Microsoft news – Page 247

Posted on October 11, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Anil Kumble’s Microsoft AI-enabled Power Bat partners with Star India to revolutionize cricketing experience for players and fans

Microsoft, Star India and Anil Kumble redefine fan engagement with real-time Power Speks

MUMBAI, India — Oct. 11, 2018 — Microsoft Corp. and Anil Kumble’s technology startup, Spektacom Technologies, with support from broadcast partner Star India, came together on Thursday to announce the introduction of the Power Bat. The Power Bat provides players, coaches, commentators, fans and viewers with a completely new and unique way to engage with the sport and help improve their game — all powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform using AI and Internet of Things (IoT) services.

Microsoft has been working closely with Spektacom and its founder Anil Kumble, former captain, Indian cricket team, to incubate and launch the product, as part of its ScaleUp program. Star India, the leading cricket broadcaster in India, has used the technology successfully in recent series to provide real-time statistics and insights straight off the oval.

“We’re excited to be a part of the work Spektacom and Star India are doing to enhance the cricket experience for fans, players and coaches,” said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president, Microsoft. “We’ve already seen the impact that connected devices have had in other industries, and we believe that with the advancements in our AI and cloud services, this is just the beginning of what’s possible for not only cricket, but all sports.”

Sanjay Gupta, managing director, Star India, said, “Star India has always strived to redefine and elevate experiences for sports fans. From Multi-language feeds and Select Dugout to VR and Watch n’ Play, the coverage of Vivo IPL demonstrates our commitment toward creating new benchmarks in how technology is deployed to deepen fan engagement. The Power Bat promises to be another step in the same direction, and we look forward to the partnership with Anil Kumble (Spektacom) and Microsoft in bringing it to our broadcasts.”

According to Anil Kumble, former captain, Indian cricket team, and founder, Spektacom, “Our vision is to bring sports closer to fans through interesting ways of engagement using real-time sports analytics. At the same time, it is important that the technologies used are seamless and do not disrupt the game or obstruct the players. With Microsoft, we have been able to create a secure and effective solution, and with Star India, we have a partner that can stimulate and excite fan engagement.”

The Power Bat is a unique concept whereby a lightweight, Azure Sphere-powered sticker is stuck on the shoulder of the bat — a form factor that is completely unobtrusive. In a live match, as soon as the batsman hits the ball, data on different parameters (speed on impact, twist on impact and quality of the shot — percentage proximity of the ball’s contact to the sweet spot of the willow) are captured in a new unit of measurement titled Power Speks. Microsoft’s Azure Sphere ensures that the data is securely captured and processed. Using advanced analytics and AI services on Azure, real-time insights are captured through the stump box and displayed via the broadcaster. During practice or coaching, the same data can be viewed through a mobile app.

Although the technology introduced by Spektacom today has its first use case in cricket, for Microsoft, Anil Kumble and Star India this is the first of many sports where it can be used.

Microsoft believes in leveraging its technology and its people to help sports teams and organizations solve their toughest challenges. By leveraging the company’s intelligent cloud and productivity solutions, sports organizations worldwide are connecting with fans, optimizing team and player performance, and managing their operations in new, innovative ways.

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 Spektacom Technologies

Spektacom is redefining sports and re-Imagining fan engagement through innovative sensor technology. Its mission is reaching billions of sports fans. Spektacom enables the fan’s participative experience to “be in the game”.

About Star India

Star India has defined the Indian media landscape since 1991 and today is one of the country’s leading media conglomerates, reaching approximately 700+ million viewers a month across India and more than 100 other countries. Star generates 30,000+ hours of content every year and broadcasts 60+ channels in 8 different languages, reaching 9 out of 10 C&S TV homes in India. Star India is a fully owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

The network’s entertainment channel portfolio includes Star Gold, Star Gold HD Star Gold Select, Star Gold Select HD, Star World, Star World HD, Star World Premiere HD, Star Movies, Star Movies HD, Star Movies Select HD, Star Utsav, Star Utsav Movies, Star Bharat, Star Bharat HD, Movies OK, National Geographic, National Geographic HD, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Wild HD, Fox Life, Nat Geo People, Nat Geo People HD, Nat Geo Music, Nat Geo Music HD, Baby TV, Baby TV HD and Star Plus, Star Plus HD India’s No. 1 Hindi General Entertainment Channel. It has a leading presence in regional broadcasting as well, through a bouquet of channels which include Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies, Star Pravah, Star Pravah HD, Maa channels (Star Maa, Star Maa HD, Star Maa Gold, Star Maa Movies, Star Maa Movies HD and Star Maa Music) and affiliate channels Asianet, Asianet HD, Asianet Plus, Asianet Movies, Star Suvarna, Star Suvarna HD, Star Suvarna Plus and Vijay TV, Vijay Super. It is also present in the Indian movie production and distribution space through Fox Star Studios.

Star India is making quantum leaps in transforming sports in the country by leveraging the group’s strengths in superior content and audience engagement. Star’s sports business has grown rapidly to 13 channel properties (Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 2, Star Sports Select 1 HD, Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Hindi 1, Star Sports Hindi 1 HD; India’s first Tamil Sports channel Star Sports Tamil 1 and India’s first private FTA sports channel Star Sports First), making it the leading sports network in the country.

Star is driving the agenda on digital consumption in the country with Hotstar, Star’s revolutionary digital platform which is among the fastest growing apps in the world and is increasingly becoming the first port of call for internet adopters in India.

Star India is a fully owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777,

rrt@we-worldwide.com

Ritika Kapoor, Genesis Burson-Masteller for Microsoft India, +91 9887389982, ritika.kapoor@bm.com

Anissha Aggarwal, Microsoft India, anissha@microsoft.com

Kavita Singh, Spektacom, kavita@spektacom.com

Ketaki Golatkar, Star India, ketaki.golatkar@startv.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 http://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.

Posted on October 10, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Microsoft Dynamics 365: Customer momentum, 2019 Business Applications Summit and more

At Microsoft Ignite 2018, James Phillips and I shared the main stage to showcase real stories from organizations leveraging Microsoft Business Applications to disrupt business as usual and innovate to meet the changing expectations of customers. Now it’s your turn. Today we’re introducing new videos that showcase what’s possible and the opportunity to join the community at the 2019 Microsoft Business Applications Summit, June 10-11 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Real success stories

Whether at Ignite, Envision or the upcoming 2019 Microsoft Business Applications Summit, there’s nothing quite like hearing first-hand about real, achievable results from customers. At Ignite, we were thrilled to hear from organizations using Microsoft Business Applications to harness data from customers, products and people.

Polaris CEO Scott Wine shared how the world’s largest power sports company is getting closer to its customers by engaging with them in new ways through connected vehicles and harnessing customer information and product data to become a highly efficient customer centric enterprise. He shared how Dynamics 365, along with intelligent services from Microsoft, help them build a rich customer profile available at sales teams’ fingertips when the customer walks into a dealership. And we learned how Polaris has embedded Azure, Dynamics 365 and IoT capabilities across their manufacturing system, to proactively prevent mistakes from happening in the factory, optimize operations and completely transform product development and distribution.

I was joined on-stage by Vish Anantraman, Chief Innovation Architect at one of New York State’s largest healthcare providers, Northwell Health, who shared how they are making a dramatic shift to proactive, predictive solutions using Dynamics 365, Azure and the Microsoft Power platform. By democratizing the way patient data is captured, intelligently analyzed, and shared with the network, they are building a 360-degree view of patient data: a key to providing the proactive, preventative care that can save lives.

At Envision, I sat down with the team at H&M — the multinational, fast-fashion apparel retailer that turned to Microsoft to disrupt the fashion industry; leveraging Dynamics 365, Azure and Microsoft 365 to rapidly launch an innovative new brand and marketplace, Afound. Watch our discussion to learn how H&M is using Microsoft-powered algorithms to tailor merchandise stock on a store-by-store level, based on datapoints like customer purchases, returns and regional styles; as well as deploying machine learning to analyze social media to rapidly develop and distribute new styles on the cutting edge of fashion trends.

See what’s possible—explore the October ’18 release videos

Today we published new October ’18 release videos that showcase the latest capabilities and enhancements in Dynamics 365 and Power platform. These videos are one of the best ways to quickly understand how the updates can help improve your workflows and drive your innovation initiatives. See the updates in action on our October 2018 release page.

Bring your vision to life at the 2019 Microsoft Business Applications Summit

We’re excited to announce that we will be hosting the Microsoft Business Applications Summit, June 10 – 11, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia! This event will be all about bringing our community together for a jam-packed schedule of immersive breakout sessions, hands-on workshops, community connections, and a place to get one-on-one access with the engineers behind the tools you use every day. Sign-up to receive the latest information about how to register and more—the conference sells out quickly, so don’t miss the chance to be one of the first to know when registration goes live.

Much more customer stories and content connected with the October ’18 release is on the way—be sure to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook for the latest news.

Posted on October 10, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Microsoft’s new Copenhagen lab accelerates quantum materials research

Microsoft is pleased to announce the recent opening of our new Quantum Materials Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 21. We have high expectations for the new lab. It’s where the heart of our quantum computer—the topological qubit—will be developed under the direction of Scientific Director Peter Krogstrup.

Reporting to Krogstrup is a team of skilled mechanical engineers, materials scientists, and quantum physicists. Together, they’re synthesizing ultra-clean quantum crystals, the building blocks of future quantum computers. The Copenhagen lab will supply these crystals to Microsoft Quantum labs located in Delft, the Netherlands; Sydney, Australia; Santa Barbara, California; and other locations.

It’s fitting that Copenhagen should host this groundbreaking new lab. After all, it was Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted who in 1820 discovered the link between electricity and magnetism—a breakthrough that in time helped lead to the use of electricity to run our world. Another Danish scientist, Niels Bohr, received a Nobel prize in physics in 1922 for his work on quantum theory. Bohr later founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen. Our new quantum lab will lead to discoveries that are equally groundbreaking.

Given that people such as Oersted and Bohr are household names in Denmark—with streets and parks named for them—it wasn’t surprising that the opening of our new lab was a newsworthy event. Danish Minister of Higher Education and Science Tommy Ahlers was among those attending, and later joked on Twitter about a TV interview he gave: “Everything was going fine until they asked me to explain the physics behind quantum computing!”

Beyond research and development, another role for the new Copenhagen lab is to help educate the public on the field of quantum computing. It’s been designed such that passersby, families with children, students, and others can see researchers at work behind large glass windows creating materials that will make scalable quantum computing possible. The lab’s neighbor is the Technical University of Denmark, where half of Denmark’s engineers are trained. Students there are finding inspiration in the Microsoft lab and charting their own futures around quantum computing.

The Microsoft Quantum Materials Lab’s impressive array of scientific equipment speaks to the exciting research it’s tackling. One of the problems researchers there will investigate is how to create quantum states that are more easily interpreted. “Quantum states are extremely fragile and therefore very difficult to maintain and read,” lab director Krogstrup says. “And quantum materials must be perfect. That means not one atom can lie in the wrong place—literally. This is among the things we need to do more research in.”

Quantum computing is a complex concept and can be a challenge for people to wrap their heads around. But the potential of the field is clear—creating computers far more powerful than anything available today, with the ability to solve some of the most difficult computing problems imaginable. We look forward to delivering that reality with the Quantum Materials Lab.

Posted on October 10, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

‘Forza Horizon 4’ sees 2M players in its first week

It has been one week since we launched Forza Horizon 4 and we are humbled by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we continue to receive from players around the world. We are proud to say that in this first week alone, there are currently two million players driving around Forza Horizon 4’s Britain. On behalf of everyone at Playground Games, thank you for supporting Forza Horizon 4 and making the game such a success!

With such incredible global engagement with Forza Horizon 4, the game is now the highest-rated Xbox exclusive of this generation* and Forza continues to be the best-selling racing franchise of this console generation**. We also want to share some fun stats with you from the community:

More than 4.6 million hours of Forza Horizon 4 gameplay have been watched across Mixer, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook as of Oct. 9***
Players have logged more than 822.7 million miles – that’s probably not covered under manufacturer warranty
The community has settled in quite nicely living the Horizon Life, purchasing more than 4.1 million properties and owning more than 74.4 million cars
More than 377.7 million roads discovered – you’ve been looking for miles and miles and miles…

To say this is an exciting time for everyone would be an understatement and as Ralph shared on Inside Xbox during Goodwood, there’s a lot more to look forward to in the next few weeks including our biggest fan requested feature – Route Creator, coming on Oct. 25.

Forza Horizon 4 is now available with Xbox Game Pass and globally on Xbox One and Windows 10. Xbox Game Pass members can start playing Forza Horizon 4 Standard Edition on Xbox One and Windows 10, as part of their monthly membership. The membership includes over 100 more great games, including highly anticipated new Xbox exclusives the day they’re released, all for one low monthly price.

Be sure to follow @WeArePlayground and @ForzaMotorsport for regular updates, and @XboxGamePass on Twitter and Instagram for upcoming news and more games being added all the time.

*Source: Metacritic

**Source: The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service (U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand) – November 2012-August 2018; and other sources.

***Source: Mixer, Stream Hatchet

Posted on October 9, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Microsoft’s vision for improving urban mobility is becoming a reality

This year at Smart City Expo World Congress 2018, Microsoft will join global leaders to share innovative solutions focused on the digital transformation of cities. This is the second in a series of blogs about how Microsoft provides the intelligent services and trusted platform for partner solutions that empower cities to be more secure, prosperous, and sustainable. Join Microsoft and its partners at SCEWC 2018.

Approximately 55% of the world’s inhabitants currently live in urban areas, and this is expected to increase to 68%—more than 6 billion people—by 2050. In direct correlation, the number of cars on the road is projected to more than double to over 2 billion by 2050, further exacerbating crowding and traffic concerns. As cities grow and become more densely populated, urban planners face the challenge of ensuring citizens have affordable, sustainable transportation options that meet their needs. This will put significant pressures on cities, which already consume about 75% of global primary energy, yet must determine how to keep millions of citizens moving via both public and private transportation.

Fortunately for today’s citizens, the future of urban mobility has never been brighter.

Imagine a world where autonomous vehicles travel the streets and highways. Cities connect citizens to multi-modal forms of transport, such as trains, buses, and ride-sharing, with intuitive journey planning and payment systems. Rich data from smart infrastructure, transportation networks, and connected vehicles will empower city planners, transit agencies, and other urban leaders to make progress in urban mobility for generations to come. Cities will have the capability to adapt in real time to traveler preferences and build dynamic fare models, as well as proactively manage infrastructure and vehicle traffic flow by anticipating issues before they occur and identifying emerging trends.

This smart mobility future is becoming more of a reality as cities and urban leaders turn to digital transformation.

Microsoft’s vision for enhancing urban mobility

Microsoft and its partners are developing cutting-edge technologies that empower cities to establish intelligent transportation networks and optimize urban mobility for citizens—and it all starts with data. Solutions from Microsoft and its partners help cities build smart infrastructure by connecting billions of IoT-supported devices at the edge on a secure platform that extends from the silicon to the cloud.

Once connected, this vast network of devices empowers cities to generate the rich data required to apply artificial intelligence (AI) and uncover insights they can use to take action. By aggregating IoT and location data while utilizing secure cloud technology, cities and transit agencies can use AI to identify congestion and reroute traffic, alert citizens to parking options, ensure consistent transit vehicle operation with predictive maintenance, and develop programs to incentivize transit use. They can even improve smart energy management by optimizing electrical vehicle charging with data gleaned from smart grids.

Microsoft’s Connected Vehicle Platform, supported by industry-leading partners, utilizes data to take cities to a new level of urban mobility. Telematics and predictive services improve the driver experience using telemetry data to deliver predictive maintenance notifications. Consumers can stay connected with in-vehicle conference solutions, productivity tools, and intelligent personal assistant support. Advanced driver assistance systems increase safety and performance by delivering road and environment data to the driver or autonomous driving system in real time, all while utilizing location services and data to navigate, search, route and improve travel time.

Partners are already helping cities reimagine transportation with our powerful technologies

Microsoft partner Cubic Transportation Systems is a leading integrator of payment and information technology that connects more than 38 million commuters and travelers globally every day, processing 24 billion transactions annually. Cubic builds intelligent solutions on a versatile platform for mobility management, with a focus on transportation agencies in cities responsible for managing road networks and public transportation. Cubic works to create the easiest ways for citizens to travel and pay with Microsoft, taps into the cloud to securely manage data, and supports the flexibility and scalability customers need to respond in a constantly changing environment.

Microsoft’s partner PwC is another great example of what the future of smart cities could look like. Their capabilities span the diverse needs of modern cities and their citizens across urban mobility and through infrastructure, data, analytics, as well as collaborative planning and public safety. As a professional services industry leader, PwC worked with the province of Ontario to unite 11 transit agencies via PRESTO, a program that helped citizens travel more efficiently through the system with one payment card. By taking advantage of Microsoft’s powerful, scalable data platform and Power BI visualizations, PwC empowered the province to convert analytics into a decision and action platform and make the changes (like in payments) that customers wanted.

Connect with us at SCEWC 2018 to learn more about enhancing urban mobility in your city

Microsoft delivers leading-edge technology for creating intelligent cities and redefining urban mobility. Learn more about how Microsoft and its partners, such as Cubic Transportation Systems and PwC, are creating a more mobile future for tomorrow’s citizens. Also, visit our booth at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2018 and register to attend the CityNext Intelligent Cities Forum!

Posted on October 9, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Introducing the Xbox One S ‘Minecraft’ Creators Bundle

Create your ultimate Minecraft adventure and be a part of the global phenomenon with the Xbox One S Minecraft Creators Bundle, available soon at select retailers globally for $299 USD / £249 GBP.

The Xbox One S Minecraft Creators Bundle includes:

Xbox One S with 1TB hard drive, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and 4K video streaming
Xbox Wireless Controller
Full-game download of Minecraft
1,000 Minecoins for use in the Minecraft Marketplace
Starter Pack DLC: Greek Mythology Mash-up, Plastic Texture Pack, Skin Pack 1, and Villains Skin Pack.
Creators Pack: Adventurer’s Dream Mash-up and Winter Mini-Games Festival by Noxcrew, Relics of the Privateers by Imagiverse, PureBDcraft Texture Pack by BDcraft, Pastel Skin Pack by Eneija, and Wildlife Savanna by PixelHeads
1-month Xbox Game Pass trial so you can play 100 great games out of the box

Also included in the Xbox One S Minecraft Creators Bundle is a 14-day Xbox Live Gold trial, so you can experience adventures in the community of 91 million Minecraft players each month across Windows 10 PC, mobile, VR, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch.

Whether you’re playing Minecraft, watching movies or streaming gameplay, Xbox One S delivers brilliant graphics with HDR technology, premium audio and the best community of gamers. Games play best on Xbox One and as part of the Xbox One family, you can enjoy more than 1,300 games, including exclusives like Forza Horizon 4 and Sea of Thieves.

Posted on October 9, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Digital transformation for nonprofits: The business of doing good with data

The fast pace of technology is changing how we live, work, and play. But can it also change how we give, donate, and help others?

Justin Spelhaug thinks so … it’s his mission. After years of working with commercial customers in the United States and Asia, he now leads Technology for Social Impact (TSI): a group within Microsoft that is resetting how nonprofit organizations – big and small – operate so they can thrive in a digital world.

“I like to think of myself as one of the chief social business advocates within Microsoft. I try to find ways to combine technology and commercial models, so they have a social impact,” he said in a recent interview during a visit to Singapore. “Both my parents worked in nonprofits and social services, so duty has always been in my DNA. I couldn’t be happier. This is exactly what I want to do.”

Justin Spelhaug (right) and Ng Herk Low, Assistant Chief Executive of SG Enable, at the Enabling Village in Singapore. Photo: Geoff Spencer

Spelhaug’s starting point is this: Digital transformation can boost the impact, performance, and viability of any organization – from major corporations to small and medium enterprises, to government departments, and even the leanest and most humble of nonprofits. And, while nonprofits are in the business of doing good, he says, innovating how they manage donors, volunteers and beneficiaries can unlock tremendous value and impact

The reality, though, is often different. Many nonprofits struggle to get by. They are revenue-stretched, and paper-bound – structurally and technologically. With limited capability to generate meaningful data, they lack a firm understanding of how they are performing or what their costs really are. They aren’t sure what programs are doing well and what could be done better. Security around record-keeping can be patchy and vulnerable. Arcane and laborious administrative tasks, as well as the pressure of constant fundraising, can tie up skilled specialists and volunteers – keeping them from focusing on their real mission: helping others.

This can mean that beneficiaries might not be getting the assistance they need, while many donors are too often left in the dark.

“In the commercial world, a company must keep their investors informed,” Spelhaug explains. “In the nonprofit world, donors are key stakeholders, and many are demanding greater optics before their commit funds to a cause.”

A significant part of the solution lies in digital transformation that is centered on data. “Just as the new currency in private enterprise is data, the new currency in the nonprofit industry is data.”

Moving from disorganized mountains of paperwork to streams of coordinated and secure data, not only transforms the inner workings of a nonprofit, it can save its reputation with donors and government agencies.

Thailand’s Social Innovation Foundation, for instance, helps people with disabilities to find jobs. But for years it struggled to meet their targets as its staff grappled with the challenges of collating thousands of paper documents and ensuring piles of forms were filled out accurately. Now they have moved ahead with digital transformation. Using Dynamics 365, they aim to scale from completing a few hundred cases annually to more than 10,000 in the future.

The power of data through digital transformation can also create new ways of doing things. In a company that might mean launching a new service or product line. In a nonprofit, it could lead to entirely new ways of delivering aid.

“Data is key to really understanding where you can have an impact. It tells you the cost per program of delivering that impact, and how can you scale that impact in completely different ways. With that, a nonprofit’s leadership team can adopt a different mindset on how they can innovate and produce new digital models within their social mission.”

Take, for example, Medical Teams International – a US-based global aid organization, which is currently working around the world, including in Asia on projects like the protracted Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

It began as a largely paper-based operation that provided basic medical services for displaced people. But once it started digitizing its patient and other records, it realized it had real-time data that, with advanced analytics on the cloud, could help identify disease trends.

“From the data they can see malaria starting to peak. From that, they can act and get ahead of an outbreak. They can go into a village or a camp and talk with the people about prevention – fogging, dumping stagnant water pools, supplying mosquito nets, and so on. They use data as a primary tool to drive their programming and data is saving lives.”

Justin Spelhaug (left) and Ng Herk Low, Assistant Chief Executive of SG Enable, at the Enabling Village in Singapore. Photo: Geoff Spencer

Meanwhile, new digital technologies are leading to the creation of practical and potentially life-changing solutions for the disadvantaged. During his Singapore visit, Spelhaug toured the city-state’s Enabling Village, which, among many things, is exploring how technology and new devices can empower people with disabilities and provide satisfying careers and more independent lifestyles. Recently, Microsoft volunteers helped “map” around 700 objects and features on its campus on a community-generated platform, called OpenStreetMap. It acts as a data source that feeds apps such as SoundScape, which makes it easier for the visually impaired to get around independently using 3D audio cues.

Digital transformation has also helped the Thai Red Cross Society become a more inclusive employer. After moving its operations to the cloud with help from Microsoft, it was able to take on 100 workers with disabilities. Also in Thailand, the Social Innovation Foundation is using digital technology to better help people with disabilities find jobs. Before they faced a massive paperwork challenge. Now they are using Microsoft Dynamics 365 which they expect will dramatically raise their case handling rates from a few hundred a year to more than 10,000.

Posted on October 9, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

POLITICO Europe elects Microsoft technology to power its innovative new Elections hub

By Ben Rudolph, Managing Director of Modern Journalism, Microsoft Corporate HQ

This morning, in collaboration with Microsoft, POLITICO Europe launched a new Elections hub to report on the upcoming 2019 European Parliamentary elections. One of the key features of the hub is a stunning interactive data visualization – built with Microsoft Power BI.

The team at POLITICO Europe, already recognized as the #1 most influential publication on European affairs for two of the three years since it launched, seeks to bring an unprecedented degree of education and insight to the European electorate as they navigate the complicated election process, which spans thousands of candidates and hundreds of parties across the EU’s 27 member nations. The nonpartisan organization considers itself to have a critical responsibility to all European citizens as they consider the candidates for which they will vote, and knows it will be important to continue to be at the forefront of innovation. POLITICO Europe’s leaders worked with Microsoft to envision new ways of reporting likely outcomes of the election, and break down complex issues like coalition building, to show individual voters the impact of their vote, and draw new participants into the democratic process.

At Microsoft, we are thrilled to engage with POLITICO Europe and deliver on our commitment to empower the news industry to discover and tell impactful stories. Together we are using technology to deliver on POLITICO’s mission and expertise in connecting the dots between EU and member states, making politics more accessible and transparent.

“Visualizing the election will make it a more meaningful event for our readers, showing them during nine months where the election is headed, and how they compare to their neighbors,” said Ryan Heath, Political Editor at POLITICO, leading this project for the newsroom. “We’re encouraging readers to adopt a new way of thinking about the European Union, one where we all see beyond our borders, and want to match this new way of thinking with new ways of discovering and exploring the latest news and facts at a personal level.”

POLITICO Europe readers can explore a detailed, graphical, interactive view of the projected makeup of the 9^th European Parliament in a way that has never previously been possible. Currently based on the latest results of national polls, the visualization will update with live election results on May 23-26, 2019, as those actual election results become known, and will ultimately show the new makeup of the Parliament. In addition to a traditional “seating chart” view, the interactive visualization also enables readers to view MEP seats by region or country, making it simple and fun to learn more about the election and political parties that comprise the Parliament.

The centerpiece on the Elections hub is one of several data stories live at launch, and the first of several engaging technology projects POLITICO and Microsoft are developing together. Additional Power BI reports live on the hub at launch include a trends piece on polling results, voter turnout and women MEPs.

Next month, POLITICO Europe will launch country-level pages in the hub, leveraging the rich visualization and interactive capabilities of Power BI to share vital information about each of the 27 EU-member countries participating in the election. Microsoft and POLITICO Europe will also launch new content formats that bring discussion about the future of the EU to new and existing readers.

Power BI is the go-to- tool to thinking about data-rich topics, whether in the boardroom with customers like Heathrow International Airport, or in news articles published by the Associated Press, Recode and many others.

Read more about POLITICO’s Election hub and how Microsoft technology is empowering the POLITICO team to achieve more in their press release.

Find out more about the POLITICO Europe Power BI report and Power BI for data journalism, on the Power BI blog after 9am PDT.

Posted on October 8, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Grab forges strategic cloud partnership with Microsoft to drive innovation and adoption of digital services across Southeast Asia

Grab will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform.
Microsoft will make a strategic investment in Grab.
The five-year agreement will see both parties collaborate on a range of technology projects, including big data, artificial intelligence and mobility solutions.

Ming Maa and Peggy Johnson — Ming Maa, president of Grab (left), with Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Business Development, Microsoft.

SINGAPORE and REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 8, 2018 — Microsoft Corp. and Grab, the leading on-demand transportation, mobile payments and online-to-offline services platform in Southeast Asia, announced on Monday a strategic partnership that will transform the delivery of digital services and mobility in the region by leveraging Microsoft’s world-class expertise in machine learning and other artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. As a first step in the broad collaboration between the two companies, Grab will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform and Microsoft will make a strategic investment in Grab.

“This partnership signals a deep collaboration with Microsoft on an array of technology projects, including big data and artificial intelligence, that will transform the delivery of everyday services and mobility solutions in Southeast Asia,” said Ming Maa, president of Grab. “As a global technology leader, Microsoft’s investment into Grab highlights our position as the leading homegrown technology player in the region. We look forward to collaborating with Microsoft in the pursuit of enhancing on-demand transportation and seamless online-to-offline experiences for users.”

“Our partnership with Grab opens up new opportunities to innovate in both a rapidly evolving industry and growth region,” said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president at Microsoft. “We’re excited to team up to transform the customer experience as well as enhance the delivery of digital services for the millions of users who rely on Grab for safe and affordable transport, food and package delivery, mobile payments, and financial services.”

As the top mobile online-to-offline platform in Southeast Asia, Grab operates in 235 cities across eight Southeast Asian countries, and Grab’s digital wallet, GrabPay, is the leading player in Southeast Asia.

Through this partnership, Grab will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform, tapping into Microsoft’s intelligent cloud and AI capabilities to scale Grab’s platform efficiently and increase its capacity and capabilities. Through this collaboration the companies will explore a number of innovative deep technology projects that will enhance and transform the Grab experience for Grab’s users, driver-partners, merchants and agents. These special innovation projects include:

Big data, AI and machine learning

To help improve passenger and driver safety and security, Grab will work with Microsoft to explore new authentication mechanisms such as mobile facial recognition with built-in AI for drivers and customers who opt in, as a replacement for checking IDs, that help match both driver and passenger identities to the reservation.
Grab will explore utilizing Microsoft Azure’s data analytics and fraud detection services to better predict and prevent fraudulent transactions on Grab’s platform.
The companies plan to leverage Microsoft’s natural language processing capabilities to provide customers with contextualized real-time translations and create an AI chatbot so Grab users can engage in interactive experiences.
Microsoft’s machine learning and AI capabilities will be used to power Grab’s advanced “recommendation engine” that analyzes user data and behavior to provide personalized services and content recommendations through the Grab application.
Grab also plans to work with Microsoft to explore image recognition and computer vision technologies that will improve the user and driver pickup experience. For example, passengers will be able to take a photo of their current location and have it translated into an actual address for the driver.
To improve map creation and quality, Grab plans to tap into the power of Microsoft’s machine learning capabilities.

Other areas of collaboration

Microsoft Outlook integration. Grab will provide on-demand transportation booking options to Outlook users so they can seamlessly book rides directly in the application and be alerted with calendar reminders.
Microsoft Kaizala. Grab will pilot Microsoft’s Kaizala, a mobile app and service for large group communications and work management, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Grab’s Customer Service teams.
In-car solutions. The companies will collaborate on the deployment of in-car entertainment and productivity solutions across Southeast Asia.
Rewards integration. Microsoft will explore integrating Microsoft Rewards Gift Cards into the Grab Rewards loyalty program.

About Grab

Grab is one of the most frequently used O2O mobile platforms in Southeast Asia, providing the everyday services that matter most to consumers. Commute, eat, deliver shopping – and pay with one e-wallet. Grab believes that every Southeast Asian should benefit from the digital economy, and the company provides access to safe and affordable transport, food and package delivery, mobile payments and financial services. Grab currently offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. For more information, please visit www.grab.com.

About Microsoft

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777,

rrt@we-worldwide.com

Hume Brophy, Grab, +65 9384 0839, grab@humebrophy.com

Posted on October 8, 2018 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Games, sweepstakes and more: Catch the Game4Paul fundraiser live on Mixer this Thursday

On Thursday, Xbox will partner with Reach Out WorldWide (ROWW) to host the fourth annual Game4Paul charity fundraiser, a livestream full of games, exclusive sweepstakes and more that will support ROWW’s mission to provide natural disaster relief across the globe. The livestream will also honor the life and legacy of actor and ROWW founder, Paul Walker. Tune in on Thursday at 1 p.m. PDT on the Mixer Xbox Channel to catch all the action with some of Paul’s friends and family, including actors Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson and Sung Kang from “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, and Paul’s brother and CEO of ROWW, Cody Walker.

We’re expecting this to be the biggest Game4Paul yet, and the livestream has a full lineup of guests and exclusive rewards from the new Forza Horizon 4, as well as Fallout 76, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Xbox partners including Fandango, Samsung and V-MODA. You’ll have the chance to win this limited edition Game4Paul Xbox One X signed by none other than Vin Diesel. For a chance to win this custom console, buy a ticket now at Game4Paul.com. All proceeds will benefit ROWW, so check out the full list of rewards and ways you can contribute to this important cause.

ROWW was founded by Paul Walker to deploy quick and efficient humanitarian relief in the chaos after natural disasters. ROWW has a team deployed in Indonesia now providing medical aid and water to those affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. Concurrently, ROWW has a team in North Carolina assisting with the clean-up efforts from Hurricane Florence. You can make a difference by donating to ROWW to provide one million gallons of clean water, medical supplies and other tools needed to start rebuilding these communities.

Also airing during the Game4Paul livestream is an exclusive Xbox Game Pass Challenge featuring Vin Diesel and Cody Walker! Vin and Cody had to complete challenges in a variety of games, all of which are available in the Xbox Game Pass catalog, including completing the motocross showcase challenge in the new Forza Horizon 4, as well as challenges in Cluster Truck, Super Mega Baseball, and Rocket League. For each challenge Vin and Cody completed, they earned $10k for ROWW. Tune in to find out how much money they raised for ROWW during the livestream! And get the inside scoop from Vin on his latest action film, Bloodshot, set to release in 2020.

We can’t wait to see all the games, challenges, prizes and support for ROWW come together – it’s sure to be a fun, memorable and impactful event. Don’t miss Game4Paul airing on Mixer Xbox Channel, Twitch Xbox Channel and Cody Walker’s Facebook Page on Thursday at 1 p.m. PDT.

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Grab will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform.Microsoft will make a strategic investment in Grab.The five-year agreement will see both parties collaborate on a range of technology projects, including big data, artificial intelligence and mobility solutions.

Grab will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform.
Microsoft will make a strategic investment in Grab.
The five-year agreement will see both parties collaborate on a range of technology projects, including big data, artificial intelligence and mobility solutions.