Tag: Press Releases

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C3.ai, Microsoft, and Adobe combine forces to re-invent CRM with AI

C3 AI CRM enables a new category of customer-focused industry AI use cases and a new ecosystem

REDWOOD CITY, CA, REDMOND, WA, and SAN JOSE, CA – October 26, 2020 – C3.ai, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) today announced the launch of C3 AI® CRM powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365. The first enterprise-class, AI-first customer relationship management solution is purpose-built for industries, integrates with Adobe Experience Cloud, and drives customer-facing operations with predictive business insights.

The partners have agreed to:

  • Integrate Microsoft Dynamics 365, Adobe Experience Cloud (including Adobe Experience Platform), and C3.ai’s industry-specific data models, connectors, and AI models, in a joint go-to-market offering designed to provide an integrated suite of industry-specific AI-enabled CRM solutions including marketing, sales, and customer service.
  • Sell the industry-specific AI CRM offering through dedicated sales teams to target enterprise accounts across multiple industries globally, as well as through agents and industry partners.
  • Target industry vertical markets initially including financial services, oil and gas, utilities, manufacturing, telecommunications, public sector, healthcare, defense, intelligence, automotive, and aerospace
  • Market the jointly branded offering globally, supported by the companies’ commitment to customer success

C3 AI logo“Microsoft, Adobe, and C3.ai are reinventing a market that Siebel Systems invented more than 25 years ago,” said Thomas M. Siebel, CEO of C3.ai. “The dynamics of the market and the mandates of digital transformation have dramatically changed CRM market requirements.  A general-purpose CRM system of record is no longer sufficient.  Customers today demand industry-specific, fully AI-enabled solutions that provide AI-enabled revenue forecasting, product forecasting, customer churn, next-best product, next-best offer, and predisposition to buy.”

“This year has made clear that businesses fortified by digital technology are more resilient and more capable of transforming when faced with sweeping changes like those we are experiencing,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Together with C3.ai and Adobe, we are bringing to market a new class of industry-specific AI solutions, powered by Dynamics 365, to help organizations digitize their operations and unlock real-time insights across their business.”

“We’re proud to partner with C3.ai and Microsoft to advance the imperative for digital customer engagement,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe. “The unique combination of Adobe Experience Cloud, the industry-leading solution for customer experiences, together with the C3 AI Suite and Microsoft Dynamics 365, will enable brands to deliver rich experiences that drive business growth.”

Adobe logo“This is an exciting development in the advancement of Enterprise AI,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “This partnership between C3.ai, Microsoft, and Adobe will bring a unique and powerful new CRM offering to the market. We are adopting AI in multiple applications internally and in new products and services for our customers through our C3.ai partnership. We look forward to offering C3 AI CRM to our customers and benefitting from the capabilities internally.”

Combining the market-leading Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM software with Adobe’s leading suite of customer experience management solutions alongside C3.ai’s enterprise AI capabilities, C3 AI CRM is the world’s first AI-driven, industry-specific CRM built with a modern AI-first architecture. C3 AI CRM integrates and unifies vast amounts of structured and unstructured data from enterprise and extraprise sources into a unified, federated image to drive real-time predictive insights across the entire revenue supply chain, from contact to cash. With embedded AI-driven, industry-specific workflows, C3 AI CRM helps teams:

  • Accurately forecast revenue
  • Accurately predict product demand
  • Identify and reduce customer churn
  • Identify highly-qualified prospects
  • Next-best offer, next-best product
  • AI-driven segmentation, marketing, and targeting

C3 AI CRM enables brands to take advantage of their real-time customer profiles for cross-channel journey orchestration. The joint solution offers an integrated ecosystem that empowers customers to take advantage of leading CRM capabilities along with an integrated ecosystem with Azure, Microsoft 365, and the Microsoft Power Platform. C3 AI CRM is pre-built and configured for industries – financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, oil and gas, manufacturing, utilities, aerospace, automotive, public sector, defense, and intelligence – enabling customers to deploy and operate C3 AI CRM and its industry-specific machine learning models quickly. In addition, C3 AI CRM leverages the common data model of the Open Data Initiative (ODI), making it easier to bring together disparate customer data from across the enterprise.

C3 AI CRM is immediately available, with Adobe Experience Cloud sold separately. C3 AI CRM powered by Dynamics 365 will be available from C3.ai, Adobe, Microsoft and through the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketplace. Please contact sales@c3.ai to learn more.

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About C3.ai

C3.ai is a leading enterprise AI software provider for accelerating digital transformation. C3.ai delivers the C3 AI Suite for developing, deploying, and operating large-scale AI, predictive analytics, and IoT applications in addition to an increasingly broad portfolio of turn-key AI applications. The core of the C3.ai offering is a revolutionary, model-driven AI architecture that dramatically enhances data science and application development.

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 Adobe

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit  www.adobe.com.

For more information, contact:

C3.ai Public Relations:
April Marks

(917) 574-5512
pr@c3.ai

Microsoft Media Relations:

WE Communications for Microsoft

(425) 638-7777

rrt@we-worldwide.com

Adobe Comms:

Ashley Levine

(408) 666-5888

aslevine@adobe.com

 

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Microsoft establishes new digital alliance with the state of Texas to expand education and skilling opportunities

Tech company will support Texas’ technology advancement and invest in workforce development, student programming and education as part of “Accelerate” initiative

Young woman assembling a miniature automobile

DALLAS — Oct. 22, 2020 — Microsoft Corp., in collaboration with the state of Texas, announced new programs and events to address the need for digital and technical skills in the workforce. The digital alliance is intended to create new economic opportunity, close equity and digital skills gaps, and prepare a workforce for the 21st century.

“The expansion of our Accelerate program to the state of Texas is an unparalleled opportunity to speed up the local economic recovery and bring critical digital skills to Texans,” said Kate Johnson, president of Microsoft U.S. “We hope this program will be a transformative opportunity for students, teachers, workers and the entire community.”

The effort, in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency, will provide digital skills through the Microsoft Accelerate initiative, designed to address economic recovery through skilling both underserved communities and re-skilling Americans impacted by COVID-19. In August, the company announced Accelerate: Houston and now continues its work in Texas with an expanded commitment statewide. The effort represents the continued implementation across the U.S. of Microsoft’s Global Skills Initiative, an ambitious plan to help 25 million people worldwide acquire new digital skills by the end of the year.

Other partners supporting the alliance include STEMuli, The Ion, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD), Bell, Big Thought, Stedman Graham and Associates, Tribute to Valor, National Math and Science Initiative, University of Houston College of Technology, Dallas Regional Chamber, and Irving Chamber of Commerce.

“Education was the launching pad that took me from a low-income Houston community to medical school, NASA, space and beyond,” said Dr. Bernard Harris, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative and former NASA astronaut. “As a native Texan and lifelong STEM advocate, I’m grateful for Microsoft’s investment in this initiative. NMSI is committed to ensuring digital access, digital literacy and high-quality STEM content for all teachers and students across Texas and our great nation, and we’re excited to work with Microsoft, the TEA, DISD, NASA and other partners.”

Microsoft and the Texas Education Agency are collaborating on a range of digital skills programs across the state to address a variety of needs including STEM engagement and talent pipeline growth for students in K-12; professional development for K-16 educators, thought leaders and the education NGO ecosystem; and workforce development for high school and college students, as well as parents seeking opportunities to enhance their technical skills and business acumen.

“Closing the digital divide is critical to developing the current and future workforce. Our collaboration with Microsoft and the Texas Education Agency is a model for how to apply civic innovation to advance equity in our schools,” said Michael Hinojosa, superintendent of Dallas ISD. “Initiatives like Accelerate: Texas and Operation Connectivity are a direct investment in students that will open new pathways for innovation and future growth.”

Young man examining a circuit board

New opportunities for students

As a result of this collaboration, students in Texas will be able to take advantage of new opportunities such as:

  • Microsoft Imagine Academy has been made available to all state of Texas high schools, ensuring students and educators across the state have access to courses and certifications in computer science, IT infrastructure, data science and productivity to build competencies and validate skills for high-demanded technologies.
  • The first statewide Imagine Cup Junior Students ages 13 to 18 will be able to sign up for the opportunity to learn about technology and how it can be used to positively change the world. The competition AI for Good initiatives further encourage them to brainstorm ideas to solve social, cultural and environmental issues.

Over the next two years, there will be additional events and programs for students:

  • Day of Data. The Hacking STEM team is partnering with NASA to bring opportunities for students to explore how data powers our astronauts and space missions. On Nov. 2, they will celebrate 20 years of humans living and working aboard the International Space Station with live events, lesson plans and virtual experiences.
  • Future Ready A(i) Forum. A forum providing digital training for future workforce skills with live and on-demand workshops and seminars focused on AI and the Internet of Things in advanced manufacturing, energy transformation, and autonomous vehicle design and development.
  • YouthSpark AI and DigiCamps. YouthSpark Live focuses on three key areas for student development — employment, careers and entrepreneurship. Microsoft will partner with the Texas Education Agency, corporate partners and school districts across the state to deliver STEM-focused events for students in middle and high school.
  • LinkedIn digital skills training. Microsoft and the state of Texas will implement a LinkedIn digital skills training pilot program throughout the state focused on future- ready skills for high school students. The program will provide access to LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, GitHub Learning Lab, Microsoft Certifications and LinkedIn job seeking tools to build on data and digital technology.
  • Vertical Robotics Competition. Microsoft and the Digital Alliance are collaborating with Bell to bring its robotics competition to high school students in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Austin. The eight-week competition will engage students in a wide range of skills needed for STEM career pathways as they work in teams to assemble a drone kit and design, build and integrate a robotics solution.

“Bell is transforming the way people, goods and data move,” said Chad Sparks, director, Strategic Campaigns at Bell. “We are excited to partner with Microsoft to build upon that vision and develop the future work force collaborating on STEM events like the Vertical Robotics Competition and the AerOS Early Access Hackathon.”

Development programs for educators

This year brought new challenges for educators, who also need support to bridge digital skills gaps and new training to adapt and adopt digital technologies, methodologies and mindsets. As part of this alliance, Microsoft has also committed to several new opportunities for educators:

  • Expanding TEALS in Texas. Microsoft will increase its recruitment efforts to secure more volunteers and identify new schools to participate in TEALS. Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) is a Microsoft Philanthropies program that connects classroom teachers with tech-industry volunteers to create sustainable computer science (CS) programs. Volunteers support teachers as they learn to teach CS independently over time.
  • Innovative Educator Academy Series. Microsoft Innovative Educator programs will acknowledge global educator visionaries using technology to pave the way for better learning to host a series of quarterly lectures and workshops on educational transformation.
  • Leadership Educator Accelerate Program (LEAP). A 12-week immersive program that will introduce LEAP Fellows to key drivers and trends influencing the future of work and equip participants with tools and strategies to enhance the classroom experience for students and instructors.

More information can be found at https://aka.ms/AccelerateTexas.

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.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rrt@we-worldwide.com

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.

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Honeywell teams up with Microsoft to reshape the industrial workplace

Honeywell to leverage Microsoft Azure cloud platform and connect Microsoft Dynamics 365 to Honeywell Forge, enabling predictive maintenance applications with closed-loop maintenance workflows in the buildings industry

Two skyscrapers
The integration of Honeywell Forge and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service will provide closed loop maintenance for building owners and operators.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., and REDMOND, Wash., October 22, 2020 — Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced today that Honeywell will bring to market its domain-specific applications built on the Microsoft cloud platform to drive new levels of productivity for industrial clients.

With the integration of the AI-driven autonomous controls of the Honeywell Forge enterprise performance management software with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service, customers will be able to access operating data that includes workflow management support to improve performance and energy efficiency within the enterprise environment. Workers in the field will benefit from real-time access to critical data that will help them prioritize, analyze and solve problems more quickly.

Honeywell logoThe first area of focus will be in automating maintenance for building owners and operators. To optimize their buildings’ energy, performance and comfort, they often need to pull data from a variety of sources that are not normalized and inform remote and dispersed workforces. Facility managers must determine what problem to fix, when to fix it and who to assign to the job, which can be very difficult without having the necessary asset know-how and work order management capability.

“Honeywell’s partnership with Microsoft will deliver new value to our customers as we help them solve business challenges by digitizing their operations,” said Que Dallara, president and CEO, Honeywell Connected Enterprise. “Working with Microsoft, Honeywell will bring solutions at scale – powered by AI-driven insights and immediate access to data – that will help our customers work more efficiently than ever before.”

Honeywell Forge delivers cost savings, improved energy efficiency and a better occupant experience to customers. For example, at Crown Towers Perth in Australia, the Honeywell Forge Digitized Maintenance solution provided faster inputs on potential maintenance issues versus traditional annual maintenance schedules and helped reduce reactive work orders by 90%.

In the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) operation alone – which is known to account for up to 60% of total energy consumption in commercial buildings* – an AI-automated account system such as Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization can save between 10% and 20% in energy costs.**

Dynamics 365 Field Service allows companies to remotely detect and address potential issues early to avoid unnecessary downtime or operational inefficiencies by analyzing IoT data and to improve proactive service offerings through AI-infused IoT alerts and work orders. Leveraging the global scale of Microsoft’s cloud will enable Honeywell to quickly bring new offerings to market while helping customers meet regional security, privacy and compliance requirements.

“To achieve resilient operations and sustainable growth, businesses need to partner to fully unlock the opportunities of cloud, AI and IoT technologies. By integrating Honeywell and Microsoft services, companies turn IoT data into critical business insights and actions to optimize operations and deliver new customer value faster,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president, Microsoft’s Worldwide Commercial Business.

Working with Microsoft, Honeywell is already delivering the following Honeywell Forge SaaS solutions that will address what customers need now to return to work and, in the future, to operate safely and efficiently, including:

  • Digitized Maintenance – Offers a panoramic view of the performance of facilities and assets using near real-time analytics. This provides important information about critical equipment issues before they become big repair or even replacement problems.
  • Energy Optimization – A cloud-based, closed-loop, machine-learning solution that continuously studies a building’s HVAC energy consumption patterns and automatically adjusts to optimal energy saving settings without compromising occupant comfort levels.
  • OT Cybersecurity – Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity provides continuous threat detection with minimal disruption of services. The robust software solution simplifies, strengthens and scales industrial cybersecurity operations across the enterprise.

The companies are also exploring more ways to bring innovation to customers by integrating Honeywell Forge solutions with Azure services such as Azure Digital Twins and Azure edge capabilities. Digital twins allow businesses to easily model and create digital representations of connected physical environments to deliver products that meet fast-changing market needs while saving operational costs. Using edge computing, customers can run AI, machine learning and business processes directly across plants, warehouses, machines and appliances for quicker actions without the need for a constant internet connection.

Learn more about the partnership on Honeywell.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.

About Honeywell:

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable.  For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

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Contacts:

Media                                                                                      

Nati Katz                                                                                   Microsoft Media Relations

Honeywell, External Communications                                      WE Communications for Microsoft

(704) 627-6109                                                                         (425) 638-7777

Netanel.Katz@honeywell.com                                                 rrt@we-worldwide.com

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Alaska Airlines and Microsoft sign partnership to reduce carbon emissions with flights powered by sustainable aviation fuel in key routes

Sustainable aviation fuel supplied by industry leader SkyNRG signals new approach for business travel

SEATTLE and REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 22, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. employees who fly between their global headquarters in Redmond, Washington, and California on Alaska Airlines will fly more sustainably thanks to the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to cover their business travel. The SAF, supplied by SkyNRG, is an important option for the aviation industry to reduce CO2 emissions on a life-cycle basis. This first U.S. partnership of its kind is a model for other companies and organizations committed to reducing the environmental impact of business air travel.

The agreement applies to CO2 emissions from Microsoft employee travel between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to San Francisco International Airport, San Jose International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport — the three most popular routes traveled by Microsoft employees on Alaska Airlines. Under a separate partnership agreement, Microsoft will purchase SAF credits from SkyNRG, and the SAF will be delivered to the airport fueling system used by Alaska Airlines. The companies will explore expanding the program in the future.

“After a decade advancing sustainable aviation fuel, this partnership marks a significant milestone in the work to make SAF a commercially-viable aviation fuel alternative,” said Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Airlines. “SAF enables us to fly cleaner and reduce our impact on the environment. However, we cannot do this alone — we must work together with other industries and business leaders like Microsoft and SkyNRG, among others who are thinking big, to achieve our goals and grow the marketplace for SAF.”

“We are excited to partner with Alaska Airlines to make business air travel a little greener by using sustainable aviation fuel supplied by SkyNRG to reduce the carbon impact of the flights Microsoft employees fly most,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Worldwide Commercial Business. “We hope this sustainable aviation fuel model will be used by other companies as a way to reduce the environmental impact of their business travel.”

Microsoft, Alaska Airlines and SkyNRG hope this partnership sets an example for other companies and organizations to purchase SAF, and support the development of the SAF industry by creating a stable demand signal, increasing supply and reducing the cost of SAF. The three companies are also supporting the development of a global environmental accounting standard for voluntary corporate SAF purchases through their participation in a pilot project of the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative. The companies plan to hold supplier and corporate forums to share learnings and increase interest in using SAF to lower the carbon emissions from business travel.

Alaska Airlines is one of the most fuel-efficient airlines in the U.S. with a strong commitment to sustainability. It was among the first airlines to use SAF in passenger travel, flying nearly 80 flights over the past 10 years. With a fuel-efficient fleet and use of modern technology in the flight deck, Alaska Airlines has reduced its intensity target of greenhouse gas emissions by 16% since 2012. Learn more about the partnership at https://blog.alaskaair.com/company-news/fly-greener/alaska-microsoft-reducing-carbon-footprint/.

Microsoft has ambitious sustainability goals, including a commitment to be carbon negative by 2030 and remove from the environment more carbon than they have emitted since its founding by 2050. The purchase and use of SAF contributes to the company’s sustainability goals.

For more than a decade SkyNRG has led the development in creating a SAF market, taking a no-compromise approach to sustainability. Replacing fossil jet fuels with SAF is what SkyNRG aims for, guaranteeing social and environmental sustainability throughout the supply chain.

“The emergence of a SAF production system and market is a once-in-a-century opportunity to launch a new energy source for an entire industry, guided by strong sustainability standards from day one,” said Theye Veen, managing director, SkyNRG. “We are very pleased to be joined by leading companies Microsoft and Alaska Airlines in this next step.”

As part of Microsoft’s partnership agreement with SkyNRG, Microsoft will become the newest member of Board Now, a coalition of leading companies that aims to accelerate the transition to sustainable air travel. Organizations commit to reducing carbon emissions from flying and directly contribute to the development of new SAF production capacity.

Background on sustainable aviation fuel

Rather than being refined from petroleum, SAF is generally produced from sustainable resources, like waste oils and agricultural residues. It can even be produced from carbon captured from the air. SAF is an important solution for the aviation industry to reduce CO2 emissions and can also contribute to other positive social and environmental benefits, such as job creation and biodiversity. SAF results in a reduction in carbon emissions across its lifecycle. The SAF supplied by SkyNRG under this agreement is produced in the U.S. by World Energy using waste oils and delivers a carbon reduction of approximately 75% compared with fossil jet fuel. SkyNRG guarantees the sustainability of the fuel it supplies through its certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the most complete and robust standard for verification of sustainable practices, and its independent Sustainability Board, which includes representatives from WWF International, the European Climate Foundation, Solidaridad Network and the University of Groningen.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 115 destinations across the United States and North America, providing essential air service for our guests along with moving crucial cargo shipments, such as food, medicine, mail and e-commerce deliveries. With hubs in Seattle; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska, the airline is known for low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. With Alaska and its Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 800 destinations worldwide. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).

About SkyNRG

SkyNRG is the pioneer and global leader for sustainable aviation fuel. Having supplied over 30 airlines on all continents, it is SkyNRG’s mission to make SAF the new global standard, driven by sustainable practices throughout the supply chain. Further information can be found on: www.skynrg.com and www.boardnow.org.

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.

For more information, press only:
Microsoft Media Relations, MSEnvironmentalSustainability@we-worldwide.com
Alaska Airlines Media Relations, newsroom@alaskaair.com
SkyNRG, mediarelations@skynrg.com

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.

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Verizon teams with Microsoft to offer private 5G mobile edge computing

What you need to know:

  • Combining Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge network with Microsoft Azure can bring more computing power even closer to end customers, allowing businesses to create extremely low lag experiences
  • Ice Mobility is already using 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC) to help with quality control in their pick and pack process by using computer vision to drive efficiencies
Manufacturing floor
Verizon teams with Microsoft to offer private 5G mobile edge computing.

NEW YORK and REDMOND, WA – Verizon is joining forces with Microsoft Corp. to create new ways for enterprises to accelerate the delivery of fast and secure 5G applications, benefiting from reliable and low-latency connections. Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge network integrated with Azure edge services can enable ultra-low latency, many times faster than the blink of an eye, which can help businesses tap into real-time data analysis and delivery. Applications incorporating computer vision, augmented, mixed and virtual reality, digital twins or machine learning can be enhanced with 5G and MEC on the customer premise, helping transform the way industries such as retail, transportation, and logistics operate.

Think of automated high-precision asset localization, tracking and positioning in manufacturing. In healthcare, the increased speed, reduced latency and high bandwidth connectivity of 5G networks could enable real-time precision medicine leveraging mixed reality and AI capabilities as well as seamless and fast sharing of large files to improve patient care.

The collaboration brings Azure cloud and edge capabilities together with Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge, a mobile edge computing platform designed to enable developers to build applications for mobile end-users and wireless edge devices with ultra-low latency. By utilizing on-site private 5G, businesses will be able to realize increased power efficiencies and reduced costs of end user devices while addressing their privacy and security needs.

“We have built a network that provides real-world, 5G-enabled solutions TODAY,” said Rima Qureshi, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer at Verizon. “By bringing together Verizon’s 5G network and on-site 5G Edge platform with Microsoft’s expertise in cloud services, we will enable the development of the next generation technologies everyone has been envisioning.”

Logistics and supply chain solutions company Ice Mobility is already testing on Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge platform, integrated with Microsoft Azure. The company is using 5G and MEC to help with computer vision assisted product packing. By gathering data in near real-time on product packing errors, the company has the potential to improve on-site quality assurance and save 15% to 30% in processing time.

“We are especially excited to join Verizon and Microsoft to test how 5G and MEC can improve the quality assurance process,” said Mike Mohr, CEO of Ice Mobility. “They truly have listened to our needs to provide automated real-time quality oversight and feedback, which will enable us to cost-effectively launch unique new products, while maintaining the highest execution standards, significantly increasing throughput and reducing costs. And, this is just the beginning.”

“By leveraging Verizon’s 5G network integrated with Microsoft’s cloud and edge capabilities, developers and businesses can benefit from fast, secure and reliable connections to deliver seamless digital experiences from massive industrial IoT workloads to precision medicine,” said Yousef Khalidi, corporate vice president Azure for Operators at Microsoft.

Moving forward, Verizon will explore opportunities to co-innovate with Microsoft to deliver new value to industries ranging from manufacturing to healthcare.

Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network enables throughput at least 25 times faster than today’s 4G networks*; delivers ultra-low latency; and offers very high bandwidth. Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband is expected to eventually enable 100 times larger data volumes than 4G; and the ability to connect more than a million devices per kilometer. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service is available to people in 55 cities and its 5G Nationwide service is available to more than 200 million people in more than 1,800 cities around the U.S.

Learn more information about Verizon 5G Edge, Verizon’s 5G technology and explore how Microsoft is working with operators.

About Verizon

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is celebrating its 20th year as one of the world’s leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at www.verizon.com/about/news/. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

* Source: Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data median download speeds from Verizon 5G results compared to the median 4G LTE speeds of top U.S. carriers combined in Q2 2020. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.

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.

Microsoft Media Contact:

Microsoft Media Relations

WE Communications for Microsoft

(425) 638-7777

rrt@we-worldwide.com

Media Contact:

Chris Ashraf

christina.moon.ashraf@verizon.com

201.320.4259

Twitter: @ChrisMoonPR

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Bentley Systems expands alliance with Microsoft to accelerate infrastructure digital twin innovations

Companies will deliver and scale advancements for urban planning and smart cities

REDMOND, Wash., and EXTON, Penn. — Oct. 19, 2020 — Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) on Monday announced an expansion of a strategic alliance focused on advancing infrastructure for smart city urban planning and smart construction. The alliance will combine Microsoft’s Azure IoT Digital Twins and Azure Maps with Bentley Systems’ iTwins platform, enabling engineers, architects, constructors and city planners to work within a comprehensive city-scale digital twin, empowering better decision-making, optimizing operational efficiency, reducing costs and improving collaboration.

Bentley logoMicrosoft and Bentley Systems, a leader in engineering software for professionals to design, build, operate and maintain critical infrastructure such as road and rail networks, and public works and utilities, will collaborate to develop new smart city solutions. The companies will explore opportunities for digital twins in urban planning and citizen engagement for cities around the world. The collaboration will enable improved decision-making and increased productivity through Microsoft Teams for infrastructure engineers.

“At Bentley we believe that infrastructure digital twins can empower engineers, constructors and owner-operators to design, build and operate infrastructure assets that are more cost-effective, more resilient and more sustainable,” said Greg Bentley, CEO, Bentley Systems. “With Azure as the foundation of our cloud services, our offerings are more broadly scaled and differentiated by the further integrations of Microsoft technologies. We are excited to extend our partnership to bring new digital twin advances to infrastructure engineering organizations and their constituents.”

“With Azure IoT, Azure Digital Twins and Bentley’s iTwins platform, the world’s infrastructure — vital to our economies and environment — stands to gain so much by enabling people to create comprehensive digital models of an entire environment,” said Casey McGee, vice president, Global ISV Sales, Microsoft. “Our expanded strategic alliance with Bentley Systems opens up new opportunities for innovation and will accelerate the benefits of digital twins for infrastructure engineering organizations and, more broadly, society at large.”

City planning and managing professional football club complex projects

The capital city of Dublin, Ireland, with a population of more than 1.2 million, is working with Bentley Systems to develop a large-scale digital twin as part of the city’s planning efforts. “To overcome the challenges of getting public review and comment for new development projects in Dublin during the pandemic, we turned to Microsoft and Bentley to create an interactive virtual environment to ensure our citizens could provide their input from the safety of their homes and keep the development projects on track,” said Jamie Cudden, smart city program manager at Dublin City Council. “The impact of the pandemic has forced cities like Dublin to accelerate their digital transformation journeys. Working with Microsoft and Bentley we are reimagining how interactive virtual environments and digital twins can support citizens to engage from the safety of their own home on new development projects in their local communities. Working with these technology partners, we are building an adaptable and scalable solution based on Microsoft Teams and Bentley’s OpenCities Planner that will set the standard for the future of planning and public engagement in cities.”

In addition to sustaining infrastructure development in smart cities, project digital twins are facilitating industrial construction. Bentley Systems was recognized by Microsoft as the 2020 MSUS Partner Award winner for the Industry-Automotive category, in which an automotive  factory uses the HoloLens 2 with Bentley’s SYNCHRO 4D construction-modeling software.

Similarly, FC Barcelona, one of the oldest football clubs in Europe, is partnering with Bentley as part of the club’s renovation of Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium, the largest in Europe, currently under construction amid the pandemic. The project will upgrade streets in the neighborhood and increase capacity at the stadium to revitalize an aging stadium and for the club to compete with other top European cities.

“Bentley has been working with FC Barcelona on the Espai Barça Project for over three years, helping the architects, the construction team and the club complete an extraordinary challenge — delivering a major renovation of the stadium while it continues to host matches,” said William T. Mannarelli, director of Real Estate & Espai Barça. “With Bentley’s SYNCHRO 4D construction-modeling software running on the Azure cloud, we can apply cutting-edge techniques to manage the complex and precise scheduling required to keep the stadium open during construction.”

Bentley’s ProjectWise, in conjunction with Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Teams, has empowered Bentley’s users to work from home safely while collaborating virtually on projects anywhere in the world.

The companies will further combine Bentley’s infrastructure digital twins expertise with Microsoft’s cloud technologies for:

  • ProjectWise 365, an instant-on, 100% Azure cloud-based solution that increases the speed and quality of infrastructure design collaboration, which will be available through Microsoft’s commercial marketplace.
  • Bentley’s iTwins platform to leverage Microsoft’s Azure Digital Twins, Azure IoT Hub, Azure Time Series Insights and other Microsoft cloud services, for users to rapidly store and process operational data.

On Oct. 20, at Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure Conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will join Greg Bentley for a discussion of the companies’ new infrastructure digital twin alliance priorities. Register at Year in Infrastructure 2020.

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) is the infrastructure engineering software company. We provide innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment. Our industry-leading software solutions are used by professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, and industrial facilities. Our offerings include MicroStation-based applications for modeling and simulation, ProjectWise for project delivery, AssetWise for asset and network performance, and the iTwin platform for infrastructure digital twins. Bentley Systems employs more than 4,000 colleagues and generates annual revenues of more than $700 million, in 172 countries. www.bentley.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.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rrt@we-worldwide.com

Christine Byrne, (203) 805-0432, Christine.Byrne@bentley.com

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.

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GameStop announces multiyear strategic partnership with Microsoft

The partnership aims to advance GameStop’s key strategic pillars and extend its digital omni-channel ecosystem

Grapevine, Texas and Redmond, Wash. (October 8, 2020) – GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) (“The Company”) today announced that it has entered into a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with Microsoft Corp., further advancing its strategy to expand its physical and digital video game offerings, as well as enhance the Company’s retail technology infrastructure. With over 5,000+ retail stores worldwide and its world-class eCommerce platform, GameStop leverages its vast customer network, PowerUp Rewards, and omni-channel capabilities to deliver enhanced gaming solutions to its customers. Through this partnership, GameStop will standardize the Company’s business operations on Microsoft’s cloud solutions and hardware products to deliver rich new digital experiences to customers, creating the “ultimate gaming destination” for gamers in its vision to be the premier omni-channel customer access point for video game products.

Gamestop logo
The partnership includes enterprise and commercial elements.

  • Under this agreement, GameStop will standardize its back-end and in-store solutions on Dynamics 365, Microsoft’s portfolio of cloud-based business applications and customer data platform, empowering associates with integrated experiences across its business operations including finance, inventory, eCommerce, retail and point of sale. This will enable store associates the ability to access omni-channel insights about customer preferences and purchasing history, real time information on product availability, subscriptions, pricing, and promotions in order to provide a differentiated and personalized in-store customer experience.
  • Additionally, associates will be equipped with new Microsoft Surface devices that will transform the in-store experience and help unlock new retail experiences in the future. The mobility of Microsoft Surface will allow associates to move freely within the store footprint, meeting the needs of customers faster and more efficiently. Microsoft Surface devices have already been an important part of the digital modernization strategy for store management.
  • As part of its transformation, GameStop plans to roll out Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams to its stores, empowering more than 30,000 store associates with enhanced productivity and collaboration tools. With Teams, store associates will more easily be able to ask questions and share insights with one another, enabling them to provide a better customer experience. Associates will also benefit from enhanced security and identify management capabilities.
  • Following decades as an essential provider of the Microsoft Xbox gaming platform and services, GameStop has expanded its Xbox family of product offerings to include Xbox All Access, which provides an Xbox console and 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to players with no upfront cost. GameStop and Microsoft will both benefit from the customer acquisition and lifetime revenue value of each gamer brought into the Xbox ecosystem.

George Sherman, GameStop’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “This is an exciting day at GameStop as we announce the advancement of an important partnership that capitalizes on the power of our operating platform and significant market share in gaming to accelerate our digital transformation; drive incremental revenue streams; and over time, further monetize the digital world of gaming. Since joining the Company last April, we have been on a mission to evolve our strategy to take advantage of our undisputed leadership position in gaming. Clearly, GameStop is a top destination for an entire spectrum of gaming products, and we are excited about the opportunity to leverage our capabilities in support of the launch of the next generation of gaming consoles and expand our reach and connection to the worldwide gamer community through this partnership.”

“GameStop has become a popular destination for gamers to find their favorite video games, hardware and accessories, socialize with others in the community, try out new games, and get educated on the latest tips and trends,” said Matt Renner, President, US Enterprise Commercial, Microsoft. “By harnessing the power of Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, GameStop will be able to modernize its technology infrastructure and support store associates and fans in new and exciting ways. This partnership also provides GameStop with advanced retail management technologies that will drive operational efficiencies throughout its omni-channel platform.”

Phil Spencer, Microsoft, Executive Vice President of Gaming, added: “For many years GameStop has been a strong go-to-market partner for our gaming products, and we are excited about continuing and evolving that relationship for the launch of the Xbox Series X|S. GameStop’s extensive store base, focus on digital transformation in an omni-channel environment and expert gamer associates remain an important part of our gaming ecosystem, and we’re pleased to elevate our partnership.”

Jim Bell, GameStop’s Chief Financial Officer commented, “We believe Microsoft’s integrated retail technology platform will enable the continued development of our frictionless omni-channel digital environment, providing customers with an exceptional cross-channel experience for all things video gaming.”  Mr. Bell continued, “By standardizing on Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, all accessed with Microsoft Surface devices at our fingertips, we will be able to create a better connection with our associates and provide them with powerful new tools to deliver rich engaging experiences to our customers while significantly enhancing our cross-channel view of inventory ensuring the most efficient delivery of products to our customers.”

About GameStop

GameStop Corp., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, is the world’s largest omni-channel video game retailer, operates over 5,000 stores across 10 countries, and offers the best selection of new and pre-owned video gaming consoles, accessories and video game titles, in both physical and digital formats. GameStop also offers fans a wide variety of POP! vinyl figures, collectibles, board games and more. Through GameStop’s unique buy-sell-trade program, gamers can trade in video game consoles, games, and accessories, as well as consumer electronics for cash or in-store credit. The company’s consumer product network also includes www.gamestop.com and Game Informer® magazine, the world’s leading print and digital video game publication. General information about GameStop Corp. can be obtained at the Company’s corporate website. Follow @GameStop and @GameStopCorp on Twitter and Instagram and find GameStop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GameStop.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements – Safe Harbor

Expectations about quarterly results are based on preliminary unaudited information about the first fiscal quarter of 2020 and are subject to revision.  Although the quarter is now completed, the Company is still in the early stages of standard financial reporting closing procedures.  Accordingly, as normal quarter-end closing and review processes conclude, actual results could differ materially from these preliminary results.  Factors that could cause actual results for the quarter to differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, inaccurate assumptions; unrecorded expenses; changes in estimates or judgments; and facts or circumstances affecting the application of the Company’s critical accounting policies.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon management’s current beliefs, views, estimates and expectations, including as to the Company’s industry, business strategy, goals and expectations concerning its market position, future operations, margins, profitability, capital expenditures, liquidity and capital resources and other financial and operating information, including expectations as to future operating profit improvement. Such statements include without limitation those about the Company’s expectations for fiscal 2020, future financial and operating results, projections, expectations and other statements that are not historical facts. All statements regarding targeted and expected benefits of our transformation, capital allocation, profit improvement and cost-savings initiatives, and expected fiscal 2020 results, are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and actual developments, business decisions and results may differ materially from those reflected or described in the forward-looking statements.  The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or described in the forward-looking statements: the uncertain impact, effects and results of pursuit of operating, strategic, financial and structural initiatives, including the Reboot strategic plan; the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business, including governmental restrictions intended to mitigate the outbreak; volatility in capital and credit markets, including changes that reduce availability, and increase costs, of capital and credit; the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on capital markets; our inability to obtain sufficient quantities of product to meet consumer demand, including due to supply chain disruptions on account of trade restrictions, political instability, labor disturbances and product recalls; the timing of release and consumer demand for new and pre-owned products; our ability to continue to expand, and successfully open and operate new stores for our collectibles business; risks associated with achievement of anticipated financial and operating results from acquisitions; our ability to sustain and grow our console digital video game sales; our ability to establish and profitably maintain the appropriate mix of digital and physical presence in the markets we serve; our ability to assess and implement technologies in support of our omnichannel capabilities; the impact of goodwill and intangible asset impairments; cost reduction initiatives, including store closing costs; risks related to changes in, and our continued retention of, executives and other key personnel and our ability to attract and retain qualified employees in all areas of the organization; changes in consumer preferences and economic conditions; increased operating costs, including wages; disruptions to our information technology systems including but not limited to security breaches of systems protecting consumer and employee information or other types of cybercrimes or cybersecurity attacks; risks associated with international operations; increased competition and changing technology in the video game industry; changes in domestic or foreign laws and regulations that reduce consumer demand for, or increase prices of, our products or otherwise adversely affect our business; our effective tax rate and the factors affecting our effective tax rate, including changes in international, federal or state tax, trade and other laws and regulations; the costs and outcomes of legal proceedings and tax audits; and unexpected changes in the assumptions underlying our outlook for fiscal 2020. Additional factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those reflected or described in the forward-looking statements can be found in GameStop’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020 filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov or http://investor.GameStop.com. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release are “forward-looking statements” based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors described above as well as:

  • intense competition in all of our markets that may lead to lower revenue or operating margins;
  • increasing focus on cloud-based services presenting execution and competitive risks;
  • significant investments in products and services that may not achieve expected returns;
  • acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances that may have an adverse effect on our business;
  • impairment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a significant charge to earnings;
  • cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities that could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our reputation or competitive position;
  • disclosure and misuse of personal data that could cause liability and harm to our reputation;
  • the possibility that we may not be able to protect information stored in our products and services from use by others;
  • abuse of our advertising or social platforms that may harm our reputation or user engagement;
  • the development of the internet of things presenting security, privacy, and execution risks;
  • issues about the use of artificial intelligence in our offerings that may result in competitive harm, legal liability, or reputational harm;
  • excessive outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure;
  • quality or supply problems;
  • the possibility that we may fail to protect our source code;
  • legal changes, our evolving business model, piracy, and other factors may decrease the value of our intellectual property;
  • claims that Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of others;
  • claims against us that may result in adverse outcomes in legal disputes;
  • government litigation and regulatory activity relating to competition rules that may limit how we design and market our products;
  • potential liability under trade protection, anti-corruption, and other laws resulting from our global operations;
  • laws and regulations relating to the handling of personal data that may impede the adoption of our services or result in increased costs, legal claims, fines, or reputational damage;
  • additional tax liabilities;
  • damage to our reputation or our brands that may harm our business and operating results;
  • exposure to increased economic and operational uncertainties from operating a global business, including the effects of foreign currency exchange;
  • uncertainties relating to our business with government customers;
  • adverse economic or market conditions that may harm our business;
  • catastrophic events or geopolitical conditions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that may disrupt our business; and
  • the dependence of our business on our ability to attract and retain talented employees.

For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q that are incorporated by reference in the Prospectus forming a part of the Registration Statement, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor.

Contacts:

GameStop Corp. Investor Relations
(817) 424-2001
investorrelations@gamestop.com

Microsoft Media Relations
WE Communications for Microsoft
(425) 638-7777
rrt@we-worldwide.com

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ZEISS partners with Microsoft for better patient care through data-driven healthcare and to enhance quality and efficiency in manufacturing

Robotic devices in manufacturing
ZEISS provides quality assurance solutions delivering meaningful information on parts dimensions, component behavior and defect detection (©ZEISS).

Oberkochen, Germany, and Redmond, Wash., October 7, 2020 – Today, ZEISS Group and Microsoft Corp. announced a multi-year strategic partnership to accelerate ZEISS’ transformation into a digital services provider that is embracing a cloud-first approach. By standardizing its equipment and processes on Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform, ZEISS will be able to provide its customers with enhanced digital experiences, address changing market needs more quickly and increase its productivity.

Leveraging Azure high-performance compute, AI, and IoT services, ZEISS will work with Microsoft to provide original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with new quality management solutions, enable microchip manufacturers to build more powerful, energy-efficient microchips, and deliver new digital healthcare solutions for improved clinical workflows, enhanced treatments, and device maintenance. Furthermore, ZEISS will create a seamless experience for its customers through one digital platform and manage all digital ZEISS products through one cloud-native platform to enhance continuous and agile product development.

Microsoft’s datacenter regions around the globe help meet the regional needs of ZEISS’ customers while delivering against highest security, privacy and resiliency standards. ZEISS will build on Microsoft’s experience in software development to grow its own digital capabilities while helping Microsoft enhance its customer-driven product innovation through deep industry insights.

Connected quality platform drives industrial efficiency

Initially, ZEISS will enable its solutions in the Industrial Quality & Research segment to be run on a connected quality platform built on Azure, allowing direct integration into the customer’s production process. The platform will help gain business insights and foster collaboration across domains, assets and processes that have traditionally been managed in siloed, proprietary systems.

ZEISS provides metrology and quality assurance solutions delivering meaningful information on parts dimensions, component behavior and defect detection. Real-time and large-scale analysis of data that is collected at all stages of the manufacturing process is key to efficient and effective quality assurance, tightly integrated with today’s and tomorrow’s IoT-enabled production processes.

Quality is also a key objective of a new ZEISS audit trail solution, initially focused on highly regulated manufacturing industries, such as medical technology which is particularly sensitive to quality assurance. The solution will allow customers to identify root causes and react quickly on quality issues to reduce down-time and keep productivity up. The software will allow customers to track, trace, visualize and analyze process and product data with the help of Azure AI services to identify failure root causes more quickly.

High-performance computing enables more powerful, energy-efficient microchips

The ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology segment (SMT) enables chip manufacturers worldwide to produce smaller, more powerful, more affordable and more energy-efficient microchips which are used in essentially every technical device today. Optical lithography applying deep ultra violet (DUV) and even extreme ultra violet (EUV) light allows to manufacture chips at structure sizes 4,000 times thinner than a human hair or, more scientifically, at single-digit nanometer sizes. Lithography systems include extremely complex and ultra-precisely shaped aspherical lenses (DUV) and mirrors (EUV). ZEISS SMT is a technological leader in this field of the semiconductor industry. Especially the development of next-generation, so-called High-NA EUV systems requires the most complex optical calculations calling for massive compute power.

Using Azure high-performance compute capabilities, ZEISS is now able to dynamically burst to the cloud to complement its sophisticated on-premises high-performance computing cluster and handle peaks more efficiently. Such capabilities enable the development of future leading-edge EUV lithography tools. Optical lithography and especially EUV technology advancements are driving digitalization and are keeping Moore’s Law alive for many years to come.

Data-driven healthcare solutions improve patient care

ZEISS Medical Technology provides comprehensive solutions for ophthalmic professionals and microsurgeons, consisting of devices, implants, consumables and services. Through the partnership, ZEISS will connect its medical technology to Microsoft’s cloud and leverage Azure AI and IoT technologies for new digital services such as improved clinical workflows, enhanced treatments, and device maintenance in a secure environment that enables compliance with regulatory requirements in the health industry. These solutions will help improve the quality of life of patients and drive progress, efficiency and access to healthcare.

Cloud-native ZEISS platforms enhance customer experience and boost internal productivity

ZEISS Digital Innovation Partners and ZEISS Corporate IT already partner very closely with Microsoft and will further intensify and scale this partnership going forward. Together with Microsoft, ZEISS Corporate IT has developed a cloud-native digital integration platform running on Azure to integrate all customer-facing digital ZEISS products into ZEISS Enterprise IT. ZEISS can apply the latest technology developments and share its manufacturing and medical technology insights at the same time to support Microsoft’s customer-driven product innovations.

ZEISS Digital Innovation Partners builds on these integration capabilities and uses Azure cloud and DevOps services to enable a seamless and coherent end-to-end digital journey for ZEISS customers, for example quality experts and eyecare professionals. The digital customer interaction platform MY ZEISS will integrate various customer-facing solutions into one platform so that customers can easily manage their Zeiss touchpoints through one central web application.

“As a global leader in optics and optoelectronics, ZEISS is committed to digitally enable its customers’ business models, products, and services. We are proud to join forces with Microsoft in our quest to apply precision optics, IoT capabilities, artificial intelligence and machine learning to the most demanding processes in healthcare and manufacturing,” says Dr. Karl Lamprecht, ZEISS President and CEO. “Improving the patient’s life and doctor’s work and driving industrial quality assurance in the production process have always been top of mind for us. We are taking our expertise to the next digital level together with Microsoft, a leading innovator and provider of digital technologies.”

“Zeiss is driving innovations across industries to improve the quality of individual lives and create industrial efficiencies by overcoming data silos and integrating digital experiences,” said Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President Cloud + AI at Microsoft. “Harnessing the power of Microsoft’s cloud, AI and IoT services, ZEISS is transforming into a leading digital services provider.”

ZEISS and Microsoft will also explore opportunities to collaborate and co-innovate across other ZEISS segments and units including Consumer Markets, ZEISS Ventures and Corporate Research and Technology.

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling more than 6.4 billion euros in its four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology and Consumer Markets (status: 30 September 2019).

For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world’s leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses and binoculars.

With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future of technology and constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The company’s significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS’ technology and market leadership.

With over 31,000 employees, ZEISS is active globally in almost 50 countries with around 60 sales and service companies, 30 production sites and 25 development sites. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG.

Further information at www.zeiss.com

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Microsoft Media Relations

WE Communications for Microsoft
(425) 638-7777
rrt@we-worldwide.com

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Rockwell Automation and Microsoft expand partnership to simplify industrial transformation

Partnership aims to empower manufacturers with agility, intelligence, and scale to deliver digital transformation initiatives—from the cloud to the edge

MILWAUKEE – Oct. 6, 2020 – Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced a five-year partnership expansion to develop integrated, market-ready solutions that help industrial customers improve digital agility through cloud technology. By combining each company’s expertise in the industrial and IT markets, respectively, teams can work together more seamlessly, enabling industrial organizations to save on infrastructure costs, speed time-to-value, and increase productivity.

Rockwell Automation logoMicrosoft and Rockwell are working to deliver innovative edge-to-cloud-based solutions that connect information between development, operations and maintenance teams through a singular, trusted data environment. This will allow development teams to digitally prototype, configure and collaborate without investing in costly physical equipment. This unified data environment also enables IT and OT teams to not only securely access and share data models across the organization, but with their ecosystem of partners as well.

“Today, one thing we know for sure is that no business is 100% resilient. Those fortified with digital capabilities and assets are more resilient than others, and the cloud is how they will thrive,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president of worldwide commercial business, Microsoft. “We are pleased to deepen our already strong, decade-long relationship with Rockwell Automation to help businesses simplify industrial transformation, accelerate business outcomes and innovate with agility.”

To date, the companies have co-developed over 20 use cases across Food & Beverage, Household and Personal Care and Life Sciences industries. The solutions developed from this partnership will augment and enhance their current offerings.

“This partnership provides Rockwell Automation and Microsoft customers with a holistic, simple solution for IIoT development and operations and removes data silos that hinder industrial digital transformation initiatives,” said Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation. “By eliminating a core barrier to automation initiatives, industrial organizations establish a digital thread connecting the entire enterprise, which in turn accelerates innovation, maximizes productivity and optimizes operations.”

“Our team has seen the preview release of this new solution and we are excited about collaboration between our strategic partners, Rockwell Automation and Microsoft,” said Tristan Hunter, GM Automation & Operational Technology at Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited, New Zealand’s largest company and responsible for 30% of the world’s dairy exports. “Moving data from our on-premise assets securely with context and providing new workflows for us to analyze and drive better outcomes is important to maintaining Fonterra’s high standards across our many plants globally.”

Organizations can access Rockwell Automation solutions now via the Microsoft Azure Marketplace with more solutions currently in development. The next phase of co-innovation solutions will be available to joint customers of Rockwell Automation and Microsoft customers in Q1 2021 at Automation Fair At Home.

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 Rockwell Automation 

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 23,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing The Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements about future growth and growth acceleration, business performance, the integration and development of solutions, the closing of the equity transaction and the use of proceeds and share repurchases. These statements are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “believe”, “estimate”, “project”, “plan”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “will”, “intend” and other similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including the fact that growth may not occur or accelerate as expected, subscription may not grow profitably as expected, the equity investment may not close when or as expected and any use of proceeds or share repurchases may not occur as expected, and the integration of the solutions and development of future solutions may not occur as expected, and those risks and uncertainties described in the companies’ filings with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . These forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs as of the date of filing this release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

MEDIA CONTACT

Kyra Tillmans
10Fold (For Rockwell Automation)
rockwell@10Fold.com

Microsoft Media Relations

WE Communications for Microsoft
(425) 638-7000
rrt@we-worldwide.com

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Telstra-Microsoft partnership signals new generation digital foundations for Australian businesses

Companies collaborate on one of Australia’s largest digital twin, emissions reduction initiatives, and drive transformative operational models

Australia with city lights from space at night
Telstra-Microsoft partnership signals new generation digital foundations for Australian businesses.

SYDNEY and REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 25, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. and Telstra have extended their long-standing strategic partnership to focus on accelerating the development and release of innovative and sustainable cloud-based solutions across multiple industries driving efficiency, amplifying decision making capability and enhancing customer experiences.

The partnership is founded on Telstra and Microsoft’s shared understanding that cloud, combined with 5G, will enable intelligent devices to be securely deployed on a much greater scale. Combining Microsoft Azure and Telstra’s network also supports Australian developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) as they develop solutions that leverage AI, low latency and increased resilience.

This will help enterprises build end-to-end digital processes and enable completely new transformative business models that leverage data to accelerate smart decision making, maximise business opportunities and grow revenues. Telstra and Microsoft will partner to:

  • harness IoT, Edge, AI and digital twin capability to develop important new industry solutions in areas such as asset tracking, supply chain management, telematics and smart spaces;
  • leverage Azure as preferred cloud for Telstra’s ongoing internal digital transformation.
  • explore and pursue technology and data-driven solutions to advance our sustainability and climate commitments and
  • build ground-breaking, nationally important solutions that leverage the Telstra Data Hub.

The companies will partner on digital twins for Telstra customers as well as for Telstra’s own commercial buildings and selected other infrastructure – which when fully deployed will be one of the largest Azure-based digital twins in Australia. Telstra’s digital twin will map physical environments in an online virtual setting, to create models that provide at-a-glance understanding of what is happening in the real world, and support improved what-if scenario planning.

Telstra is working with Microsoft as its preferred cloud provider for ongoing internal digital transformation. Azure will provide the digital foundations for Telstra’s strategic plan to streamline and simplify operations, transitioning from legacy and on-premises applications to modern cloud-based solutions.

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the strategic partnership brought together the best strengths of the two organisations.

“We already have a longstanding relationship with Microsoft and have worked together in areas that are market-leading to create unique experiences for our customers. Over the past 18 months, we have exclusively launched Xbox All Access for Australian gamers, were the first to launch Telstra Calling for Office 365, the only native Teams voice calling plan in Australia, which we recently expanded to include Microsoft Business Voice for SMB customers; and co-collaborated on Telstra Data Hub to help industries better manage their data securely.”

“Today’s announcement with Microsoft formalises the several streams of work we are already collaborating on. The global scale of Microsoft’s platform, tools, and applications, together with Telstra’s network solutions, reliability and leadership, will drive new and unique solutions for Australia,” Mr Penn said.

“In July, Telstra was certified carbon neutral in our operations. Significantly reducing emissions while the demand for connectivity and new digital technologies is rising rapidly is one of our biggest commitments, as well as one of our biggest challenges.  Microsoft and Telstra both have ambitious climate targets and share a commitment to a net zero carbon future.”

“The outputs from all workstreams will also help deliver more innovative products for customers across all segments of the market, and will aim to enhance customer experience and engagement, solve business challenges, and drive a new level of technology leadership. This is a great opportunity to drive further digital innovation to strengthen the Australian economy, and to build a sustainable, connected future so everyone can thrive,” Mr Penn said.

“The broad adoption of cloud and 5G technology will create new opportunities for businesses worldwide, including in Australia,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft.

“We’re expanding our partnership with Telstra and bringing together the power of Azure and Telstra’s network to build new solutions in critical areas like asset tracking, supply-chain management, and smart spaces, harnessing the latest advances in AI, digital twins, and mixed reality.”

# Notes to the Editor #

Focus areas of the extended partnership include, but are not limited to:

Digital twin, IoT and cloud: Telstra has selected Microsoft as a strategic partner in the design and build of a scalable and unified IoT platform leveraging Azure IoT that enables Telstra to simplify operations and significantly reduce time to market. Telstra is partnering with Microsoft to build a digital twin across its own commercial buildings with an initial deployment of five buildings including the flagship site at 242 Exhibition St in Melbourne. When fully deployed this represents one of the largest Azure-based digital twins in Australia. Once complete, the digital twin will allow Telstra to establish a digital nerve centre that promises enhanced transparency by modernising business processes and the work environment, enhancing digital interaction between personnel and enabling Telstra to improve operational efficiency.

Using its technology services provider, Telstra Purple, Telstra is working with Microsoft to provide an advanced digital twin solution for Downer Group’s asphalt plants. This ‘digital asphalt plant’; promises greater efficiency, reliability, and safety while at the same time increasing operational transparency and control. Through a collaborative design process, Telstra Purple and Downer identified the opportunity to leverage Microsoft Azure AI and edge services and Telstra’s Smart Spaces video analytics, to provide real time worker safety information directly to Azure Digital Twins. These ‘digital safety barriers’ identify and track dangerous activity across the plant. The companies envision the solution will be deployed in 33 asphalt plants across Australia.

Digital Foundation: Telstra is working with Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud provider for ongoing internal digital transformation. Azure will provide the digital foundations for Telstra’s strategic plan to streamline and simplify operations, transitioning from legacy and on-premise applications to modern cloud-based solutions.

Telstra is expanding its use of Azure for several critical IT applications, including the creation of a Digital Foundation for the ongoing modernisation of IT infrastructure, and also underpinning Data Hub, IoT and Digital Twin Capability. Azure will also help Telstra achieve its sustainability targets.

Sustainability: Addressing climate change is one of the defining challenges of the decade. Our sector has the potential to enable emissions savings more than seven times greater than the emissions we generate through providing our customers with low carbon products and services such as cloud computing.

Telstra and Microsoft are committed to exploring and pursuing technology and data-driven work to advance our sustainability and climate commitments. The initial focus will be on reducing emissions, circular economy, and remote work. We will work together to pilot real-time data reporting solutions such as Microsoft’s Sustainability Calculator that will deliver greater understanding of our joint carbon footprint to achieve further emissions reductions.

Armed with that insight the companies will be able to identify and support the development of more efficient products and processes.

Telstra Data Hub (TDH): Collaborating over the past year, Microsoft and Telstra have made significant progress with the Telstra Data Hub which enables many-to-many data interconnects to occur through a common platform. Designed to facilitate complex data sharing and permission scenarios, while alleviating the need to create multiple, bespoke point-to-point integrations required between systems, Telstra Data Hub has been built using the companies’ technologies to help customers realise the value of their data, to share their data across industry and act as the foundation for new AI models.

Early customers include the Queensland State government, who are evaluating how to securely gather the critical data to manage the state’s natural water system, and in doing so not only develop an end-to-end view of the state’s water asset but to also provide immediate value to the industries that use the water to fuel the economy. Other users of Telstra Data Hub include the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, where we are collaborating on a data sharing and analytics ecosystem focused on understanding sudden cardiac death in young people, as well as with Charles Sturt University on a data ecosystem for agricultural commodities.

Telstra

Telstra is Australia’s leading telecommunications and technology company, offering a full range of communications services and competing in all telecommunications markets. Our purpose is to build a connected future so everyone can thrive.

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 organisation on the planet to achieve more.

Media enquiries, contact:

Rudolf Wagenaar, Commercial Communications Lead, Microsoft Australia

E: ruwage@microsoft.com

M: 043 908 2550

Telstra

Steve Carey, General Manager, Media

Matthew Wu, Product & Technology Communications Lead

E: media@team.telstra.com