many of the machine learning experts said they trusted the model and presented theories on why it was predicting wolves or huskies such as wolves have pointier teeth, noted Ribeiro. Less than half mentioned the background as a potential factor and almost no one zeroed in on the snow.
“Then I showed them the explanations, and after seeing the explanations, of course everyone basically got it and said, ‘Oh, it is just looking at the background,’” he said. “This is a proof-of-concept; even experts are likely to be fooled by a bad model.”
A refined version of Ribeiro’s explanation technique is one of several interpretability capabilities available to all developers using interpretability on Azure Machine Learning, the toolkit that SAS’s fraud detection unit uses to build cases against scammers in the EuroBonus loyalty program.
Other AI solutions that SAS is creating with Azure Machine Learning include one for ticket sales forecasting and a system that optimizes fresh food stocking for in-flight purchases. The fresh food solution reduced food waste by more than 60% before fresh food sales were halted as part of global efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Engberg and his data analytics and artificial intelligence team continue to build, train and test machine learning models, including further experimentation with the Azure Machine Learning capabilities for interpretability and fairness.
“The more we go into things affecting our customers or us as individuals, I think these concepts of fairness, explainable AI, responsible AI, will be even more important,” said Engberg.
Assessing and mitigating unfairness
Bird’s colleagues in FATE pioneered many of the capabilities in the Fairlearn toolkit. The capabilities allow developers to examine model performance across groups of people such as those based on gender, skin tone, age and other characteristics.
“It could be you have a great idea of what fairness means in an application and because these models are so complex, you might not even notice that it doesn’t work as well for one group of people as another group,” explained Bird. “Fairlearn is allowing you to find those issues.”
Eric Boyd, Microsoft corporate vice president of Azure AI in Redmond, Wash., said innovations in responsible machine learning can help developers build AI systems that are easy to explain and comply with non-discrimination and privacy regulations. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.
EY, a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, piloted fairness capabilities in the Fairlearn toolkit on a machine learning model the firm built for automated lending decisions.
The model was trained on mortgage adjudication data from banks that includes transaction and payment history and credit bureau information. This type of data is generally used to enable assessment of the client’s capability and willingness to pay back a loan. But it also raises concerns about regulatory, legal issues and potential unfairness against applicants of specific demographics.
EY used Fairlearn to evaluate the fairness of model outputs with regards to biological sex. The toolkit, which surfaces results on a visual and interactive dashboard, revealed a 15.3 percentage point difference between positive loan decisions for males versus females.
The Fairlearn toolkit allowed the modelling team at EY to quickly develop and train multiple remediated models and visualize the common trade-off between fairness and model accuracy. The team ultimately landed on a final model that optimized and preserved overall accuracy but reduced the difference between males and females to 0.43 percentage points.
The ability for any developer to assess and mitigate unfairness in their models is becoming essential across the financial industry, noted Boyd.
“Increasingly we’re seeing regulators looking closely at these models,” he said. “Being able to document and demonstrate that they followed the leading practices and have worked very hard to improve the fairness of the datasets are essential to being able to continue to operate.”
Responsible machine learning
Bird believes machine learning is changing the world for the better, but she said all developers need the tools and resources to build models in ways that put responsibility front and center.
Consider, for example, a research collaboration within the medical community to compile COVID-19 patient datasets to build a machine learning model that predicts who is at high risk of serious complications from the novel coronavirus.
Before such a model is deployed, she said, the developers need to make sure they understand how it makes decisions in order to explain the process to doctors and patients. The developers will also want to asses fairness, ensuring the model captures the known elevated risks to males, for example.
“I don’t want a model that never predicts that men are high risk, that would be terrible,” said Bird. “Then, obviously, I want to make sure that the model is not revealing the data of the people it was trained on, so you need to use differential privacy for that.”
Top image: An SAS AI-powered fraud detection tool processes streams of real-time flight information along with transaction, award claims and other data through a machine learning model to find patterns of suspicious behavior. An Azure Machine Learning capability called interpretability explains what model parameters were most important in any given case of suspected fraud. Photo courtesy of SAS.
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John Roach writes about Microsoft research and innovation. Follow him on Twitter.
Companies collaborate to make video analytics solutions more accessible in order to drive better business outcomes
TOKYO — May 19, 2020 — Sony Semiconductor Solutions (Sony) and Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft) today announced they are partnering to create solutions that make AI-powered smart cameras and video analytics easier to access and deploy for their mutual customers.
As a result of the partnership, the companies will embed Microsoft Azure AI capabilities on Sony’s intelligent vision sensor IMX500, which extracts useful information out of images in smart cameras and other devices. Sony will also create a smart camera managed app powered by Azure IoT and Cognitive Services that complements the IMX500 sensor and expands the range and capability of video analytics opportunities for enterprise customers. The combination of these two solutions will bring together Sony’s cutting-edge imaging & sensing technologies, including the unique functionality of high-speed edge AI processing, with Microsoft’s cloud expertise and AI platform to uncover new video analytics opportunities for customers and partners across a variety of industries.
“By linking Sony’s innovative imaging and sensing technology with Microsoft’s excellent cloud AI services, we will deliver a powerful and convenient platform to the smart camera market. Through this platform, we hope to support the creativity of our partners and contribute to overcoming challenges in various industries,” said Terushi Shimizu, Representative Director and President, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation.
“Video analytics and smart cameras can drive better business insights and outcomes across a wide range of scenarios for businesses,” said Takeshi Numoto, corporate vice president and commercial chief marketing officer at Microsoft. “Through this partnership, we’re combining Microsoft’s expertise in providing trusted, enterprise-grade AI and analytics solutions with Sony’s established leadership in the imaging sensors market to help uncover new opportunities for our mutual customers and partners.”
Video analytics has emerged as a way for enterprise customers across industries to uncover new revenue opportunities, streamline operations and solve challenges. For example, retailers can use smart cameras to detect when to refill products on a shelf or to better understand the optimal number of available open checkout counters according to the queue length. Additionally, a manufacturer might use a smart camera to identify hazards on its manufacturing floor in real time before injuries occur. Traditionally, however, such applications — which rely on gathering data distributed among many smart cameras across different sites like stores, warehouses and distribution centers — struggle to optimize the allocation of compute resources, resulting in cost or power consumption increases.
To address these challenges, Sony and Microsoft will partner to simplify access to computer vision solutions by embedding Azure AI technology from Microsoft into Sony’s intelligent vision sensor IMX500 as well as enabling partners to embed their own AI models. This integration will result in smarter, more advanced cameras for use in enterprise scenarios as well as a more efficient allocation of resources between the edge and the cloud to drive cost and power consumption efficiencies.
Sony’s smart camera managed app powered by Azure is targeted toward independent software vendors (ISVs) specializing in computer vision and video analytics solutions, as well as smart camera original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) aspiring to add value to their hardware offerings. The app will complement the IMX500 sensor and will serve as the foundation on which ISVs and OEMs can train AI models to create their own customer- and industry-specific video analytics and computer vision solutions that address enterprise customer demands. The app will simplify key workflows and take reasonable security measures designed to protect data privacy and security, allowing ISVs to spend less time on routine, low-value integration and provisioning work and more time on creating unique solutions to meet customers’ demands. It will also enable enterprise customers to more easily find, train and deploy AI models for video analytics scenarios.
As part of the partnership, Microsoft and Sony will also work together to facilitate hands-on co-innovation with partners and enterprise customers in the areas of computer vision and video analytics as part of Microsoft’s AI & IoT Insider Labs program. Microsoft’s AI & IoT Insider Labs offer access and facilities to help build, develop, prototype and test customer solutions, working in partnership with Microsoft experts and other solution providers like Sony. The companies will begin working with select customers within these co-innovation centers later this year.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
About Sony Semiconductor Solutions
Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation is the global leader in image sensors. We strive to provide advanced imaging technologies that bring greater convenience and joy to people’s lives. In addition, we also work to develop and bring to market new kinds of sensing technologies with the aim of offering various solutions that will take the visual and recognition capabilities of both human and machines to greater heights. For more information, please visit: https://www.sony-semicon.co.jp/e/
For more information, press only:
Microsoft
Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rrt@we-worldwide.com
Sony
Sony Corporate Communications, Sony.Pressroom@sony.co.jp
Companies to collaborate to reinvent the end-to-end commerce experience globally; FedEx Surround announced today as first solution
MEMPHIS, Tenn., and REDMOND, Wash. — May 18, 2020 — FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) on Monday announced a new multiyear collaboration to help transform commerce by combining the global digital and logistics network of FedEx with the power of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud. Together, FedEx and Microsoft aim to create opportunities for their customers through multiple joint offerings powered by Azure and Dynamics 365 that will use data and analytics solutions to reinvent the most critical aspects of the commerce experience and enable businesses to better compete in today’s increasingly digital landscape.
“FedEx has been reimagining the supply chain since our first day of operation, and we are taking it to a new level with today’s announcement,” said Frederick W. Smith, chairman and CEO, FedEx. “Together with Microsoft, we will combine the immense power of technology with the vast scale of our infrastructure to help revolutionize commerce and create a network for what’s next for our customers.”
This new strategic alliance represents a long-term commitment between the companies to fuel innovation, collaborate on product development and share subject-matter expertise. Today, FedEx networks link more than 99% of the world’s gross domestic product across 220 countries and territories, and Microsoft Azure is trusted by more than 95% of Fortune 500 companies. By combining the breadth and scale of the FedEx network and the Microsoft cloud, businesses will have an unprecedented level of control and insight into the global movement of goods.
“Now more than ever, organizations are counting on an efficient and capable supply chain to remain competitive and open for business,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Together with FedEx, we will apply the power of Azure, Dynamics 365 and their AI capabilities to this urgent need, building new commerce experiences that transform logistics for our mutual customers around the world.”
Announcing FedEx Surround — driving digital illumination of the physical world
FedEx Surround, the first solution resulting from the FedEx and Microsoft collaboration, allows any business to enhance visibility into its supply chain by leveraging data to provide near-real-time analytics into shipment tracking, which will drive more precise logistics and inventory management. While most carriers are reactive to global logistics dynamics with limited visibility options built into a package’s journey, FedEx Surround will provide near-real-time insights — down to the granular level of ZIP code, for example — to shine a digital light on the progress and movement of physical inventory.
The benefits offered by FedEx Surround will extend to any business with a supply chain and particularly those that depend on highly time-sensitive deliveries. For example, a hospital may urgently need a package to help save a life, or a part may need rapid transport to a manufacturing facility to avoid an operational shutdown. In each instance, the near-real-time data insights provided by FedEx Surround offer a significant advantage to not only the organizations using the platform but also the people they serve.
FedEx Surround can also collect multiple data points gathered through the enhanced scanning and proprietary IoT technology of FedEx and analyze them using Microsoft’s broad suite of AI, machine learning and analytics solutions. This will provide participating businesses with not only enhanced visibility of a package’s location during its journey, but also knowledge of global commerce conditions and external challenges in near-real-time, such as severe weather or natural disasters, mechanical delays, clearance issues, and incorrect addresses. This unprecedented level of data-driven insight will give FedEx Surround customers the opportunity to intervene early and act to avoid logistical slowdowns before they occur to reduce friction and costs. And with every package that ships, FedEx Surround will analyze past trends to identify future opportunities for streamlined shipping, creating a stronger and more resilient commercial ecosystem.
Information regarding FedEx Surround availability will be shared beginning this summer, and customer access will be rolled out in the months ahead.
FedEx and Microsoft expect to announce additional solutions as part of their collaboration in the coming months, which will leverage even more Microsoft technologies, including Dynamics 365. This includes reimagining commerce experiences for businesses to offer consumers more integrated ways to shop, and faster and more efficient deliveries.
Those interested in more details, including visual assets, should visit www.fedex.com/transform.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $70 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 475,000 team members to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. To learn more about how FedEx connects people and possibilities around the world, please visit about.fedex.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
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Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rrt@we-worldwide.com
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements, such as statements relating to FedEx and Microsoft managements’ views with respect to future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements include those preceded by, followed by or that include the words “will,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projects,” “intends” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the rate of future e-commerce growth and our ability to successfully compete in the e-commerce market, our ability to successfully introduce e-commerce solutions in the expected time frame, customer acceptance of the FedEx Surround platform and other factors which can be found in FedEx Corp.’s and Microsoft’s respective press releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. FedEx and Microsoft do not undertake or assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
ProtectWell™ provides employers a return-to-workplace framework backed by CDC guidelines and the latest clinical science
Protocol is supported by the ProtectWell™ smartphone app that screens for COVID-19 symptoms and clears employees for daily work
Solution powered by Microsoft technologies to enable scalability, security, privacy and compliance
ProtectWell™ will be offered free of charge to employers in the United States
MINNETONKA, Minn., and REDMOND, Wash. (May 15, 2020) – UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) have joined forces to launch ProtectWell™, an innovative return-to-workplace protocol that enables employers to bring employees back to work in a safer environment. ProtectWell™ helps employees determine they are safe to go to work, co-workers know their colleagues have been screened, and employers feel confident that their workplace is ready to do business. ProtectWell™ incorporates Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and the latest clinical research to limit the spread of COVID-19 by screening employees for symptoms and establishing guidelines to support the health and safety of the workforce and workplace.
ProtectWell™ combines UnitedHealth Group’s clinical and data analytics capabilities with Microsoft’s technology leadership to help in the next phases of COVID-19 recovery efforts. The ProtectWell™ app is powered by Microsoft Azure, AI and analytics solutions, and also takes advantage of the Microsoft Healthcare Bot service, which is being used around the world for AI-assisted COVID-19 symptom triaging.
The ProtectWell™ protocol is supported by a smartphone app that allows employers to offer workers a simple screening tool designed for everyday use. The ProtectWell™ app includes an AI-powered health care bot that asks users a series of questions to screen for COVID-19 symptoms or exposure. If risk of infection is indicated, employers can direct their employees to a streamlined COVID-19 testing process that enables closed-loop ordering and reporting of test results directly back to employers. Health care information is managed by UnitedHealth Group and employers in accordance with occupational health laws.
In addition, ProtectWell™ includes guidelines and resources to support a safe work environment, including physical distancing, personal hygiene, sanitation and more. Employers can also choose additional custom content specific to their workforce for a personalized experience.
“As we plan for a safe and careful return to the workplace, employers need clear guidelines to ensure a safe environment and a robust process for employees to screen themselves for COVID-19 symptoms,” said Ken Ehlert, chief scientific officer, UnitedHealth Group. “We are pleased to collaborate with Microsoft to launch ProtectWell™, a simple and effective tool to ensure employers and employees have the information and resources they need to keep themselves, their colleagues and the public safe and healthy.”
Microsoft Executive Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Business, Judson Althoff said: “As businesses begin to reopen, employers will need to monitor and manage their workforce for COVID-19 symptoms to help ensure those at risk of spreading the virus stay home until cleared by medical providers. Microsoft is pleased to join with UnitedHealth Group to launch ProtectWell™, which helps organizations manage the complexity of this undertaking.”
UnitedHealth Group has implemented ProtectWell™ with its own frontline health care workers, is in process of implementing the tool across its business to enable safe return of team members to the workplace, and is making the platform available to all employers in the United States at no charge. Microsoft intends to deploy ProtectWell™ for its U.S.-based employees.
The ProtectWell™ smartphone app is powered by Microsoft Azure, together with its industry-leading security and compliance offerings, and allows employers to better plan, manage resources, care for their employees, and reallocate resources to help safeguard their workforce, workplace and business continuity. UnitedHealth Group will maintain control over protected health care data and will manage opt-in and consent requirements needed from app users. Microsoft will not have access to identifiable information shared via the ProtectWell™ app. De-identified workforce health trends and analytics information will help employers and policymakers make informed occupational and public health decisions.
ProtectWell™ is the latest of many initiatives announced by UnitedHealth Group to combat COVID-19. Other initiatives to date include:
Providing $1.5 billion in direct customer and consumer support through premium credits, cost-sharing waivers and other efforts.
Accelerating payments to providers throughout the crisis, with an initial tranche of nearly $2 billion.
Waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing and treatment for U.S. members of UnitedHealthcare plans and simplifying access to care by reducing prior-authorization requirements.
Pioneering self-administered swab procedures to expand COVID-19 testing, reduce needed personal protective equipment and protect health care workers from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19.
Supporting the Mayo Clinic’s groundbreaking research into the therapeutic potential of using plasma from COVID-19 survivors.
Deploying 3,000 “light ventilators” to address critical shortages in the nation’s supply of ventilators.
Significantly expanding access to telehealth and virtual visits and redeploying 10,000 Optum clinicians to expand telehealth capabilities.
Providing a special enrollment period for fully insured customers to allow employees who did not opt in for coverage during the regular enrollment period to secure coverage.
Conducting proactive personal outreach to support seniors and the most vulnerable populations among our members.
Launching a free nationwide emotional support line to manage the stress and anxiety caused by COVID-19.
Investing nearly $75 million to help at-risk populations, support communities and protect the health care workforce.
Converting company cafeterias to provide more than 75,000 meals a week for people in need and keep our cafe team at work.
About UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter.
About Microsoft Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
REDMOND, Wash. — May 14, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) (“Microsoft”) announced today the pricing terms with respect to its offers to (i) exchange (the “Pool 1 Offer”) the ten series of notes described in the table below (collectively, the “Pool 1 Notes”) for a new series of Microsoft’s 2.525% notes due June 1, 2050 (the “New 2050 Notes”) and a cash payment, as applicable. For each $1,000 principal amount of Pool 1 Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on May 28, 2020 (the “Expiration Time”) and accepted by Microsoft, the following table sets forth the yield, the total exchange consideration, the principal amount of the New 2050 Notes and the amount of the cash payment, as applicable:
Pool 1 Table(1)
Title of Security
CUSIP Number
Acceptance Priority Level
Reference UST Security(2)
Fixed Spread (basis points)
Yield(3)
Early Exchange Premium(4)
Total Exchange Consideration(4)(5)
Principal Amount of New Notes(6)
Cash Payment(4)
4.875% Notes due 2043
594918AX2
1
30-year
+110
2.375%
$30
$1,441.62
$1,000.00
$441.62
5.300% Notes due 2041
594918AM6
2
30-year
+105
2.325%
$30
$1,486.31
$1,000.00
$486.31
4.450% Notes due 2045
594918BL7
3
30-year
+110
2.375%
$30
$1,388.59
$1,000.00
$388.59
4.250% Notes due 2047
594918CA0
4
30-year
+110
2.375%
$30
$1,363.95
$1,000.00
$363.95
5.200% Notes due 2039
594918AD6
5
30-year
+95
2.225%
$30
$1,458.92
$1,000.00
$458.92
4.500% Notes due 2040
594918AJ3
6
30-year
+100
2.275%
$30
$1,360.57
$1,000.00
$360.57
3.750% Notes due 2043
594918AU8
7
30-year
+110
2.375%
$30
$1,237.91
$1,000.00
$237.91
3.750% Notes due 2045
594918BD5
8
30-year
+110
2.375%
$30
$1,251.94
$1,000.00
$251.94
4.100% Notes due 2037
594918BZ6
9
30-year
+87
2.145%
$30
$1,266.05
$1,000.00
$266.05
4.200% Notes due 2035
594918BK9
10
30-year
+75
2.025%
$30
$1,278.89
$1,000.00
$278.89
The figures in this table assume a settlement date of June 1, 2020.
The “30-year Reference UST Security” refers to the 2.375% U.S. Treasury Notes due November 15, 2049.
Reflects the bid-side yield of the 30-year Reference UST Security as of the pricing time of 1.275% plus the applicable Fixed Spread, calculated in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Prospectus.
Per $1,000 principal amount of Pool 1 Notes.
Holders who validly tender Pool 1 Notes after 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 13, 2020 (the “Early Exchange Time”) will not be eligible to receive the Early Exchange Premium of $30 principal amount of the New 2050 Notes for each $1,000 principal amount of Pool 1 Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn. For the avoidance of doubt, the $30 per $1,000 Early Exchange Premium is included within the total exchange consideration and is not in addition to the total exchange c
Does not reflect any accrued and unpaid interest. The Company will pay accrued and unpaid interest on the Existing Notes up to, but not including, the settlement date.
and (ii) exchange (the “Pool 2 Offer” and, together with the Pool 1 Offer, the “Exchange Offers”) the four series of notes described in the table below (collectively, the “Pool 2 Notes” and, together with the Pool 1 Notes, the “Existing Notes”) for a new series of Microsoft 2.675% notes due June 1, 2060 (the “New 2060 Notes” and, together with the New 2050 Notes, the “New Notes”) and a cash payment, as applicable. For each $1,000 principal amount of Pool 2 Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Time and accepted by Microsoft, the following table sets forth the yield, the total exchange consideration, the principal amount of the New 2060 Notes and the amount of the cash payment, as applicable:
Pool 2 Table(1)
Title of Security
CUSIP Number
Acceptance Priority Level
Reference UST Security(2)
Fixed Spread (basis points)
Yield(3)
Early Exchange Premium(4)
Total Exchange Consideration(4)(5)
Principal Amount of New Notes(6)
Cash Payment(4)
4.750% Notes due 2055
594918BM5
1
30-year
+125
2.525%
$30
$1,514.30
$1,138.86
$375.44
4.000% Notes due 2055
594918BE3
2
30-year
+125
2.525%
$30
$1,336.46
$1,000.00
$336.46
4.500% Notes due 2057
594918CB8
3
30-year
+125
2.525%
$30
$1,466.62
$1,107.32
$359.30
3.950% Notes due 2056
594918BU7
4
30-year
+125
2.525%
$30
$1,333.83
$1,000.00
$333.83
The figures in this table reflect any optional adjustments of the total exchange consideration as permitted under the terms and conditions in the Prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement and assume a settlement date of June 1, 2020.
The “30-year Reference UST Security” refers to the 2.375% U.S. Treasury Notes due November 15, 2049.
Reflects the buy-side yield of the 30-year Reference UST Security as of the pricing time of 1.275% plus the applicable Fixed Spread, calculated in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Prospectus.
Per $1,000 principal amount of Pool 2 Notes.
Holders who validly tender Pool 2 Notes after the Early Exchange Time will not be eligible to receive the Early Exchange Premium of $30 principal amount of the New 2060 Notes for each $1,000 principal amount of Pool 2 Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn. For the avoidance of doubt, the $30 per $1,000 Early Exchange Premium is included within the total exchange consideration and is not in addition to the total exchange c
Does not reflect any accrued and unpaid interest. The Company will pay accrued and unpaid interest on the Existing Notes up to, but not including, the settlement date.
The aggregate principal amount of Pool 1 Notes and Pool 2 Notes of each series that are accepted for exchange will be based on the order of acceptance priority for such series, as applicable, as set forth in the tables above, up to $6,250,000,000 aggregate principal amount (the “New 2050 Notes Issue Cap”) and up to $3,750,000,000 aggregate principal amount (the “New 2060 Notes Issue Cap,” increased from $3,000,000,000), respectively. Holders who validly tender the Existing Notes after the Early Exchange Time but on or before the Expiration Time will only be eligible to receive the Exchange Consideration, which equals the Total Exchange Consideration minus the Early Exchange Premium as detailed in the tables above.
As permitted under the terms and conditions in the Registration Statement (as defined below), the Company has elected to increase the Cash Payment Percent of Premium on the 4.750% Notes due 2055 from 70% to 73%, the 4.500% Notes due 2057 from 70% to 77%, and the 3.950% Notes due 2056 from 90% to 100%. These changes are reflected in the Cash Payment amounts shown in the tables above.
In addition to the principal amount of New Notes and applicable cash payment specified in the tables above, holders with Existing Notes that are accepted for exchange will receive a cash payment representing (i) all or a portion of the accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the settlement date, and (ii) amounts due in lieu of any fractional amounts of New Notes, in each case, as described in the Prospectus.
A Registration Statement on Form S-4, including a prospectus (the “Prospectus”), which is subject to change, relating to the New Notes has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 30, 2020 (the “Registration Statement”) but has not yet become effective. The New Notes may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the Registration Statement becomes effective. If and when issued, the New Notes will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This news release does not constitute an offer or a solicitation by Microsoft of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in which such offer or solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
Consummation of the Exchange Offers is subject to a number of conditions as set forth in the Prospectus included in the Registration Statement, including, among other things, the Registration Statement of which the Prospectus forms a part having been declared effective by the SEC and remaining effective on the settlement date.
The Exchange Offers are made only by and pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Prospectus, which forms a part of the Registration Statement after it is declared effective by the SEC, and the information in this news release is qualified by reference to such Prospectus and the Registration Statement. None of Microsoft, the dealer managers, or the information agent and exchange agent makes any recommendations as to whether holders should tender their Existing Notes pursuant to the Exchange Offers. Holders must make their own decisions as to whether to tender Existing Notes and, if so, the principal amount of Existing Notes to tender.
Copies of the Prospectus pursuant to which the Exchange Offers are being made, may be obtained from D.F. King & Co., Inc., the information agent and exchange agent for the Exchange Offers, at 212-269-5552 (to exchange), at 800-431-9645 (for information U.S. Toll-free), at 212-269-5550 (information for brokers), at www.dfking.com/microsoft, or at microsoft@dfking.com. Questions regarding the terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers should be directed to the following joint lead dealer managers:
BofA Securities
620 South Tryon Street, 20th Floor
Charlotte, NC 28255
Toll Free: (888) 292-0070
Collect: (980) 387-3907
Attn: Liability Management Group
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
60 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Toll Free: (866) 627-0391
Collect: (212) 250-2955
Attn: Liability Management Group
In order to participate in any Exchange Offer, holders of the Existing Notes located or resident in Canada are required to complete, sign and submit to the exchange agent a Canadian Eligibility Form, which may be obtained from D.F. King & Co., Inc. contacts above, to confirm they satisfy applicable Canadian eligibility requirements and to provide certain additional information.
Any holder of the Existing Notes located in any Member State of the European Economic Area or in the United Kingdom that is a retain investor will not be able to participate in the Exchange Offers. For these purposes, a retain investor means a person who is one or more of the following: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of the EU Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments (2014/65/EU) (as amended, “MiFID II”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article (4)(1) of MiFID II.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release are “forward-looking statements” based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors described above as well as:
intense competition in all of our markets that may lead to lower revenue or operating margins;
increasing focus on cloud-based services presenting execution and competitive risks;
significant investments in products and services that may not achieve expected returns;
acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances that may have an adverse effect on our business;
impairment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a significant charge to earnings;
cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities that could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our reputation or competitive position;
disclosure and misuse of personal data that could cause liability and harm to our reputation;
the possibility that we may not be able to protect information stored in our products and services from use by others;
abuse of our advertising or social platforms that may harm our reputation or user engagement;
the development of the internet of things presenting security, privacy, and execution risks;
issues about the use of artificial intelligence in our offerings that may result in competitive harm, legal liability, or reputational harm;
excessive outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure;
quality or supply problems;
the possibility that we may fail to protect our source code;
legal changes, our evolving business model, piracy, and other factors may decrease the value of our intellectual property;
claims that Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of others;
claims against us that may result in adverse outcomes in legal disputes;
government litigation and regulatory activity relating to competition rules that may limit how we design and market our products;
potential liability under trade protection, anti-corruption, and other laws resulting from our global operations;
laws and regulations relating to the handling of personal data that may impede the adoption of our services or result in increased costs, legal claims, fines, or reputational damage;
additional tax liabilities;
damage to our reputation or our brands that may harm our business and operating results;
exposure to increased economic and operational uncertainties from operating a global business, including the effects of foreign currency exchange;
uncertainties relating to our business with government customers;
adverse economic or market conditions that may harm our business;
catastrophic events or geopolitical conditions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that may disrupt our business; and
the dependence of our business on our ability to attract and retain talented employees.
For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q that are incorporated by reference in the Prospectus forming a part of the Registration Statement, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor.
Today, we are announcing that we have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Metaswitch Networks, a leading provider of virtualized network software and voice, data and communications solutions for operators.
The convergence of cloud and communication networks presents a unique opportunity for Microsoft to serve operators globally via continued investment in Azure, adding additional depth to our hyperscale cloud infrastructure with the specialized software required to run virtualized communication functions, applications and networks.
This announcement builds on our recent acquisition of Affirmed Networks, which closed on April 23, 2020. Metaswitch’s complementary portfolio of ultra-high-performance, cloud-native communications software will expand our range of offerings available for the telecommunications industry. Microsoft intends to leverage the talent and technology of these two organizations, extending the Azure platform to both deploy and grow these capabilities at scale in a way that is secure, efficient and creates a sustainable ecosystem.
As the industry moves to 5G, operators will have opportunities to advance the virtualization of their core networks and move forward on a path to an increasingly cloud-native future. Microsoft will continue to meet customers where they are, working together with the industry as operators and network equipment providers evolve their own operations.
We will continue to support hybrid and multi-cloud models to create a more diverse telecom ecosystem and spur faster innovation, an expanded set of unique offerings and greater opportunities for differentiation. We will continue to partner with existing suppliers, emerging innovators and network equipment partners to share roadmaps and explore expanded opportunities to work together, including in the areas of radio access networks (RAN), next-generation core, virtualized services, orchestration and operations support system/business support system (OSS/BSS) modernization. A future that is interoperable has never been more important to ensure the success of customers and partners.
By enabling advancements in enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communications and massive machine-type communication to enable IoT at scale, 5G offers significant potential for enterprises and governments and in turn creates new opportunities for operators. 5G will ultimately give operators a path to accelerate service innovation and deliver new transformative experiences that are faster, more resilient and more secure, spurred on by software advances to drive transformation at scale.
We have a long history of working with operators as they increasingly embrace software-based solutions and continue to support the advancement of cloud-based networking while helping create new partnership opportunities for existing network equipment providers. Our intention over time is to create modern alternatives to network infrastructure, enabling operators to deliver existing and value-added services – with greater cost efficiency and lower capital investment than they’ve faced in the past.
Our CEO Satya Nadella references a term from the education field that I think is particularly fitting and important during this unprecedented time in history. Satya talks of the importance of being a “learn-it-all” instead of a “know-it-all.” Learn-it-alls are curious, resourceful and willing to fail, understanding that insights from failure lead to future success.
Learn-it-alls see adversity as a challenge to be overcome, and they work toward the future with focus and determination.
Right now, we’re all working toward the future in different ways. And the future itself is evolving rapidly as we work and learn together to fight and defeat COVID-19 across the globe. Work is changing, learning is changing, life is changing. Every person on the planet will need new skills to be successful tomorrow, one year from now, and one decade from now. This is particularly apropos for students (and the educators teaching them), with the World Economic Forum predicting that two-thirds of students today will work in jobs that do not yet exist. Likewise, LinkedIn continues to report cloud and artificial intelligence as top emerging jobs.
Today’s students are the innovators and inventors of the future who can use technology as a bedrock to help find solutions to the types of problems we’re facing today — and those we can’t predict. Educators are key enablers of this ability, and that’s why I’m excited to announce a new set of opportunities and resources for educators to teach Microsoft technical skills aimed at supporting students to continue learning during this pandemic and beyond.
Introducing Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors
Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors help their peers learn about things they care about most, from social issues to new technologies. Ambassadors get a first look at new Microsoft technologies, gain leadership skills, and receive mentoring from professionals in the industry, and their peers benefit from their knowledge, which can now be shared via the Microsoft Learn platform. All our incoming 2020 interns are invited to join the Student Ambassadors and it’s open to any higher ed student who wants to apply.
We are aiming to help skill millions of students in the coming years — helping tomorrow’s leaders gain knowledge in areas spanning topics like responsible AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and building cloud-native apps, among so much more.
New hub on Microsoft Learn for educators and students
Students are natural continuing learners — it’s in their DNA. And to make it easier for them to both acquire and transfer knowledge, Microsoft Learn now has a new home just for educators and students, including our Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors.
We’ve partnered with universities to create new learning paths based on their popular courses in data science, cloud development, and AI engineering, all tailored for the students that want to build in-demand job skills and educators that want to teach them:
We’ve also added a new series of learning paths to inspire and challenge students to build with social impact and responsibility in mind. These take a solution-driven, project-based approach to learning:
We continue to offer foundational developer paths designed especially for students that faculty can easily teach in the classroom. These include:
Educators play a pivotal role in empowering students for future success. At Microsoft, we’re committed to enabling and supporting them in their mission. Microsoft Learn for Educators curates online learning paths and supporting instructor-led training materials into the classroom. Eligible educators and faculty members at universities, community colleges, polytechnics and secondary schools can access Microsoft ready-to-teach curriculum and teaching materials aligned to industry-recognized Microsoft certifications. These certifications augment a students’ existing degree path and validate the skills needed to be successful across a variety of technical careers. Provided Microsoft curriculum and instructor-led training materials will cover:
Last fall, we launched a 44-part video series called Python for Beginners, consisting of short lessons aimed to help students learn Python and then build AI apps on Azure. People kept asking for more, so we’ve expanded on it with 50 additional newvideos that dive deeper into the popular Python libraries like NumPy, Pandas, and Scikit-learn. If you’re looking to try Python for the first time or brush-up your skills, begin here!
Students at Microsoft Build
Microsoft’s annual developer conference, Build, is set to bring the developer community — including student developers and our 2020 class of interns — together virtually May 19-21 to learn, connect and code together. In the spirt of connecting students and professional developers, the Imagine Cup World Championship will be held during Build where teams will compete for the $100,000 grand prize and a mentoring session with Satya Nadella.
The Imagine Cup is perhaps one of the most visible ways we encourage students to address real problems through teamwork and technology. Much like a sports bracket which requires repetitive wins to advance to get the World Championship, teams must win their regional competitions — an impressive feat by itself. This year, tens of thousands of competitors from more than 170 countries participated, culminating in 16 students representing six teams that made it to the championship.
Beyond the excitement of Imagine Cup, the Student Zone at Build will have content tailored to and appropriate for students. Speakers include a variety of top influencers in the digital learning spaces, with content available for each skill level (13-21 years-old) attending our sessions virtually. And, special guest NASA Education Specialist Matthew Wallace will demo a machine learning tool that introduces students to process for analyzing images of Earth taken from the International Space Station, like our astronauts do.
Azure for Students
We believe strongly in providing access to the most current technology, and that’s why we’re providing free Azure accounts, plus a $100 credit, for qualifying students. With their accounts, students can develop in Visual Studio to create custom apps, explore AI through Cognitive Services and smart APIs, and build and train machine learning models faster with the latest open source technologies. Free developer tools are included, as are free learning paths and labs.
I hope you’ll take advantage of all the free content that interests you and join us as learn-it-alls.
As hospitals and other healthcare delivery organizations accelerate their adoption of virtual care and mobile devices in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s critical that providers can access cloud and on-premises apps quickly and securely. Imprivata is a healthcare-focused digital identity company that addresses this need. For today’s “Voice of the ISV” blog, I invited Kristina Cairns and Mark Erwich of Imprivata to provide insight into how Imprivata’s solutions are helping healthcare organizations deliver care beyond the four walls of the hospitals.
Supporting healthcare delivery organizations during COVID-19
By Kristina Cairns, Director of Product Marketing, Imprivata and Mark Erwich, VP Marketing, Imprivata
In response to COVID-19, hospitals and clinics have turned to remote tools to care for a surge of patients, while protecting the health of staff. These tools let clinicians connect remotely with patients, care teams, and other organizations, but they can be difficult to securely access from shared workstations or mobile devices, such as tablets. Imprivata digital identity solutions simplify access while maintaining security, so clinicians can deliver quality care safely and conveniently—no matter where they are located.
At the same time, healthcare staffing demands are skyrocketing, and these needs must be met in real time. This can mean quickly adding, or provisioning, new or re-allocated staff and ensuring they have proper access to applications, immediately. Once the crisis is over, these same staff will need to be de-provisioned to ensure security and compliance requirements are met.
Imprivata is a digital identity company that focuses on healthcare. We employ doctors and nurses who have a real-world understanding of the unique needs of hospital environments. Our solutions are designed to work with healthcare workflows and regulations, so hospitals can get up and running with new tools and upgrades, fast. In these challenging times, we’ve partnered with Microsoft to provide an integrated identity and access management platform that meets the needs of healthcare organizations. Our joint solutions make it easy to connect to healthcare’s existing identity and application data and automate at scale. Healthcare providers can use our platforms to address unique demands, such as:
Saving precious time in hospitals: Accessing necessary apps quickly while healthcare providers move between clinical workstations and new networked devices at the point of patient care.
Protecting healthcare staff and patients: Identifying providers potentially exposed to COVID-19.
Scaling up remote work and virtual care: Providing remote access to a diverse set of tools spanning on-premises and cloud infrastructure as providers and patients move outside of traditional healthcare environments.
Simplifying role-based access identity management: Securely manage access for temporary workers and existing staff who change roles or departments.
Saving precious time in hospitals
Healthcare workers are busy in the best of times. They juggle administrative tasks with a full day of patient care. As the pandemic has driven up the number of patients admitted to hospitals, time has become even more precious. Imprivata OneSign is a single sign-on (SSO) solution that enables care providers to spend less time with technology and more time with patients.
During a shift, healthcare workers use several cloud and on-premises applications including business and enterprise applications, electronic health records, medical imaging, patient management, and other systems. Each of these apps in this hybrid environment often requires a unique username and password. Imprivata OneSign eliminates the need for clinicians to memorize and manually enter their credentials. They can sign in once to access all their on-premises and cloud apps, including Microsoft Teams, Office 365, and 3,000+ Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Marketplace applications. No Click Access™ lets them sign in with a badge or fingerprint making it faster to access applications and workflows.
Protecting healthcare staff and patients
As healthcare delivery organizations treat patients under evaluation for COVID-19, they must also safeguard the health of clinicians. Yale New Haven Health is using Imprivata OneSign reporting capabilities to identify exactly where and when specific users accessed specific workstations in different patient care zones in the clinical environment. By combining these data with workstation mapping and electronic health record data, Yale can more accurately identify all providers potentially exposed to COVID-19 and take necessary actions.
Scaling up remote work and virtual care
To limit the spread of COVID-19, administrative roles at clinics and hospitals have migrated to remote work when possible. Care providers have rapidly scaled up virtual care services to provide non-emergency healthcare consultations. These providers need to access systems on personal laptops, mobile devices, and temporary devices in temporary care sites. It’s important that devices and individuals are authenticated to protect sensitive data and apps.
Imprivata Confirm ID for Remote Access improves security by enabling multi-factor authentication for remote network access, cloud applications, Windows servers and desktops, and other critical systems and workflows. Imprivata Confirm ID for EPCS (electronic prescribing of controlled substances) supports Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)-compliant two-factor authentication methods so providers can quickly prescribe drugs using EPCS workflows. To support healthcare organizations during this crisis we are offering Imprivata Confirm ID licenses for free.
Simplifying role-based access identity management
As the number of patients increases, hospitals are rapidly re-assigning workers within the organization, while on-boarding clinicians from lower utilized hospitals. Healthcare organizations need easy and secure ways to manage user roles as they scale up and provision temporary workers.
Imprivata Identity Governance is an end-to-end solution with granular, role-based access controls and automated provisioning and de-provisioning. Streamlined auditing processes and analytics enable faster threat evaluation and remediation. These capabilities allow IT to respond to the needs of the organization without sacrificing security. Imprivata Identity Governance ensures that, on day one, the right users have the right access to the right on-premises and cloud applications, and the audit trail to prove it.
Making healthcare technology available to everyone
The following resources can help hospitals and clinics move quickly to support patient care beyond the four walls of the hospitals:
Learn more
Solutions like the Imprivata Identity and Access Management platform, Microsoft Azure AD, and Microsoft Teams are helping keep healthcare workers productive and safe as they confront the current crises. As healthcare evolves, Microsoft and Imprivata will continue to innovate together to further enhance scenarios for in-person and remote access.
In this time of distance learning, many educators, students, parents, and guardians are trying to find balance while dividing their time between their jobs, families, and other obligations. How are you supporting social-emotional learning for your students during remote learning? How are you looking after your well-being, and how do you stay attuned to your students’ needs? In this conversation, we’d also like to explore the tools and strategies that help maintain emotional balance and hear about approaches that you might bring back to the classroom once you return to school.
We look forward to welcoming you to a 75-minute TweetMeet on Tuesday, May 19 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, on the topic of social-emotional learning.
We have five discussion questions lined up this month, allowing 14 minutes of discussion time each:
Pacific Time
#
#MSFTEduChat TweetMeet question timings
10:00am
Event begins
Welcome. Please introduce yourself. Use #MSFTEduChat and #TweetMeetEN or #TweetMeetXX for non-English languages.
10:04
1
Why do social-emotional skills matter so much in these circumstances?
10:18
2
How are you looking after your well-being during this time?
10:32
3
How are you overcoming social-emotional challenges? Inclusion of all students, safeguarding, expectations, stress…
10:46
4
Which strategies, resources, and communities support social-emotional learning remotely? How?
11:00
5
How will you continue to develop social-emotional learning once we return to school?
11:15
Event closes
Participant survey and announcing the next event.
Even if you’re conducting a class at the time of the event, busy doing other things, or asleep—no problem! All educators are welcome to participate any time after the event. Simply look at the questions and respond to them at a day and time that suits you best.
You can also schedule your tweets in advance. In that case, be sure to include the entire question in your tweet and the hashtag #MSFTEduChat so that everyone knows how your responses align to the event questions and conversations.
SuperWakelet about social-emotional learning
We’ve invited our hosts to share and carefully annotate their favorite social-emotional learning resources. Note how each host has chosen a different angle for their Wakelet. Find all of these resources in our new SuperWakelet about social-emotional learning, live-embedded here:
Introducing our hosts
Please meet our hosts for this month’s TweetMeet.
After going through weeks of preparation for this TweetMeet, they are thrilled to engage with you on their favorite topic, social-emotional learning.
Check out their profiles, consider following them, and engage with their tweets through this month’s Twitter List.
Adam Masters (@MrAdamMasters), Computing teacher at Jumeriah English Speaking School, MSc in Educational Leadership and Management, Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert, and ADE. Passionate on current best practice and technologies – Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Amy Storer (@techamys), Instructional Coach and Lead Technology Integration Mentor. MIE Expert and Skype Master Teacher. Loves using Microsoft tools to support learning – Montgomery, Texas, United States.
Ashley Stephens (@ashe333), Professional Development and Research Coordinator, MIE Expert, and Teach SDGs Ambassador. Passionate about developing digital capabilities. Let’s make learning accessible and fun for ALL – Wicklow, Ireland.
Chris Gerrard (@cgerrard02), Additional support needs educator, MIE Master Trainer. Hugely passionate about the role technology plays in empowering young people and breaking down any barriers they may face – Glasgow, Scotland.
Devon Caldwell (@india0309), Teacher of kindergarten, yoga, and future teachers. PhD candidate and aspiring researcher. MIE Fellow and OneNote fan. Passionate about travel and wellness – Kenton, Manitoba, Canada.
Gretchen Robinson (@gjrobinson), Digital Learning and Teaching Facilitator for Onslow County School District. MIE Expert and Trainer, and Flipgrid Certified Educator. I love helping teachers integrate anything Microsoft – Jacksonville, North Carolina, United States.
Ivana Kovačević (@kovacevicanavi), Serbian language and literature teacher, 2020 Global Teacher Prize top 50 finalist, 2019 National Teacher prize winner, MIE Expert, and Skype Master Teacher – Belgrade, Serbia.
Jonathan Bishop (@broadclyst), Head Teacher at Broadclyst Primary School, a Microsoft Showcase School, and CEO of Cornerstone Academy Trust. We take pride in supporting other schools in remote education – Exeter, United Kingdom.
Kamal Preet (@dpskamal), NatGeo Certified Educator, MIE Expert, Skype Master Teacher, Flipgrid Ambassador, and Minecraft Global Mentor. Passionate about eSTEAM, social-emotional learning, gamification, and global goals – Bangalore, India.
Kellie Goodall (@kellie_digital), Teacher and Digital Leader at Broughton Primary School in North Wales. MIE Expert and Trainer, Flipgrid Student Voice Ambassador, and all-round teacher geek – North Wales, United Kingdom.
Kimberly Lewis (@AkordingToKim), Teacher at West Valley Central School, Professional Development Facilitator with NYS Teachers’ Center, MIE Expert, MCE and MIE Master Trainer, Nearpod NCT3 Trainer, and Distance Learning Specialist – Holland, New York, United States.
Joe and Kristin Merrill (@themerrillsedu), First and fourth grade teachers, MIE Experts, and authors of “The InterACTIVE Class” – Naples, Florida, United States.
Marta Florkiewicz-Borkowska (@martulafb), German language teacher, educator, project coordinator, digital skills and media literacy trainer, and art therapist. 2017 Teacher of the Year and MIE Expert – Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland.
Matt Yeoman (@mattpy80), Assistant Headteacher at Queen’s Park High School, Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, and Specialist Leader in Education for Drama and Teacher Training – Chester, United Kingdom.
Rafael Pérez Hernáiz (@rafaelpeher), Primary mathematics and technology teacher, MIE Expert and Trainer. Passionate about OneNote and Surface devices – Madrid, Spain.
Runa Chatterjee (@runa_chatterjee), PGT English teacher at Ajanta Public School, MIE Expert, Adobe Ambassador, SDGs Ambassador, and Wakelet Ambassador. Passionate about Microsoft tools and Microsoft Teams – Gurgaon, India.
Scott Nunes (@MrNunesTeach), ELA teacher turned education technology coach and MIE Expert. Podcast host passionate about enhancing teacher and student voice through Flipgrid and Microsoft Teams – Modesto, California, United States.
Soad E Mizher (@sm_english), Vice Principal at Alhussan School. MIE Expert and Master Trainer, Microsoft tools specialist, and huge learning technologies enthusiast. Advancing students’ learning using the 6Cs is my passion – Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
Vittoria Volterrani (@vittovolte), passionate primary school teacher, teacher trainer, ICT and active methods trainer, and eTwinning Ambassador. Since 2002 involved in social-emotional learning development – Piacenza, Italy.
Language tracks offered this month
We offer this month’s TweetMeet in 6 language tracks: English, Arabic, Italian, Polish, Serbian, and Spanish.
Want to help promote the TweetMeet?
Our PowerPoint templates provide three easy ways for you to announce the TweetMeet to your friends and followers:
Add an “I 💖 #MSFTEduChat” banner to your Twitter profile picture
Create a TweetMeet Friend Card
Add our TweetMeet Sticky Note 📌 to your existing Twitter header photo
Each of our templates contains the step-by-step instructions on how to create these for yourself. If you need help, just reach out to us via direct message on Twitter @TweetMeet.
Here’s an example of a TweetMeet Sticky Note 📌:
Welcoming TweetMeet newcomers
Do you know someone new to TweetMeets? Our TweetMeet starter guide Wakelet collection is created especially for newcomers, so please share it with friends and colleagues who might be interested in joining.
Why join #MSFTEduChat TweetMeets?
TweetMeets are monthly recurring Twitter conversations about themes relevant to educators, facilitated by Microsoft Education. The purpose of these events is to help professionals in education to learn from each other and inspire their students while they are preparing for their future. TweetMeets also nurture personal learning networks among educators from across the globe.
Be sure to double-check your own local event time. You can find the event time for 215 countries with this time zone announcer.
Our next recommendation is to set up the Twitter dashboard TweetDeck and add columns for the hashtags and for your favorite hosts. When a tweet appears that you want to respond to, press the retweet button and type your comments. Additional tips are offered in this animated GIF that you’re welcome to share with newcomers:
Got questions about the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet?
Please connect with TweetMeet organizer Marjolein Hoekstra @TweetMeet on Twitter if you have any questions about the event or about what it takes to be a host on a future event.
