Microsoft news – Page 86

Posted on September 22, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

How Microsoft Premonition can help in the global fight against disease outbreaks

By the time Zika emerged in 2016 in the Americas, the team had been researching new monitoring approaches for about a year. They quickly produced a small fleet of prototypes. These early robotic smart traps, resembling scale models of circular, high rise condos, were designed to lure, autonomously identify and capture mosquitoes, providing public health officials with data streams that weren’t previously available. The goal was to help them decide when and where disease-transmitting mosquitoes will be – to better understand the risk of Zika.

Harris County, home to the city of Houston, Texas, was the location for the initial deployment of Project Premonition, which has now matured into Microsoft Premonition. Fast-forward four years, and now Microsoft Premonition and Harris County Public Health will begin building one of the most advanced biothreat detection networks in an expanded partnership.

“Game-changing,” is how Douglas E. Norris, an entomologist and Johns Hopkins University professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, describes Premonition’s impact.

“Everything we do now in terms of mosquito treatment is reactive – we see a lot of mosquitoes, we go spray a lot of mosquitoes,” says Norris who worked on the project. “Imagine if you had a forecasting system that shows, in a few days you’re going to have a lot of mosquitoes based on all this data and these models – then you could go out and treat them earlier before they’re biting, spray, hit them early so you don’t get those big mosquito blooms which then might result in disease transmission.”

It is a healthier approach for humans and for the environment, Norris says. And it’s also a more cost-effective approach, especially with COVID-19 stressing the staffing and budget limits of public health departments around the world.

Building on the idea of One-Health, a concept that reinforces the idea that the health of the humans depends on the environment they live in, Premonition aids public health systems to better measure the efficacy of interventions and the costs of varying approaches.

“Most of the things that can impact our health, the health of our societies and our economies are small,” says Jackson. “They’re things like arthropods – such as mosquitoes and ticks, or microbes and viruses that are even smaller; they are at the scales of millimeters, microns and nanometers.”

Microsoft Premonition’s robotic sensing platform will capture, collect, aggregate and analyze data about these tiny and often seemingly unseen threats.

Ethan Jackson stands with plants and shelves in the background — “Microsoft Premonition obviously has a very different perspective than when we first started this project,” says Ethan Jackson, director of Microsoft Premonition. Photo by Microsoft.

“All of the sensor networks that we have today – networks that do things like collect data to predict weather, collect data about the power grid so that we can load balance it, collect information about what traffic is doing so that we can predict it – all of those sensor networks, which are really hundreds and hundreds of millions of sensors – can’t see these important species,” Jackson says.

“These life forms we’re talking about are invisible to basically all of those sensors that we’ve deployed across the globe. And that’s pretty incredible when you think about it, that we have such a huge blind spot about what’s in the environment.”

In 2016, during the peak risk of Zika transmission, 10 robotic smart traps were trained in Harris County to identify and selectively capture relevant mosquitoes and did so with about 90% accuracy. In addition, metagenomic analyses detected microorganisms and viruses in mosquito specimens, and identified the types of animals on which they fed.

Now, with the upcoming deployment of Microsoft Premonition, Harris County will have a sensor network at scale, providing “continuous biological situational awareness,” Jackson says. “So, they should be able to look at a map and see in real time what is happening now. Which, from the weather analogy, just doesn’t exist today. A 24-hour forecast allows them to plan early for specific interventions in the environment.”

“We want a future where emerging pathogens like Zika can be detected and suppressed quickly and equitably across Harris County,” says Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health.

“This partnership will also evaluate new genomic capabilities to detect known and emerging pathogens from environmental samples – which we now know is especially important for diseases like COVID-19.”

The future of public health “depends on innovation – innovative science, innovative engineering and innovative policy,” he says. “We are excited to continue this journey with Microsoft as we learn together.”

The next step is to be able to forecast “when and where the threat might emerge, not just 24 hours from now, but say, a month from now,” Jackson says. “And to do that, we’ll be refactoring, redesigning epidemiological models so that we can tell Harris County – ‘This is a location a month from now where there is a high possibility of an outbreak of West Nile virus,’” the primary mosquito-borne virus in Harris County.

Nicolas Villar hovers over a piece of lab equipment as part of Project Premonition — “We are trying to solve really important problems that face humanity today, and on a scale that is incredibly exciting,” says Nicolas Villar, a principal hardware architect. Photo by Microsoft.

Over the last five years, Premonition’s technologies have been tested in a variety of habitats – ranging from the sands of the Florida Keys to the remote forests of Tanzania, Africa. “Biology is hard, and we want to do it right,” Jackson says. Science can’t be rushed.

Premonition systems are developed in the “Premonition Proving Ground,” a state-of-the-art Arthropod Containment Level 2 (ACL-2) facility, where wild mosquitoes can be raised, digitized, and observed to develop identification algorithms and evaluate device designs. The Microsoft Redmond campus is also their hub for computationally scanning environmental samples – obtained and sequenced by collaborating partners – for pathogens.

Stopping disease threats before they cause outbreaks is a cross-disciplinary and cross-industry challenge.

Deep collaboration with academia is important to develop the right technology based on the best understanding of the underlying science. The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded an NSF “Convergence Accelerator” grant, which includes academic partners from Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and the University of Pittsburgh. The NSF Convergence Accelerator is one of the NSF’s “10 big ideas” to rapidly accelerate innovation.

“This project will provide long lasting contributions to human health and pandemic preparedness,” the NSF said in its award, noting that “as deep biome data exponentially scales, the life sciences will become overwhelmed with genomic information. Convergence must lead to new methods to efficiently harness these data and autonomously derive insights.”

Industrial collaborators are also crucial to success. Bayer, perhaps best known for its aspirin – but also one of the world’s leading agricultural companies – plays a critical role by providing public health with treatments to suppress mosquito populations. For example, in partnership with other leading companies in vector control, they are working to eradicate malaria by the year 2040. According to the World Health Organization, in 2018, nearly half of the world’s population was at risk of malaria.

“That’s why we need to have in our toolbox a diverse set of solutions, including those that give us insights,” says Jacqueline Applegate, president of Global Vegetable Seeds and Environmental Science at Bayer. “Microsoft Premonition gives us the opportunity to be able to get a much more realistic perspective.”

Premonition will allow Bayer “to utilize data, information tools, and resources in new ways so we can be even more prescriptive and optimize our vector control strategies so that they have the greatest impact,” she says. “And as intervention becomes more accurate, we can help free up capacity for countries – with often limited resources – for other public health issues.”

Posted on September 22, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Shell, Microsoft find common ground in drive to reduce CO2 emissions

Microsoft and Shell have enjoyed a long and productive relationship, built on deep connections that stretch back decades. Shell was one of the first global businesses to adopt the Windows operating system across its entire enterprise. More recently, Shell has been a pioneer in digital transformation, embracing technologies that improve efficiency and safety, and accelerate development of cleaner energy sources. This includes major deployments of Azure, Microsoft 365 and the Power platform.

That relationship is growing even deeper to help meet the difficult and complex challenges of energy transition. Under a newly announced strategic alliance, the two companies aim to jointly develop technologies that will help them accelerate achieving their carbon reduction ambitions, while helping customers and other organizations reduce their own emissions. Microsoft will help build new artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that accelerate Shell’s digital transformation and Shell will supply products and services that help Microsoft in its drive to net zero carbon emissions.

“These complex challenges can’t be solved in isolation, or by doing business as usual,” says Judson Althoff, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Worldwide Commercial Business. “We are proud to play our role in a sustainable future, and we know that a successful energy transition depends on strong technology partnerships anchored in co-innovation and development with leaders in the energy sector.”

Advancing Shell’s digital transformation

Under the alliance, the two companies will continue advancing Shell’s digital transformation, building on an extensive technology portfolio. With technology flowing both ways, the companies can learn from each other and implement solutions together, which will also create new opportunities for their customers and suppliers to reduce their carbon footprints.

The alliance is expected help Shell suppliers decarbonize. Shell is already using Azure to develop a digital tool to track supplier emissions, show baselines, set targets and develop plans for its own operations to achieve these targets. Going forward, Shell and Microsoft aim to develop additional digital tools to help Shell’s suppliers reduce their carbon footprints.

Shell and Microsoft will also work together to provide tools and solutions that help customers manage their carbon footprint. They will collaborate on a digital platform to help small to medium sized companies calculate their carbon footprints, while exploring new ways for customers to find and access low-carbon solutions and products.

“Together we already develop, test and deliver technologies that push the boundaries of what can be achieved,” says Huibert Vigeveno, downstream director at Shell. “We are proud of our relationship. And today we are going further.”

Where digital transformation and energy transformation meet

As Shell supplies energy and products to Microsoft, the alliance will begin to merge digital transformation into energy transformation. Shell is innovating in large-scale renewable energy and advanced technologies that drive efficiency into industrial processes.

Microsoft’s plan is to become carbon negative by reducing its emissions and then removing more carbon from the earth’s atmosphere than it emits. Similarly, Shell’s ambition is to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner in step with society and customers. Shell recognizes that becoming a net-zero emissions energy business is a huge task. The business plans Shell has today will not get it there, so its plans must change over time, as society and its customers also change.

Microsoft and Shell are not alone in these efforts. Under this new alliance, the two companies aim to offer practical solutions to those seeking to lower their carbon emissions. Shell and Microsoft also are exploring opportunities to advance the use of sustainable aviation fuels.

“We are seeing a cultural shift, not just internally, but everywhere. We have to change the way we do business,” says Dan Jeavons, Shell’s general manager of data science. “Microsoft and Shell each have customers across many industries and their needs are changing. Together, we are working to understand those needs and to find ways to address them. That will unlock tremendous value for Shell, Microsoft, our customers and beyond.”

Data helps drive decarbonization

Digital technology will play a key role in the energy transition, which is where the expertise of Shell and Microsoft align. Shell processes billions of data points each week from its global asset base. The company uses Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform alongside digital twin technologies from Kongsberg and AI platform technology from C3.ai to quickly aggregate and analyze that data to generate a virtual picture of what’s happening across its businesses.

Shell has built a data and analytics platform called Shell.ai which provides machine learning and software engineering capabilities to scale AI solutions across the company. That helps Shell to automate processes like robotic inspection of facilities that can improve maintenance, safety and efficiency. Shell and Microsoft are working together to build out those technologies and share them with customers and suppliers. Both Shell and Microsoft are working to accelerate innovation across the energy industry through the development of open data standards. This is demonstrated through membership in OSDU and Open Footprint Forum.

“The cloud creates a common fabric, but it only works if you have a common data exchange. That makes it much easier to innovate on top of that,” Jeavons says.

Posted on September 22, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

How HoloLens 2 is helping build NASA’s Orion spacecraft

When workers for Lockheed Martin began assembling the crew seats for a spacecraft designed to return astronauts to the moon and pave the way for human exploration to Mars, they had no need for paper instructions or tablet screens to work from.

Everything they needed to see — from animations of how pieces fit together to engineering drawings to torque values for tightening bolts — was visible in HoloLens 2 devices that they wore.

The mixed reality headsets left their hands free to manipulate hardware. Voice commands guided them through every step, with holographic instructions overlaid on the relevant parts of the four seats that will be installed inside the crew module of the Orion spacecraft, which Lockheed Martin is building to support NASA’s Artemis program to carry humans to the moon and beyond.

“They didn’t have to refer back to a computer screen or paper drawings during that entire activity,” said Shelley Peterson, Lockheed Martin principal investigator for augmented and mixed reality. “Out on the shop floor they can put on the HoloLens 2 device, power it up, and it has all the content that they need to figure out how to do that task overlaid right there on the structure.”

Building a spacecraft requires millions of tasks, each with zero room for error, from attaching electrical cables in the correct pathways to lubricating joints and precisely locating thousands of tiny devices that measure how the craft performs under stress.

Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor building Orion, has employed HoloLens 2 on a variety of assembly tasks for the spacecraft that will be used in NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first to carry a crew of astronauts aboard Orion.

For some jobs that require lots of precise measuring by hand — such as marking locations for hundreds of fasteners on Orion’s spacecraft adapter jettison fairings — technicians using holographic instructions have finished those repetitive tasks 90 percent faster. The mixed reality headsets have also all but eliminated assembly mistakes, Peterson said. Lockheed Martin has experienced zero errors or rework requests on tasks in which workers were assisted by HoloLens headsets, which the company first deployed at the end of 2017, she said.

“The fact that we haven’t had any errors across all of these activities is phenomenal,” said Peterson, who oversees the company’s mixed reality initiatives.

“Usually when we’re considering new technologies we’re asking if there’s improved quality, if it’s faster or if it’s less expensive, and most people say you can only get two out of the three because there are always tradeoffs. What we’re finding with the HoloLens 2 is that we can hit all three, which is pretty unique,” Peterson said.

At its Ignite conference on Sept. 22, Microsoft announced it is expanding the global availability of HoloLens 2, which is now available for purchase in Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Posted on September 22, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Shell and Microsoft form alliance to help address carbon emissions

Both companies will expand their deep existing technology collaboration to create and deliver new solutions to help customers, suppliers and other businesses lower emissions.

Redmond, Washington – 22 Sept. 2020 – Shell International Petroleum Company Limited and Microsoft Corporation, building on a history of three decades of working together, are embarking on a new strategic alliance to support progress towards a world with net-zero emissions. This builds on the strong foundation of decades of technology collaboration between the two companies. This type of strategic alliance is a model for how companies can work together to achieve their net-zero ambitions.

“Microsoft and Shell both have rich histories of innovation and bold ambitions to decarbonise,” said Huibert Vigeveno, Downstream Director of Shell. “We are proud of the work we have already done together. Our strategic alliance will enable us to push the boundaries of what can be achieved. We believe we can unlock tremendous progress for Shell, Microsoft, our customers and beyond.”

“We are building on our work with Shell by establishing a deeper alliance to further accelerate innovation in support of decarbonization and energy industry transition,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Worldwide Commercial Business. “Cross-industry collaborations like this are fundamental to help society reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and digital transformation is key to tackling this important issue, within the energy sector and beyond.”

This strategic alliance will support Shell’s ambition to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, or sooner, in step with society and its customers. Shell’s supply of renewable energy will help Microsoft deliver on its renewable energy supply goals and its broader ambition to be carbon negative by 2050.

It is expected that over time the alliance will enable the two companies to achieve even more together.

Highlights of the expanded alliance include:

Shell will supply Microsoft with renewable energy, helping Microsoft to meet its commitment to having a 100% supply of renewable energy by 2025;
The two companies will continue working together on artificial intelligence (AI), which has already driven transformation across Shell’s operations through access to real-time data insights, contributing to worker and onsite safety, and delivering efficiencies that have helped reduce Shell’s carbon emissions;
Shell and Microsoft will work together on new digital tools so Shell can offer its suppliers and customers effective support in reducing their carbon footprints;
Shell and Microsoft will explore working together to help advance the use of sustainable aviation fuels; and
The companies will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing system and data from Shell assets to strengthen operational safety, by improving risk analysis, prediction and prevention.

Shell and Microsoft have already achieved important results through their long-standing technology collaboration:

Shell and Microsoft have been working together on AI for three years. So far this year, 47 AI-powered proprietary applications have been deployed across Shell’s businesses. Technologies such as Real-Time Production Optimisation have already shown potential to reduce CO₂ emissions in Shell’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations. The companies are committed to accelerating their AI work together to drive efficiencies and reduce emissions.
Shell and Microsoft have worked together to develop technologies that help keep Shell’s workers and sites safe. For example, Microsoft Azure powers Shell’s Autonomous Integrity Recognition (AIR) system, which uses image recognition algorithms to detect when equipment or parts of a site are susceptible to corrosion.

The alliance will deepen the co-operation that has existed between the two companies for more than three decades. It will enable Microsoft and Shell to accelerate the progress they are making on reducing carbon emissions.

Enquiries:

Shell Media Relations

International: +44 207 934 5550

US & Brazil: +1 832 337 4355

Microsoft Media Relations

WE Communications for Microsoft

(425) 638-7777

rrt@we-worldwide.com

About Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges.  Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit www.shell.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.

Cautionary note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Royal Dutch Shell” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and “joint operations”, respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

It is important to note that as of September 22, 2020, Shell’s operating plans and budgets do not reflect Shell’s net-zero emissions ambition. Shell’s aim is that, in the future, its operating plans and budgets will change to reflect this movement towards its new net-zero emissions ambition. However, these plans and budgets need to be in step with the movement towards a net zero emissions economy within society and among Shell’s customers.

This release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”, “ambition”, ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘goals’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘may’’, ‘‘objectives’’, ‘‘outlook’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘probably’’, ‘‘project’’, ‘‘risks’’, “schedule”, ‘‘seek’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘target’’, ‘‘will’’ and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, September 22, 2020. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.

Posted on September 22, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

AT&T and Microsoft to streamline cloud connectivity for IoT devices worldwide

A new solution built on AT&T’s global cellular network and Microsoft Azure Sphere will enable secured and effortless deployment of the IoT worldwide

Espresso barista with mobile device — AT&T and Microsoft are enabling businesses to connect devices and machines to their own secure cloud environments through an AT&T-powered guardian device with Azure Sphere.

DALLAS and REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 22, 2020 — AT&T and Microsoft are teaming up to enable enterprises to seamlessly connect machines and equipment to the cloud with highly secure network connectivity across the globe. As part of the effort, AT&T is working with Microsoft to deliver an integrated IoT solution with Azure Sphere. This AT&T powered guardian device with Azure Sphere will help businesses transform their operations quickly through massive IoT deployments at scale.

The AT&T powered guardian device is the latest example of how the two companies are working together through a strategic alliance to improve how people live and work today and in the future.

The new solution combines the secured architecture of Azure Sphere, a comprehensive IoT security solution including hardware, OS and cloud services with Azure IoT services and the global and multi-layered security of AT&T’s core network. The AT&T global SIM enables connectivity in more than 200 countries across 500 carriers. AT&T offers managed services to support day-to-day operations. The guardian device is easy to install and provides an end-to-end solution for connecting machines and equipment to the cloud, bypassing the need for public Internet.

The solution provides fast and highly secure activation right out of the box. It enables enterprises to easily connect existing equipment to the cloud and to Azure IoT Central. With this, a wide variety of industries can rapidly deploy IoT applications relying on the combined security benefits of the AT&T cellular network with Azure Sphere device security.

Think of fast food restaurants, coffee shops, elevators, hospitals, manufacturing plants and the ability to retrofit existing equipment into “smart” devices that are digitally enabled through highly secure cellular connections. Customers can connect their devices and machines to their own cloud environment without the need to connect to a Wi-Fi through a third party network connection that may not meet their high security standards.

“Our work with AT&T is a prime example of how the convergence of secure cloud computing and network technology helps businesses unlock new customer value and continuously simplify every aspect of our personal and professional lives,” said Corey Sanders, corporate vice president, Microsoft Solutions.

“AT&T and Microsoft share the belief that technology should serve people,” added Mo Katibeh, executive vice president and chief product and platform officer, AT&T Business. “Working with Microsoft we can offer a truly global solution with strong security and data insights that can help a broad array of industries simplify operations, manage costs, and become more agile in any market.”

AT&T and Microsoft launched their extensive multi-year alliance last year.

One area of focus is aimed at enabling new 5G, cloud and edge computing solutions to drive enterprise capabilities for companies around the world.

Find more information about the AT&T powered guardian device here and on the Microsoft Azure blog post from Galen Hunt, Distinguished Engineer and Managing Director, Microsoft Azure Sphere.

About Microsoft

*About AT&T Communications

We help family, friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we innovate to improve lives. We have the nation’s fastest wireless network.** And according to America’s biggest test, we have the nation’s best wireless network.*** We’re building FirstNet® just for first responders and creating next-generation mobile 5G. With a range of TV and video products, we deliver entertainment people love to talk about. Our smart, highly secure solutions serve nearly 3 million global businesses – nearly all of the Fortune 1000. And worldwide, our spirit of service drives employees to give back to their communities.

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AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att and on YouTube at youtube.com/att.

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***GWS Ones core, September 2019.

For more information, contact:

For AT&T:

Jessica Swain

AT&T Corporate Communications

jessica.swain@att.com

+1 (415) 613-4267

Microsoft Media Relations

WE Communications for Microsoft

Phone: (425) 638-7777

Email: rrt@we-worldwide.com

Posted on September 21, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

New Xbox app (Beta) on mobile is now available on Android phones and tablets

Last month Chris Novak, Head of Xbox Research and Design, shared our vision of a unified Xbox experience across devices that puts gamers at the center, enabling them to stay connected to their games, friends and communities, which will come to fruition with the release of Xbox Series X|S this November. As part of this vision, the Xbox team has been hard at work continuing to iterate on new experiences based on your feedback. Today, we’re excited to share another update laddering up to our vision of delivering you a unified Xbox experience – an all new Xbox app (Beta) on mobile is now available on Android phones and tablets.

The new Xbox app (Beta) has been rewritten from the ground up making it easier for all gamers to stay connected to your friends, games and fun at home or on the go, no matter what device they prefer to play on. Your friends and parties can stay with you via voice and text chat, even if they’re on console or PC. A new, unified notification inbox means you will now receive and be able to clear your notifications for new party invites, messages, and more right on your phone. The new share feature makes it easier to share game clips and screenshots from your console to your favorite gaming and social networks. Lastly, we’re unlocking Xbox remote play, formally known as Xbox Console Streaming (Preview) for all gamers in the new Xbox app (Beta)—you no longer need to be an Xbox Insider to play games installed to your console on your phone. The free Xbox app (beta) is available for you to check out today and keeps in you the game—wherever you like to play.

Notifications for instant updates

With the new Xbox app (Beta), you can receive notifications for parties, chats, new friends and followers, captures that are ready to share, and more. Once you clear your notifications on any device, your Xbox notifications will be updated across your Xbox accounts, no matter where you play next.

Xbox Party & Chat on the go

With the new Xbox app (Beta), your gaming friends are just a tap away while at home or on-the-go. Use the onscreen keyboard from your phone or tablet to send a quick message, or you can setup or join an Xbox party on your phone. Party up with your friends, no matter which device they have. Chat with friends on Xbox Series X|S at launch this November, or on Xbox One, and Windows 10 PCs. Built-in voice chat couldn’t be easier when using your favorite Bluetooth headset that you’ve already paired with your phone. With the new Xbox app (Beta), it’s easier to stay connected to your friends no matter where you are.

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Share your favorite gaming moments

Not only does the new Xbox Wireless Controller have a share button built in so you can capture your best gaming moment with the press of a button, we’ve also built a new sharing experience to make it easier than ever to share your game clips and screenshots with friends from your mobile phone.

Use the Xbox Wireless Controller to capture your best gaming moments. Press once for a screenshot, hold to record a game clip, or double tap to open your capture library. With the Xbox Accessories app on console, you have the option to swap how the Share button maps to capturing screen shot, game clips, and opening the media library. Then, share via your console, or with the new Xbox app (Beta).

The Xbox app (Beta) will let you know when you capture is done uploading and ready to share, and your favorite gaming moments will automatically be compiled in a library with the option to save directly to your phone. Use the new Xbox app (beta) to share quickly and easily. The new Xbox app (beta) is already setup for sharing to popular social media networks like Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and more. It also gives the option to share directly with one or a small group of friends via messages.

Profile highlights

Showcase your best gaming moments and awesome screenshots directly on your Profile. Game clips and screenshots shared to the Xbox community will be showcased in the new Highlights section designed for a mobile-first experience.

Check out what your friends are playing through their profile by sending a message or inviting to a party. Profiles are where you showcase your Xbox identity and allows you to quickly engage with anyone.

Stay connected to your console

This holiday, the console experience starts with the new Xbox app (Beta). You’ll use the Xbox app to get your new Xbox Series X or Series S set up for the first time. Use the mobile app to log in and select your settings while your console updates. Using your phone to setup your console and account will save valuable time and get you ready to play faster than ever before. Once you’re set up, use the app to install any game to your console, manage your game library to free up space, or as a remote control.

Xbox remote play

If you love playing games, the new Xbox app (beta) is more useful than ever. We’re replacing the Console Streaming (Preview) with Xbox remote play in the new Xbox app (Beta). We’ve removed the requirement of being an Xbox Insider so starting today all Xbox gamers can play games downloaded to their consoles straight to their phones or tablets. With Xbox remote play, you can connect to your console and have access to Xbox One games already downloaded to your console including Xbox Game Pass titles.

In addition to remote play, changes to how you login go live for everyone today. You are now able to sign in on as many Xbox consoles or Xbox Apps as you want, all at the same time. Now you can use your Xbox console as much as you want for watching movies, using apps, chatting with friends, and more. When it comes to games, you’ll be able to play on one device at a time so all your progress, achievements, and saves stay up to date and synced whichever device you choose to play on. Access to your library has never been easier.

Search

The new Xbox app (Beta) makes searching for games and people easier than ever. Search results have been unified in one easy-to-find location, making the app the go-to place to find what you’re looking for on Xbox. Quickly type a game title or gamertag and see search results in real time – plus, search for ‘Set up a console’ to easily start the setup process for your new console.

Download today

The new Xbox app (beta) is coming to all Xbox supported markets, and gamers are invited to download and check it out beginning today. You can download the app from the Google Play Store. Please send us your feedback and let us know what you think.

Check out Xbox Live’s Major Nelson’s Video Podcast for even more details on the Xbox app (Beta) and new Share feature.

Posted on September 21, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Microsoft’s newest sustainable datacenter region coming to Arizona in 2021

On our journey to become carbon negative by 2030, Microsoft is continually innovating and advancing the efficiency and sustainability of our cloud infrastructure, with a commitment to use 100 percent renewable energy in all of our datacenters and facilities by 2025. Today, we are taking a significant step toward that goal, revealing plans for our newest sustainable datacenter region in Arizona, which will become our West US 3 region.

Companies are not only digitally transforming their operations and products to become more sustainable—they’re also choosing partners with shared goals and values. In developing the new West US 3 region, we have water conservation and replenishment firmly in mind. Today, Microsoft announced an ambitious commitment to be water positive for our direct operations by 2030. We’re tackling our water consumption two ways: reducing our consumption and replenishing water in the regions we operate. Since we announced our plans to invest in solar energy in Arizona to build more sustainable datacenters last year, we have been working with the communities of El Mirage and Goodyear on water conservation, education and sustainability projects to support local priorities and needs.

Sustainable design delivering the full Microsoft cloud for global scale, security and reliability

Our datacenter design and operations will contribute to the sustainability of our Arizona facilities. In Arizona, we’re pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, which will help conserve additional resources including energy and water, generate less waste and support human health. We’re also committed to zero waste-certified operations for this new region, which means a minimum of 90 percent of waste will be diverted away from landfills through reduction, reuse and recycling efforts.

The new datacenter region will deliver enterprise-grade cloud services, all built on a foundation of trust:

Microsoft Azure, an ever-expanding set of cloud services that offers computing, networking, databases, analytics, AI and IoT services.
Microsoft 365, the world’s productivity cloud that delivers best-of-breed productivity apps integrated through cloud services and delivered as part of an open platform for business processes.
Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, the next generation of intelligent business applications that enable organizations to grow, evolve and transform to meet the needs of customers and capture new opportunities.
Compliance, security and privacy, Microsoft offers more than 90 certifications and spends $1 billion every year on cybersecurity to address security at every layer of the cloud.

To support customer needs for high-availability and resiliency in their applications, the new region will also include Availability Zones, which are unique physical locations of datacenters with independent power, network, and cooling for additional tolerance to datacenter failures.

Our construction partner Nox Innovations is helping build these sustainable datacenters with the help of Microsoft HoloLens 2, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and Microsoft mixed reality partner solution VisualLive, to visualize building information modeling (BIM) data in the form of holograms and overlay the 3D assets in the context of the physical environment. VisualLive’s solution is powered by Azure Spatial Anchors, a new Azure mixed reality service that maps, persists and restores 3D experiences in the real-world, VisualLive’s solution. The hands-free and remote work environment enabled by HoloLens 2 and cloud services enables virtual collaboration that has led to greater efficiency, safety and accuracy.

Delivering renewable solar energy and replenishing water in Arizona

Our commitment in Arizona includes a sustainable datacenter design and operations as well as several local initiatives to support water conservation. First, Microsoft is collaborating with First Solar, an Arizona-headquartered global leader in solar energy, on their Sun Streams 2 photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant, which will offset the day one energy usage of the new campus, available in 2021, with solar energy once the facility is operational. Clean solar PV energy displaces the water needed in the traditional electricity generation process. First Solar’s lowest carbon solar PV technology does not require water to generate electricity and is ideally suited to meet the growing energy and water needs of arid, water-limited regions. By displacing conventional grid electricity in Arizona, First Solar’s Sun Streams 2 Project is expected to save 356 million liters of water annually.

Microsoft’s Arizona datacenters will use zero water for cooling for more than half the year, leveraging a method called adiabatic cooling, which uses outside air instead of water for cooling when temperatures are below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. When temperatures are above 85 degrees, an evaporative cooling system is used, which is similar to “swamp coolers” in residential homes. This system is highly efficient, using less electricity and a fraction of water used by other water-based cooling systems, such as cooling towers.

For the last year, we have also been investing in water conservation to have a longer-lasting impact on replenishing water in Arizona to sustain water levels in Lake Mead, with the goal of supporting the state to meet its Drought Contingency Plan Commitments. Microsoft’s investment in this project has also generated a one-to-one cash match from the Water Funder Initiative that will support the state’s efforts and further expand project impact. The project will benefit the Colorado River Indian Tribes, ultimately resulting in more water in Lake Mead and more efficient water infrastructure.

Lastly, Microsoft and Gila River Water Storage, LLC are recharging and replenishing groundwater levels in the Phoenix Active Management Area with long term storage credits dedicated to the cities of Goodyear and El Mirage to balance a portion of Microsoft’s future water use, contributing an estimated additional 610,000 cubic meters. Microsoft is also collaborating with The Nature Conservancy to support water conservation in the Verde River Basin, installing a new pipe in the leakiest part of the Eureka Ditch to increase resilience for local farmers.

Supporting local growth, opportunities in Arizona

Through our Datacenter Community Development initiative, we are actively engaged in El Mirage, Goodyear, and across Arizona to advance community priorities in education, workforce development and further community connection. These investments in local projects total more than $800,000 and employee volunteer time as well as community partnerships to clean up the Gila River, provide WiFi connectivity for 1,000 students across the Navajo Nation and support the expansion of Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) to serve 1,500+ middle school and high students across Arizona. In addition, Microsoft is collaborating with two Maricopa Community Colleges, including Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale and Glendale Community College in Glendale, to develop workforce training that prepares workers for jobs in the IT sector, including work in Microsoft datacenters.

The new datacenter region and related work is expected to create over 100 permanent jobs across a variety of functions, including mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and datacenter technicians, when the facilities are fully operational, and more than 1,000 construction jobs over the initial building phases. Once the datacenters are operating, they’re expected to have an annual economic impact of approximately $20 million across communities in Arizona.

Posted on September 21, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Microsoft will replenish more water than it consumes by 2030

Water is essential to life. We depend on it for our survival. The basic need has shaped how human societies have advanced over time. Explorers from pre-Columbian times and the age of antiquity to NASA have lived by the motto “follow the water” as they have sought and continue to seek to discover new opportunities for the expansion of human civilization.

While water is plentiful – covering 70% of the Earth’s surface – 97% of this water is saline, located in our oceans, and not fit to drink or use for crops. The world’s fresh water is not equally distributed or accessible and is found disproportionately in places where people do not live. And as human civilization has expanded, we have reached the point globally where humanity depletes the available freshwater supply at a rate of 4.3 trillion cubic meters every year – the majority of which goes to agricultural and industrial uses.

This needs to change. That’s why we’re announcing an ambitious commitment for Microsoft to be water positive for our direct operations by 2030. We’re tackling our water consumption in two ways: reducing our water use intensity – or the water we use per megawatt of energy used for our operations – and replenishing water in the water- stressed regions we operate. This means that by 2030 Microsoft will replenish more water than it consumes on a global basis.

As with our other environmental commitments, we hope these steps will help contribute to a growing movement to address the world’s sustainability needs.

More momentum is clearly needed. Today, according to United Nations Water, more than two billion people lack access to safe drinking water. And climate change is only intensifying this water shortage. The U.N. estimates that one in four people may live in a country affected by chronic shortages of freshwater by 2050. According to the World Bank, this climate-induced reduction in freshwater availability, coupled with increased demand, could reduce water availability in cities by more than 66% by 2050.

Getting ahead of the world’s water crisis will require a reduction in the amount of water humans use to operate economies and societies, as well as a concerted effort to ensure there is sufficient water in the places it is needed most. This will require a transformation in the way we manage our water systems and a concerted effort for all organizations to account for and balance their water use. As a global technology company Microsoft is prepared to act on both accounts, taking responsibility for our own water use and partnering on technology platforms to help others do the same.

Over the past year we have committed Microsoft to becoming a carbon negative, zero waste company that is building a new planetary computing platform to transform the way we monitor, model, and ultimately manage Earth’s natural systems. Our pledge today to become water positive by 2030 adds a fourth pillar to this work. And as in our other areas, we’re committed not only to setting ambitious goals for ourselves but using technology to better help our customers to do the same.

Water positive by 2030

By 2030 we will be water positive, meaning we will replenish more water than we use. We’ll do this by putting back more water in stressed basins than our global water consumption across all basins. The amount returned will be determined by how much water we use and how stressed the basin is.

Our replenishment strategy will include investments in projects such as wetland restoration and the removal of impervious surfaces like asphalt, which will help replenish water back into the basins that need it most. We will focus our replenishment efforts on roughly 40 highly stressed basins where we have operations. This reflects a science-based assessment of the world’s water basins. The majority of the world’s freshwater is divided into 16,396 basins, each of which has been assigned a “baseline water stress” score by the World Resources Institute (WRI), a leading nonprofit global research organization that focuses on natural resources. A basin is considered “highly stressed” if the amount of water withdrawn exceeds 40% of the renewable supply. Globally there are 4,717 basins that fall into this category.

All of this work will build on our ongoing investments, and advances water reduction and replenishment across our operations. This includes a sustainability design standard across Microsoft that requires water conservation at all locations globally. These include:

Our new Silicon Valley campus, opening later this year in California, features an on-site rainwater collection system and waste treatment plant to ensure 100% of the site’s non-potable water comes from onsite recycled sources. An integrated water management system will manage and reuse rainwater and wastewater. By recycling our water, the campus will save an estimated 4.3 million gallons of potable water each year.
Nearly halfway around the world, our new Herzliya, Israel campus features water-efficient plumbing fixtures that drive up water conservation by 35%. In addition, 100% of water collected from air conditioners will be used to water plants on-site.
In India, our newest building on our Hyderabad campus will support 100% treatment and reuse of wastewater on-site for landscaping, flushing, and cooling tower makeup.
At our headquarters redevelopment in Puget Sound, all new office buildings will reuse harvested rainwater in flush fixtures and low-flow systems, which is projected to save more than 5.8 million gallons annually.
At our new datacenter region in Arizona, available for use in 2021, we are innovating ways to reduce our water use intensity and replenish water in this highly stressed region. We will use zero water for cooling for more than half the year, leveraging a method called adiabatic cooling, which uses outside air instead of water for cooling when temperatures are below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. When temperatures are above 85 degrees, an evaporative cooling system is used, acting like a “swamp cooler” that you find in residential homes. This system is highly efficient, using less electricity and up to 90% less water than other water-based cooling systems, such as cooling towers. We are also partnering with First Solar to provide solar energy rather than traditional electricity generation, which is expected to save more than 350 million liters of water annually.

Our reduction in water use intensity and our replenishment commitments address the key issue of water availability, which is the amount of water that can be used to meet demand. That, however, is only part of the challenge. Equally important is the issue of accessibility, which is the supply of safe drinking water and sanitation. That is why we are partnering with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure more than 1.5 million people have access to clean drinking and sanitation water. We’ll focus this work in seven countries. We’ll start by partnering with Water.org, a leading global nonprofit focused on underserved communities, to help people in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Mexico. We’ll then expand this work with partners in China, Malaysia and South Africa.

Digitizing water data

We will also use our technology to better understand where water stress is emerging and optimize water replenishment investments across a region. Through our AI for Earth program we are supporting projects in each of these areas:

Vector Center works with governments and companies around the world to better understand the impact of water availability and accessibility. One of the challenges it addresses is water risk and scarcity in urban communities where data is still often analog, printed and stored in stacks. It is digitizing data and has developed a platform called the Perception Reality Engine on Azure to collect, correlate and analyze data and produce an overall picture of what’s actually happening in real time, to better see how to forestall the threat of when water may not be available. It also can provide a historic view of water in a particular area. The Perception Reality Engine uses data on rainfall, surface water amounts, plant growth and more to map water availability around the world and flag where crises are occurring or may soon occur. It also overlays this information with news sources and social media to determine where the public perception is different than reality so governance, education and behavior changes can be made before water runs out in a region.
The Freshwater Trust, a nonprofit that protects and restores freshwater ecosystems, and Upstream Tech, a company that develops technological solutions for water conservation, worked together to develop a tool called the BasinScout Platform. It uses satellite data, data about crop growth and farming practices, and applies machine learning to assess field-level agricultural practices and their impact on water resources at scale, including scenarios about how to be more water- and cost-efficient. This helps conserve and protect the water basins that are main sources of the public’s water supply.
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability is a California nonprofit focused on land use and transportation in underserved communities. It is working to address the challenge of drinking water availability in California’s Central Valley. About 1.5 million people in the region rely on private domestic wells for drinking water, and many of these wells often fail during drought or due to groundwater management issues. The Leadership Counsel is using AI to predict domestic well failure resulting from groundwater changes and resulting drinking water shortages. They’re providing that information to local agencies that can use this information to prevent well failure and improve water resource management and planning.

Climate Innovation Fund investment: Emerald Technology Ventures

Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund is investing $10 million in the Emerald Technology Ventures’ $100 million Global Impact Fund, whose investors also include Temasek, Ecolab and SKion. The fund will partner with early- to expansion-stage companies from around the world, driving innovation and its adoption in water technologies. It will focus on pressing challenges, including conserving water resources, improving water efficiency and quality, avoiding carbon emissions in water treatment, and adapting to climate change. This fund is one of the few funds solely focused on water strategy.

This is the third investment the Climate Innovation Fund has made in one of company’s four sustainability focus areas. The first was focused on carbon and the second on waste.

Empowering our customers

Microsoft is also developing solutions to help customers understand water-related risks due to climate change; use data to reduce water use and make smarter decisions about water; and, improve water quality and conservation. Technologies like IoT and AI are playing a critical role in improving water quality and water efficiency. For example, the Azure IoT Central government app templates includes remote, real-time water quality monitoring and water consumption monitoring, geared toward reducing water consumption.

Ecolab, a leading global provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies and services, is a Microsoft customer and a partner that is using data and technology to help its customers be more water efficient and use less water across their operations. The data Ecolab collects from more than 42,000 connected smart water sensors around the world is used to make informed recommendations to improve processes and reduce water consumption. It leads to a “virtuous cycle” of less water, better results and much lower operating costs. Using Microsoft technologies like Azure, Azure Machine Learning, Power BI and more, Ecolab is accelerating net zero water usage around the world in sectors including energy, agriculture, food and beverage, manufacturing and hospitality.

Schneider Electric (SE) provides energy and automation digital solutions for efficiency and sustainability; combining world-leading energy technologies, real-time automation, software and services into integration solutions. They have recently co-innovated solutions on Azure to improve water and wastewater management along the water cycle through smart water technology and services for optimized water and waste operations, water and energy, safety and enterprise sustainability. This includes recent work to help restore the water quality of the Bogotá River with the expansion of the Salitre II wastewater treatment plant. Working with the Bogotá Colombia Water treatment plant, the largest in Colombia and under execution by Aqualia, new digital technologies are making the plant more efficient. The Bogotá River is polluted, and this is threatening the environment and health of the 8 million inhabitants of Bogota. The wastewater treatment plant is an important part of the remediation efforts.
Grundfos is a global water technology company headquartered out of Bjerringbro, Denmark. They pioneer solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges improve quality of life for people. Grundfos utilizes Microsoft to support their business’ transformation in digital and water solutions with the expected outcomes of improving customer satisfaction, increasing innovation and operational excellence. Two ambitious water goals are to provide safely managed drinking water to 300 million people in need and save 50 billion cubic meters of consumable freshwater by 2030, which is why a lot of innovation is going on. To provide water also means to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat our cities – enter the Grundfos iGRID system built on Azure. Azure services, such as the IoT Hub, are utilized by iGRID to optimize heat distribution in cities to save energy. Grundfos can reduce heat losses by 20%, which means iGRID on Azure will be reducing the energy usage in our cities, improving the longevity of our existing networks and lowering the costs to the everyday citizen.
Seequent is a New Zealand-based Microsoft customer and partner. They rely on Azure to drive their geospatial and geoscience work, including important work to address water quality and quantity with the Water Replenishment District (WRD), the largest groundwater agency in the state of California. WRD’s service area covers a 420-square-mile region of southern Los Angeles County and accounts for approximately half of the region’s water supply. The WRD is using Seequent’s Leapfrog Works to create 3D models of the local water basins, creating better understanding of groundwater flow and identifying contamination. These models are helping WRD maintain their Water Independence Now Program, which has made the region sustainable using local resources including advanced treated recycled water to replenish groundwater supplies.

Water Resilience Coalition

We understand that no one company or organization can solve the world’s water crisis. The private sector also has a significant opportunity to have a positive impact on water availability and accessibility: 150 of the world’s biggest companies have the potential to influence one-third of global freshwater use. Launched earlier this year, the Water Resilience Coalition is an initiative of the United Nations Global Compact CEO Water Mandate. Founded by seven companies, including Microsoft, the coalition has since grown to 16 industry-leading corporations, all of whom have pledged to work collectively on water issues. We are working together to identify priority basins for collective action and to set targets for improving conditions in those basins. As part of our water goals, we will partner with Water Resilience Coalition members to co-invest in availability, accessibility and quality projects in water-stressed basins and we will actively recruit other companies to join us in this important coalition.

Policy

Governments also play a fundamental role in ensuring the availability of safe, clean drinking water, maintaining and expanding water infrastructure, protecting critical water ecosystems, and responding to water crises. We will use our voice at the local, national and global levels on public policy that would increase water access and availability and improve quality.

Improving Data in Water Stressed Areas: We can’t solve a problem that we don’t fully understand. Governments ought to develop more accurate and up-to-date assessment of ground and surface water levels and how they are changing over time. This data can help local stakeholders calculate and forecast demand and supply balances; track water quality; facilitate disaster prevention and early warning systems; and ultimately develop innovative solutions. We are encouraged to see the EU’s plans to create a Common European Green Deal data space, as part of the European Strategy for Data, that aims to harness the potential of environmental data to help achieve the EU’s ambitious climate objectives. To support such efforts, Microsoft will work with partners to deploy tools that provide better hydrologic data that enable enhanced water management.

Upgrading Water Infrastructure: We need governments to invest in upgrading and expanding water infrastructure. This is critical to provide safe drinking water, treat storm and wastewater, manage water levels, and protect against climate impacts, particularly in the most vulnerable communities. These investments can also provide much needed job creation. National governments should look for opportunities to integrate water infrastructure into COVID-19 recovery packages and foster innovative solutions. We applaud the EU for including water-related green infrastructure in the InvestEU Programme as well as recent bipartisan effort by the U.S. Congress to consider reauthorization of critical water infrastructure funding. We will encourage national governments to prioritize these critical investments in the months and years ahead.

Integrating water into climate strategies: Water is the primary means through which climate change will be experienced. As such, we need government to address climate and water challenges in a more integrated way. One way to do this is through the long-term goals that countries set as part of their national climate plans or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the Paris climate agreements. As national governments work to update their 2030 climate plans, in advance of COP26, the annual UN climate conference, in 2021, they should include an explicit water-related target in their climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.

To help advance these policy efforts, we will join WaterEurope to promote smart water solutions and will encourage our other trade associations and advocacy partners in the U.S. and EU to play a more active role in advocating these policies.

Enlisting our employees

As we have with each of our previous sustainability commitments, we will enlist our employees by inviting them to participate in volunteer opportunities associated with the replenishment projects we will be investing in. Our employees have volunteered with NGOs we’re partnering with on water replenishment projects, including the restoration of Lake Sembakkam in Chennai, India; restoration of Crow Creek in Cheyenne, Wyoming; and, habitat restoration along the Red River in Fargo, North Dakota. In regions without active replenishment projects, we will provide information about volunteer opportunities with nonprofits working on water projects in their communities.

While our commitments focus on fresh water we recognize the need to protect the world’s oceans, which generate more than 50% of the world’s oxygen, absorb half the carbon produced and account for 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. Oceans also are critical to our globally economy and food security, with more than 100 million households dependent on the fisheries for their livelihoods, and 3 billion dependent on seafood as their primary protein.

Protecting the world’s oceans

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that by 2030 the value of the ocean economy could exceed $3 trillion and more than 40 million jobs. To realize this potential economic impact, the private and public sectors and civil society must work together to reverse declining ocean biodiversity resulting from climate change, pollution and overexploitation. That requires good data, governance and policies, and technological innovations like smart sensors, autonomous robots, data analytics and AI to better monitor, model and manage oceans.

That’s why we’re joining the World Economic Forum’s Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network for ocean innovation and technology in Norway (C4IR Ocean). It’s dedicated to using data, technology and governance frameworks to protect the world’s oceans and increase the sustainability of ocean-based industries.

Unlike roads, oceans have not been adequately mapped, so we are not making informed decisions. We’re one of the organizations working with C4IR Ocean on its Ocean Data Platform. This global, open-source platform gives data scientists, app developers and marine spatial planners access to data coming from historic and real-time data sources to develop solutions to improve ocean health.

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Our mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. We believe that the purpose of business – and our responsibility – is to produce profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet. That’s why we’re working every day with our customers, partners, NGOs and others around the world to address the climate crisis. What’s good for the planet is ultimately good for Microsoft.

Posted on September 21, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and its game publisher, Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion

As the gaming industry transforms from a device-centric to player-centric form of entertainment, Microsoft announced plans today to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, one of the largest privately held game developers and publishers in the world.

Creators of critically acclaimed and best-selling gaming franchises including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and many others, Bethesda brings an impressive portfolio of games, technology and talent — as well as a track record of blockbuster commercial success — to Xbox.

As an industry, gaming is expected to be worth more than $200 billion in annual revenue in 2021. Games are the primary growth engine, and they are fueling new cloud-gaming services like Xbox Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 15 million subscribers.

With the addition of Bethesda, Microsoft will grow from 15 to 23 creative studio teams and will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass.

Posted on September 17, 2020 by sick skills — Leave a comment

VP for UN Affairs John Frank: Our interconnected world requires collective action

Microsoft announced earlier this year the launch of a new United Nations representation office to deepen our support for the UN’s mission and work, and I am thrilled to be leading this initiative. Until March, I was based in Brussels leading Microsoft’s European Union government affairs team. That role instilled a passion for working with multilateral institutions and participating in multi-stakeholder projects such as the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace. It has been a few years since I was a law student in New York City studying international legal and policy issues, but it’s great to be returning to NYC to learn and participate in today’s issues.

The new UN Affairs team has been operating in startup mode for the past several months as we build relationships with the UN community and begin expanding Microsoft’s engagements. Our commitment to building a team focused on the UN is rather unique, and we have received several questions, and a few puzzled expressions on why we are doing this now. And so today I want to provide an update on our mission, activities for the 75^th UN General Assembly, and our team.

Our mission

Many of the big challenges facing society can only be addressed effectively through multi-stakeholder action. Whether it’s public health, environmental sustainability, cybersecurity, terrorist content online or the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we at Microsoft have found that progress requires two elements. We need both international cooperation among governments and inclusive initiatives that bring in civil society and private sector organizations to collaborate on solutions.

One of the most significant transformations since the UN was established 75 years ago has been the advent of the internet. In this interconnected world, the internet can both hasten progress and exploit vulnerabilities. We are committed to continuing to support Secretary-General Guterres’ call to harness technology to respond to and recover from the devastating health, economic and social consequences of COVID-19.

We have been considering where we can make the greatest contributions. Microsoft is focused on supporting and promoting cooperation to advance progress towards a more accessible and equitable digital environment and a healthier planet, and enabling the UN and its agencies to achieve more using computer and data science. In this 75^th UN General Assembly, we are committed to collaborating to advance six priorities:

Human rights, ensuring technology protects and empowers everyone, all peoples and all nations, and exploits no one
Environmental sustainability, curbing emissions to foster a more sustainable future, reducing waste, promoting new approaches to ensure access to clean drinking water, and preserving and protecting the biodiversity and health of the world’s ecosystems
Defending democracy and cyberpeace, promoting strong democratic institutions and electoral systems and advocating for clear rules of the road for state actors in cyberspace
Decent work and economic growth, helping 25 million people worldwide acquire the digital skills needed in a recovering economy
Quality education, launching global platforms to support remote learning and help address the education crisis
Broadband availability and accessibility, building out internet access to 40 million people across Africa, Latin America and Asia by 2022

These imperatives cannot be achieved without close cooperation among Member States, multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector. As we work to make substantive progress, we should also devote our collective time and effort to building consensus on how our global institutions should be reformed and strengthened. We are at an inflection point.

A series of crises have exposed the fragility of our global governance systems and institutions. Given the scale of challenges we face today, the need for reform is clear, but the international community has yet to elaborate and agree upon the necessary solutions. Now is the time to think more broadly and reimagine what effective, inclusive global governance can do for society, and to strengthen the systems and institutions that are tasked with this work.

Our activities for UNGA75

In the midst of a pandemic and economic shock, the UN opened its 75^th General Assembly this week. Meetings and conferences will be conducted online, with a socially distanced hybrid General Assembly. “High-level week” won’t be the same without the heads of state and governments convening in person, but the UN’s agenda, and the global challenges facing all of us, are no less pressing and urgent.

This year, we have adjusted our plans, but retained our ambitions. We are excited to announce a series of events around each of these six priority topics during high-level week. Several of us at Microsoft will be participating in UN-sponsored events as well as joining others’ virtual programming, including Concordia’s 10^th Annual Summit. Microsoft is partnering with GZERO Media and Eurasia Group to provide briefings, analysis and debate on the most pressing issues facing the 75^th UN General Assembly. We encourage all stakeholders – from individuals and activists to government and UN officials – to attend, participate and make your voices heard.

UN Affairs team

This is a great opportunity to introduce our UN Affairs team. Lani Cossette, Senior Director and Chief of Staff, comes to New York from her previous role in Brussels with our European Government Affairs team, and Jamal Edwards, Senior Program Manager, is joining us from our Digital Diplomacy team. Jean-Yves Art, Senior Director, and Daniel Akinmade Emejulu, Program Manager, remain in Geneva where they will continue their engagements with the UN offices in Geneva and the OECD. Our human rights specialists, Steve Crown, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, and Bernard Shen, Assistant General Counsel, remain in Seattle, while Michael Karimian, Senior Manager, is based in New York.

UNGA high-level week comes around only once each year. The UN’s work around the world continues 365 days each year. Let’s work together not only this month but all year to make a difference.