Press Releases – Page 9

Posted on July 23, 2020 by — Leave a comment

MSCI announces strategic alliance with Microsoft to accelerate innovation in the global investment industry

NEW YORK and REDMOND, WA – July 23, 2020 – MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) and Microsoft Corp. have formed a strategic alliance to accelerate innovation among the global investment industry. By bringing together the power of Microsoft’s cloud and AI technologies with MSCI’s global reach through its portfolio of investment decision support tools, the companies will unlock new innovations for the industry and enhance MSCI’s client experience among the world’s most sophisticated investors, including asset managers, asset owners, hedge funds and banks.

Initially, the companies will focus on migrating MSCI’s existing products, data and services onto Azure as its preferred cloud platform in stages, starting with its Index and Analytics solutions followed by its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) products and ratings; Real Estate data and solutions; and MSCI’s risk analytics platform Beon. By modernizing MSCI’s data and analytics services and infrastructure, the companies will be able to deliver new capabilities which will help investors more swiftly and efficiently manage data and understand the drivers of risk and performance.

In addition, MSCI and Microsoft will explore collaboration opportunities to drive climate risk and ESG solutions, leveraging Microsoft’s Azure and Power Platform and MSCI’s ESG and climate solutions capabilities. This future collaboration, in line with both organizations’ commitment to sustainability, is intended to help investors better understand and interpret the business risks and opportunities that climate change brings.

“Investors’ needs to rapidly innovate and adapt as strategies and business models evolve, build and manage big data, and improve operational efficiencies are growing at a critical speed around the world,” said Henry Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of MSCI. “Our strategic alliance with Microsoft underscores MSCI’s commitment to driving relentless innovation in the technology of our products and services to help investors achieve their desired investment outcomes.”

“Our strategic collaboration with Microsoft is the latest step in our long and established heritage of innovation and we are excited about the long-term potential of this relationship,” added Jigar Thakkar, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Engineering at MSCI. “MSCI is a future-focused business and Azure enables us not just to enhance our capabilities and client solutions of today, but also provide the platform to accelerate our journey in building world-class technology and tools to solve the investment industry’s challenges of tomorrow.”

“Investors rely on cutting-edge technologies to deliver intelligent insights, manage risk and detect anomalies so they can help customers achieve their investment goals,” said Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President, Cloud +AI, Microsoft. “By harnessing the power of Azure and its AI capabilities, together with MSCI’s expertise and position within the investment ecosystem, we will be able to accelerate new innovations that help investors better optimize their clients’ performance capabilities.”

“This alliance opens exciting frontiers for the global investment community,” said Merrie Williamson, Microsoft VP of Azure Apps and Infrastructure. “The combination of MSCI’s relentless pursuit of innovation with Microsoft’s deep data expertise, expansive partner ecosystem, and go-to-market capabilities forms an alliance with the potential to accelerate the investment industry.”

About MSCI
MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 45 years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process. To learn more, please visit www.msci.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

Investor Inquiries

investor.relations@msci.com

Salli Schwartz +1 212 804 5306

Media Inquiries

PR@msci.com

Sam Wang +1 212 804 5244

Melanie Blanco +1 212 981 1049

Rachel Lai +852 2844 9315

MSCI Global Client Service

EMEA Client Service + 44 20 7618.2222

Americas Client Service +1 888 588 4567 (toll free)

Asia Pacific Client Service + 852 2844 9333

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to future events or to future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond MSCI’s control and that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Other factors that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements can be found in MSCI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 18, 2020 and in quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed or furnished with the SEC. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if MSCI’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from what MSCI projected. Any forward-looking statement in this press release reflects MSCI’s current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to MSCI’s operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. MSCI assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Posted on July 22, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft cloud strength drives fourth quarter results

REDMOND, Wash. — July 22, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

Revenue was $38.0 billion and increased 13%
Operating income was $13.4 billion and increased 8%
Net income was $11.2 billion and decreased 15% GAAP (up 5% non-GAAP)
Diluted earnings per share was $1.46 and decreased 15% GAAP (up 7% non-GAAP)

“The last five months have made it clear that tech intensity is the key to business resilience. Organizations that build their own digital capability will recover faster and emerge from this crisis stronger,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “We are the only company with an integrated, modern technology stack – powered by cloud and AI and underpinned by security and compliance – to help every organization transform and reimagine how they meet customer needs.”

“Our commercial cloud surpassed $50 billion in annual revenue for the first time this year. And this quarter our Commercial bookings were better than expected, growing 12% year-over-year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. “As we drive growth across the company, we remain committed to investing in long-term strategic opportunities.”

The following table reconciles our financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to non-GAAP financial results. Additional information regarding our non-GAAP definition is provided below. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year.

	Three Months Ended June 30,
($ in millions, except per share amounts)	Revenue	Operating Income	Net Income	Diluted Earnings per Share
2019 As Reported (GAAP)	$33,717	$12,405	$13,187_	$1.71_
Net Tax Impact of Transfer of Intangible Properties	–	–	(2,567)	(0.34)
2019 As Adjusted (non-GAAP)	$33,717	$12,405	$10,620_	$1.37_
2020 As Reported (GAAP)	$38,033	$13,407	$11,202_	$1.46_
Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)	13%	8%	(15%)	(15%)
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP)	13%	8%	5%_	7%_
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP) Constant Currency	15%	12%	8%_	9%_

GAAP results include a $450 million charge for the closure of the Microsoft Store physical locations in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020. GAAP results also include a net income tax benefit of $2.6 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, which is excluded from our non-GAAP results and explained in the non-GAAP definition section below.

COVID-19 Impact

In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, similar business trends to the previous quarter continued.

In the Productivity and Business Processes and Intelligent Cloud segments, cloud usage and demand increased as customers continued to work and learn from home. Transactional license purchasing continued to slow, particularly in small and medium businesses, and LinkedIn was negatively impacted by the weak job market and reductions in advertising spend.

In the More Personal Computing segment, Windows OEM, Surface, and Gaming benefited from increased demand to support work-, play-, and learn-from-home scenarios, while Search was negatively impacted by reductions in advertising spend.

Business Highlights

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $11.8 billion and increased 6% (up 8% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 5% (up 7% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 19% (up 22% in constant currency)
Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 6% (up 7% in constant currency) and Office 365 Consumer subscribers increased to 42.7 million
LinkedIn revenue increased 10% (up 11% in constant currency)
Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 13% (up 15% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 38% (up 40% in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $13.4 billion and increased 17% (up 19% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

Server products and cloud services revenue increased 19% (up 21% in constant currency) driven by Azure revenue growth of 47% (up 50% in constant currency)
Enterprise Services revenue was relatively unchanged (up 2% in constant currency)

Revenue in More Personal Computing was $12.9 billion and increased 14% (up 16% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

Windows OEM revenue increased 7%
Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 9% (up 11% in constant currency)
Xbox content and services revenue increased 65% (up 68% in constant currency)
Surface revenue increased 28% (up 30% in constant currency)
Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs decreased 18% (down 17% in constant currency)

Operating expenses were $12.3 billion and increased 13%, including the $450 million charge for the closure of the Microsoft Store physical locations.

Microsoft returned $8.9 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, an increase of 16% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019.

Fiscal Year 2020 Results

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

Revenue was $143.0 billion and increased 14%
Operating income was $53.0 billion and increased 23%
Net income was $44.3 billion and increased 13% GAAP and 20% non-GAAP
Diluted earnings per share was $5.76 and increased 14% GAAP and 21% non-GAAP

The following table reconciles our financial results reported in accordance with GAAP to non-GAAP financial results. Additional information regarding our non-GAAP definition is provided below. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year.

	Twelve Months Ended June 30,
($ in millions, except per share amounts)	Revenue	Operating Income	Net Income	Diluted Earnings per Share
2019 As Reported (GAAP)	$125,843	$42,959	$39,240_	$5.06_
Net Tax Impact of Transfer of Intangible Properties	–	–	(2,567)	(0.33)
Net Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)	–	–	157_	0.02_
2019 As Adjusted (non-GAAP)	$125,843	$42,959	$36,830_	$4.75_
2020 As Reported (GAAP)	$143,015	$52,959	$44,281_	$5.76_
Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)	14%	23%	13%_	14%_
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP)	14%	23%	20%_	21%_
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP) Constant Currency	15%	27%	24%_	25%_

GAAP results include a net income tax benefit of $2.6 billion and a net income tax charge of $157 million for the twelve months ended June 30, 2019. These net tax impacts are excluded from our non-GAAP results and explained in the Non-GAAP Definition section below.

Business Outlook

Microsoft will provide forward-looking guidance in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call and webcast.

Responding to COVID-19

At Microsoft, our focus remains on ensuring the safety of our employees, striving to protect the health and well-being of the communities in which we operate, and providing technology and resources to our customers and partners to help them do their best work while remote. Additional information about Microsoft’s COVID-19 response can be found here.

Quarterly Highlights, Product Releases, and Enhancements

Every quarter Microsoft delivers hundreds of products, either as new releases, services, or enhancements to current products and services. These releases are a result of significant research and development investments, made over multiple years, designed to help customers be more productive and secure and to deliver differentiated value across the cloud and the edge.

Here are the major product releases and other highlights for the quarter, organized by product categories, to help illustrate how we are accelerating innovation across our businesses while expanding our market opportunities.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

To better execute on Microsoft’s mission, we focus our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts where we can have the most positive impact. To learn more about our latest initiatives and priorities, please visit our investor relations ESG website.

Webcast Details

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer, Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Frank Brod, chief accounting officer, Keith Dolliver, deputy general counsel, and Michael Spencer, general manager of investor relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time (5:30 p.m. Eastern time) today to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on July 22, 2021.

Non-GAAP Definition

Transfer of Intangible Properties. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, in response to the TCJA and recently issued regulations, Microsoft transferred certain intangible properties held by its foreign subsidiaries to the United States and Ireland. The transfers of intangible properties resulted in a net $2.6 billion tax benefit recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, as the value of future tax deductions exceeded the current tax liability from foreign jurisdictions and United States Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) tax.

The TCJA Impact. Microsoft recorded a net charge of $157 million during the twelve months ended June 30, 2019 related to the TCJA.

Microsoft has provided non-GAAP financial measures related to the transfer of intangible properties and the TCJA to aid investors in better understanding our performance. Microsoft believes these non-GAAP measures assist investors by providing additional insight into its operational performance and help clarify trends affecting its business. For comparability of reporting, management considers non-GAAP measures in conjunction with GAAP financial results in evaluating business performance. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Constant Currency

Microsoft presents constant currency information to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present this information, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are converted into United States dollars using the average exchange rates from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year. Microsoft has provided this non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding our performance. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Financial Performance Constant Currency Reconciliation

	Three Months Ended June 30,
($ in millions, except per share amounts)	Revenue	Operating Income	Net Income	Diluted Earnings per Share
2019 As Reported	$33,717_	$12,405_	$13,187_	$1.71_
2019 As Adjusted (non-GAAP)	$33,717_	$12,405_	$10,620_	$1.37_
2020 As Reported	$38,033_	$13,407_	$11,202_	$1.46_
Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)	13%	8%_	(15%)	(15%)
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP)	13%	8%_	5%_	7%_
Constant Currency Impact	$(598)	$(454)	$(314)	$(0.04)
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP) Constant Currency	15%	12%	8%_	9%_
	Twelve Months Ended June 30,
($ in millions, except per share amounts)	Revenue	Operating Income	Net Income	Diluted Earnings per Share
2019 As Reported	$125,843_	$42,959_	$39,240_	$5.06_
2019 As Adjusted (non-GAAP)	$125,843_	$42,959_	$36,830_	$4.75_
2020 As Reported	$143,015_	$52,959_	$44,281_	$5.76_
Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)	14%_	23%_	13%_	14%_
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP)	14%_	23%_	20%_	21%_
Constant Currency Impact	$(1,974)	$(1,567)	$(1,348)	$(0.18)
Percentage Change Y/Y (non-GAAP) Constant Currency	15%_	27%_	24%_	25%_

Segment Revenue Constant Currency Reconciliation

	Three Months Ended June 30,
($ in millions)	Productivity and Business Processes	Intelligent Cloud	More Personal Computing
2019 As Reported	$11,047_	$11,391_	$11,279_
2020 As Reported	$11,752_	$13,371_	$12,910_
Percentage Change Y/Y	6%_	17%_	14%_
Constant Currency Impact	$(209)	$(238)	$(151)
Percentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency	8%_	19%_	16%_

Selected Product and Service Revenue Constant Currency Reconciliation

	Three Months Ended June 30, 2020
	Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)	Constant Currency Impact	Percentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency
Office Commercial products and cloud services	5%	2%	7%
Office 365 Commercial	19%	3%	22%
Office Consumer products and cloud services	6%	1%	7%
LinkedIn	10%	1%	11%
Dynamics products and cloud services	13%	2%	15%
Dynamics 365	38%	2%	40%
Server products and cloud services	19%	2%	21%
Azure	47%	3%	50%
Enterprise Services	0%	2%	2%
Windows OEM	7%	0%	7%
Windows Commercial products and cloud services	9%	2%	11%
Xbox content and services	65%	3%	68%
Surface	28%	2%	30%
Search advertising excluding traffic acquisition costs	(18)%	1%	(17)%

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 release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such 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 geo-political 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, 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.

All information in this release is as of June 30, 2020. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.

For more information, press only:

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

For more information, financial analysts and investors only:

Michael Spencer, General Manager, Investor Relations, (425) 706-4400

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers, and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. Shareholder and financial information, as well as today’s 2:30 p.m. Pacific time conference call with investors and analysts, is available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor.

Posted on July 21, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Nine leading businesses launch new initiative to accelerate progress to a net zero future

Initiative is committed to leading by example, charting the course for other businesses to follow

REDMOND, Wash. – July 21, 2020 – The heads of nine companies today announced the establishment of a new initiative to accelerate the transition to a net zero global economy. The initiative, known as Transform to Net Zero, intends to develop and deliver research, guidance, and implementable roadmaps to enable all businesses to achieve net zero emissions.

The Initiative will be led by founding members including A.P. Moller – Maersk, Danone, Mercedes-Benz AG, Microsoft Corp., Natura &Co, NIKE, Inc., Starbucks, Unilever, and Wipro, as well as Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The Initiative is supported by BSR, which is serving as the Secretariat for the Initiative.

Transform to Net Zero will focus on enabling the business transformation needed to achieve net zero emissions no later than 2050, in addition to driving broader change with a focus on policy, innovation, and finance. The outputs of the initiative will be widely available to all, though additional companies may join. The Initiative intends to complete the outputs of this work by 2025.

The work will be led by the following principles:

Focused on transformation: Delivering on our individual commitments and translating into action, which will include corporate strategy, governance and accountability, finance and operations, risk management, procurement, innovation and R&D, marketing, and public affairs.
Led by science and best practice data and methods: Committed to standardized approaches to achieve what the best available science requires for a 1.5°C world; committed to improving the quality and availability of research, data, and tools for all; committed to the highest return for the climate on investment.
Leveraging existing efforts: Committed to open collaboration with existing net zero initiatives (sign-on, advocacy, sectorial, methodology efforts) to leverage existing work and advance business transformation to net zero.

Strong governance and oversight: At the highest levels of the company, governance and oversight structures will work to achieve net zero, including through developing innovative products, services, and business models.
Robust reduction and removal across the extended enterprise: Net zero requires emissions reductions across the entire value chain, including impact of products and services and supply chain. Net zero requires us to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions aligned with the latest science and increase our capacity for GHG removals in the near term to be the path to get companies—and the world—to net zero no later than 2050 to ensure a stable climate, and will mean a mix of climate-positive actions should be pursued.
Investment in innovation: Substantial commitment and willingness to invest in and accelerate innovation to achieve net zero transformation, including partnering with others.
Policy engagement: Advancing public policy that enables and accelerates progress towards net zero, and engagement with bodies such as trade associations to achieve this objective.
Transparency and accountability: Public reporting and disclosure on progress towards net zero transformation to key stakeholders, including investors, customers, consumers, and where required―regulators; sharing information with all stakeholders on good practice to net zero transformation.

Just and sustainable transition: We know that marginalised groups and low-income communities bear the greatest impacts of climate change. Therefore, we will help enable conditions needed to achieve effective, just, and sustainable climate solutions for people of all gender, race, or skills.

Commentary:

A.P. Moller – Maersk

Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, said: “A.P. Moller – Maersk is committed to a carbon-neutral future of transport and logistics. To contribute to the Paris agreement’s goal, we announced our ambition of having net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 back in 2018. Since then we have taken several concrete actions to decarbonise the industry. The overall target of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees can only be reached through strong alliances across sectors and businesses. We are therefore happy to join Microsoft and other global companies in the Transform to Net Zero initiative.”

BSR

Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, said: “Over the past decade, many businesses have committed to net zero targets. It is now time to accelerate the actions needed to achieve this essential goal. Our window for staying under 1.5 degrees of warming is closing, and fast. We are now in a decisive decade, in which we must urgently decarbonize the economy, if we are to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. That’s why Transform to Net Zero is so important. More than just setting a high bar for inspiration, Transform to Net Zero will provide companies with an actionable roadmap enabling them to transform their businesses to thrive in and shape a net zero economy.”

Danone

Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and CEO of Danone, said: “Our One Planet. One Health frame of action puts the climate at the core of the food system transformation. Carbon neutrality is therefore not optional for Danone, it is a way to reinvent our growth model. This revolution cannot be achieved alone. That’s why I truly believe in the collective power of Transform to Net Zero. Let’s share best practices and build new systems to create the evidence-based solutions that will help us drive the change and keep global warming under 1.5°C.”

Environmental Defense Fund

Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund, said: “The gap between where we are on climate change and where we need to be continues to widen. So does the gap between businesses that just talk about action and those that are actually getting the job done. This new initiative holds tremendous potential for closing these gaps. Especially if other businesses follow in the coalition’s footsteps, leading by example and using the most powerful tool that companies have for fighting climate change: their political influence.”

Mercedes-Benz AG

Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, said:

“If there is one lesson we can learn from dealing with the COVID-19-pandemic it is how much we can achieve if we act together. This is the only way we can also win the fight against climate change. We need to set common goals and implement measures to achieve them. That’s why we are joining ‘Transform to Net Zero.’ Our mission at Mercedes-Benz is CO2-neutral mobility. We are making good progress towards this end and we are determined to follow through.”

Microsoft

Brad Smith, President, Microsoft, said: “No one company can address the climate crisis alone. That’s why leading companies are developing and sharing best practices, research, and learnings to help everyone move forward. Whether a company is just getting started or is well on its path, Transform to Net Zero can help us all turn carbon commitments into real progress toward a net zero future.”

Natura &Co.

Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman of the Board and group CEO of Natura &Co., said: “At Natura &Co we truly believe in cooperation. We recently released our 2030 Commitment to Life in which we set for all our business the target to become net carbon zero in ten years. But to address the climate crises the world is facing, we need to help each other to do more and faster. The Net Zero initiative strives to do just that, bringing together companies committed to making the right changes at the right pace. We are committed to build a brighter future that will allow not only a greener world for future generations but the economic recovery under new premises that that society is demanding.”

NIKE, Inc.

Andy Campion, Chief Operating Officer, NIKE, Inc., said: “When it comes to protecting the playing field we share—our planet—there isn’t a moment to lose. That’s why we aren’t waiting for solutions to climate change, we’re coming together as global leaders to create them. If we act now, and work together, we can drive meaningful progress toward a more sustainable future. We’ll be relentless in our pursuit of ensuring a healthy planet for generations of athletes to come.”

Starbucks

Kevin Johnson, Starbucks President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Starbucks aspires to be a resource-positive company by building on our long history in sustainability. Joining Transform to Net Zero aligned with our aspiration for a more sustainable future. Partnering with other like-minded companies, we will open-source best practices, advocate for positive government policies, and support a just transition. We believe in driving real change and encourage other organizations to join us in this critical effort for humanity.”

Unilever

Alan Jope, Unilever CEO, said: “The climate crisis is not only a threat to our environment, but also to lives and livelihoods, and it is critical that we all play a part in addressing it. The business world of the future cannot look like it does now; in addition to decarbonisation, a full system transformation is needed. That’s why we’re pleased to join other leading businesses as a founding member of Transform to Net Zero so we can work together and accelerate the strategic shift that is needed to achieve net zero emissions; in Unilever’s case, by 2039.”

Wipro

Thierry Delaporte, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Wipro Limited, said: “We are pleased to be a founding member of Transform to Net Zero. It is closely aligned with our values and our commitment to sustainability. Climate change is a defining challenge for our times and we firmly believe that businesses must step up and address the challenges head-on. A partnership forum like this can help catalyse and accelerate such a response and guide our future engagements across the value chain through a collaborative spirit of innovative, transformational solutions.”

Posted on July 20, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Finastra and Microsoft announce a multiyear global strategic agreement to accelerate transformation of financial services

Alliance supports demand for cloud solutions, aiming to compress years of innovation into months for 8,500 banking and financial institutions worldwide

LONDON and REDMOND, Wash. — July 20, 2020 — Finastra and Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced a strategic, multiyear cloud agreement to help accelerate the digital transformation of financial services.

“This is a truly exciting step change in the relationship between our two companies,” said Simon Paris, CEO, Finastra. “We believe the future of finance is open. Together with Microsoft, we can provide people, businesses and communities with the solutions and services that fit around their needs and lives, unlocking the power and potential of finance for everyone. As the pandemic has brought the future forward with regard to digitization, our vision to transform the world of financial services aligns closely with Microsoft’s ambitions, and I believe that together we can help accelerate this digital shift.”

This move marks a commitment and builds on the 3,000 banks and financial institutions already supported by both companies across payments, lending, treasury and retail banking on Azure. The agreement, paired with the unparalleled disruption of the industry, will reimagine the way banks and credit unions use technology and how we all think about sustainable, open finance. Using Microsoft platforms has already enabled Finastra to accelerate its product road maps to bring even more of its mission-critical solutions to the cloud for its 8,500 customers, alongside advancements in data, AI and open banking.

“Finastra’s open developer platform, built on Microsoft Azure, is leading the way in accelerating collaboration and innovation in financial services. By helping with capabilities such as e-signatory and e-notary, Finastra is able to quickly extend those solutions for more customers,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud + AI, Microsoft. “We’re thrilled to be working with Finastra to transform the future of financial services by accelerating its move to the cloud. Together we will fuel the digital transformation of financial services, and by delivering on operational efficiencies and reducing risk, we will help increase productivity and enable deeper client engagement.”

Along with the strategic partner relationship, Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud open innovation platform will continue to encourage co-innovation of next-generation financial services applications. Powered by Microsoft Azure, it allows developers unprecedented access to build on top of Finastra’s core systems for faster incubation of high-value applications at scale.

Microsoft Azure, the Power Platform and Office 365 are also helping Finastra to transform its own business and optimize operations. With a focus on creating a workplace of the future, these technologies are supporting smart working, delivering greater collaboration and driving a “digital-first” mindset among employees. The Microsoft Workplace Analytics capabilities — with deeper insight gained from data — are also enabling faster, definitive decision-making.

About Finastra

Finastra is building an open platform that accelerates collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. Supported by the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial services software, Finastra delivers this vitally important technology to financial institutions of all sizes across the globe, including 90 of the world’s top 100 banks. Our open architecture approach brings together a number of partners and innovators. Together we are leading the way in which applications are written, deployed and consumed in financial services to evolve with the changing needs of customers. Learn more at finastra.com.

About Microsoft

For more information, press only:

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

Caroline Duff, Finastra Global Head of PR, +44 (0)20 3320 5892, caroline.duff@finastra.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.

Posted on July 17, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Halliburton forms strategic agreement with Microsoft and Accenture to advance digital capabilities

HOUSTON – July 17, 2020 – Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced they have entered into a five-year strategic agreement to advance Halliburton’s digital capabilities in Microsoft Azure.

Under the agreement, Halliburton will complete its move to cloud-based digital platforms and strengthen its customer offerings by:

Enhancing real-time platforms for expanded remote operations,
Improving analytics capability with the Halliburton Data Lake utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence, and
Accelerating the deployment of new technology and applications, including SOC2 compliance for Halliburton’s overall system reliability and security.

“The strategic agreement with Microsoft and Accenture is an important step in our adoption of new technology and applications to enhance our digital capabilities, drive additional business agility and reduce capital expenditures,” said Jeff Miller, Halliburton chairman, president & CEO. “We are excited about the benefits our customers and employees will realize through this agreement, and the opportunity to further leverage our open architecture approach to software delivery.”

“Moving to the cloud allows companies to create market-shaping customer offerings and drive tangible business outcomes,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president, Microsoft’s Worldwide Commercial Business. “Through this alliance with Halliburton and Accenture, we will apply the power of the cloud to unlock digital capabilities that deliver benefits for Halliburton and its customers.”

The agreement also enables the migration of all Halliburton physical data centers to Azure, which delivers enterprise-grade cloud services at global scale and offers sustainability benefits. Accenture will work closely with Microsoft, in conjunction with their Avanade joint venture, to help transition Halliburton’s digital capabilities and business-critical applications to Azure. Accenture will leverage its comprehensive cloud migration framework, which brings industrialized capabilities together with exclusive tools, methods, and automation to accelerate Halliburton’s data center migration and provide for additional transformation opportunities.

“Building a digital core and scaling it quickly across a business is only possible with a strong foundation in the cloud,” said Julie Sweet, chief executive officer, Accenture. “Halliburton recognizes that this essential foundation will provide the innovation, efficiency and talent advantages to do things differently and fast. We are proud to be part of driving this transformational change, which builds on our long history of working with Halliburton and Microsoft.”

The companies expect to complete the staged migration by 2022.

About Microsoft

About Halliburton

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With approximately 50,000 employees, representing 140 nationalities in more than 80 countries, the company helps its customers maximize value throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir – from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production throughout the life of the asset. Visit the company’s website at www.halliburton.com. Connect with Halliburton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 513,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

For Microsoft

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

For Halliburton

Investors:
Abu Zeya
Halliburton, Investor Relations
Investors@Halliburton.com
281-871-2633

Media:
Emily Mir
Halliburton, Public Relations
PR@Halliburton.com
281-871-2601

For Accenture
Christian Harper
Accenture Media Relations
Christian.harper@acccenture.com
516-434-8615

Posted on July 15, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Land O’Lakes and Microsoft form strategic alliance to pioneer new innovations in agriculture and support rural communities

Together the companies aim to build tighter connections between consumers and farmers through innovative new technologies built on Microsoft’s cloud

ARDEN HILLS, Minn., and REDMOND, Wash. — July 15, 2020 — Land O’Lakes Inc. and Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced a multiyear strategic alliance to pioneer new innovations in agriculture and enhance the supply chain, expand sustainability practices for farmers and the food system, and close the rural broadband gap. As one of the nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives with 150 million acres of productive cropland in its network, Land O’Lakes is deeply connected to rural America and has a unique understanding of farmers’ needs and the communities where they and their families live and work. Combined with Microsoft’s trusted cloud technologies and AI capabilities, the companies will deliver solutions that help farmers’ profit potential and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. farms contribute more than $130 billion to the economy, emphasizing the critical role farmers play in our nation’s food supply. Yet the industry faces challenges that threaten its viability, including climate change, trade issues and an evolving workforce. With the emergence of COVID-19, the industry is increasingly facing production and supply-chain issues, and many farmers are facing new economic challenges for their family-owned businesses.

“Land O’Lakes is one of the most important food suppliers in the U.S., and our nation’s farmers and consumers rely on its ability to rapidly adapt to changing market forces through innovation,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Through our partnership, we will apply the power of Azure and its AI capabilities to help Land O’Lakes solve some of the most pressing challenges facing the industry and bridge the divide between rural and urban communities.”

“As America’s farmers continue to deliver the world’s safest, most affordable food supply, they face an increasing number of obstacles that are beyond their control. The data-based, precision agriculture tools that we are building with Microsoft will provide the edge they need, but unreliable or nonexistent high-speed internet in rural areas keeps these tools out of reach for many. Through this alliance, we will work to address this need and help farmers remain profitable and sustainable,” said Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Accelerating agriculture innovation

Initially, the companies will focus on developing a connected AgTech platform, built on Microsoft Azure, that will bring together Land O’Lakes’ portfolio of innovative AgTech tools, such as WinField United’s R7^®Suite, Data Silo and Truterra™ Insights Engine under one unified architecture. By standardizing on Azure and harnessing the power of Azure FarmBeats, Land O’Lakes will be able to derive insights that enable intelligent agriculture solutions for farmers to be more productive with their time and resources. This includes early mitigation of plant stress to guide precisely where and when farmers should take action on their field for ideal growth conditions, maximization of yield potential by planting the right seed varieties and nutrients, optimizing fertilizer investments, and ensuring accurate output ratio to meet demand properly, all while lowering the farm carbon footprint.

Built on top of the AgTech platform, the companies will collaborate to advance an aggregator of data with Data Silo, as well as leverage Microsoft Azure and its AI capabilities and insights from WinField United Answer Plot^® test fields, to support more predictable decisions for placement of crop inputs such as seeds and treatments, with the goal of increasing return on investment with the entire acre.

The companies will create a Digital Dairy solution, harnessing the power of edge computing to capture data from farms with poor internet coverage, and the power of AI to provide data-driven insights for dairy producers. This initiative will bring together multiple data streams — including weather, feed management and animal health — from sensors and third-party applications to help dairy producers improve profit potential, adopt conservation practices and reduce waste by feeding livestock only what they need and ensuring milk supply doesn’t go bad in the supply chain. Through the Digital Dairy solution, the companies will enable Traceability throughout the Land O’Lakes supply chain, providing transparency to milk, butter and cheese, ensuring consumer confidence that foods are of the highest quality and sustainably sourced. At a time when the dairy industry is stressed with changing customer demand and supply-chain disruptions, these digital tools will help producers improve efficiencies and profit potential, while helping to ensure food gets to the people who need it most.

Advancing sustainability initiatives

With the challenges of a changing climate, more extreme weather and a growing world population, Land O’Lakes and Microsoft share a commitment to sustainability and natural resources stewardship to help farm fields be both more resilient and productive for generations to come. We can help farmers improve the health and function of their farms’ soils to both produce more food and store greenhouse gas, including carbon. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that agricultural soils could hold up to 10% of human-caused emissions within 25 years. Yet, soils are largely absent from global carbon markets. As a result, farmers lack adequate information and incentives to practice regenerative agriculture to capture and store carbon.

The companies are working together to change that by developing a technology suite to help farmers improve their profit potential and generate new revenue in carbon markets. The new alliance will develop capabilities to quickly and effectively predict the carbon benefits of regenerative practices like no-till, precision nutrient management and planting of cover crops. Combining such capabilities with the real-time transparency from remote sensing and satellite data will make certification of these projects in global carbon markets easier, quicker and less expensive — ultimately maximizing the economic value for farmers.

The companies will explore integrating these new capabilities into the Truterra™ Insights Engine to create a unique soil health platform that can help farmers identify new opportunities to adopt practices to improve the quality and function of their farms’ soils, estimate the natural resource and economic benefits of those new practices, generate soil carbon credits, and connect to soil carbon markets that sell certified credits to buyers.

The platform would help unlock the potential of hundreds of millions of acres of farmland to be an effective carbon removal system and improve soil health and productivity, while providing farmers with the insights they need to make the best decisions for their farms. Markets like these may help Microsoft reach its goal to be carbon negative by 2030 and remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it emitted since its founding by 2050, and help other businesses take advantage of soil carbon credits and the market to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Connecting rural America

Broadband is essential to fully participate in the modern economy. Unfortunately, more than 18 million Americans, 14 million of whom live in rural communities, don’t have access to broadband connections. Both companies are working to connect rural communities: Microsoft’s Airband Initiative has worked around the country to eliminate the rural broadband gap, and Land O’Lakes’ American Connection Project aims to close the digital divide through action and advocacy.

The companies are launching pilots that will lead to long-term programmatic solutions in rural communities. Combining Microsoft’s Airband program and specific locations within the Land O’Lakes owner network, broadband will be deployed to rural communities along with services including telehealth, educational resources and digital skilling. Both companies are also advocating for policy changes to accelerate the availability of broadband in rural communities, including broadband mapping to fully understand who has and does not have access to broadband, and federal funding in upcoming legislation.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic makes the digital divide even worse for many people. Remote work, education and healthcare are out of reach for people living in rural communities without online access. The companies are answering this immediate need for connectivity by working together to turn on free public Wi-Fi at more than 150+ locations in 19 states using a mix of technologies, including fixed wireless, and supplying internet service providers with the necessary hardware.

Land O’Lakes to transition its IT platforms to Microsoft

Through this agreement, Microsoft becomes Land O’Lakes’ strategic cloud provider, and Land O’Lakes will migrate the majority of the company’s IT infrastructure onto Microsoft Azure. The company has enabled Microsoft 365 and Teams for its workforce, empowering them with next-generation digital experience technology for increased productivity, advanced security, internal collaboration and customer engagement.

About Land O’Lakes Inc.

Land O’Lakes, Inc., one of America’s premier agribusiness and food companies, is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. With 2019 annual sales of $14 billion, Land O’Lakes is one of the nation’s largest cooperatives, ranking 232 on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 99 years of operation, Land O’Lakes today operates some of the most respected brands and businesses in agriculture and food production including Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition, WinField United and Truterra, LLC. The company does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Land O’Lakes, Inc. corporate headquarters are located in Arden Hills, Minn.

About Microsoft

For more information, press only:

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

Land O’Lakes Media Relations, Brooke Dillon, (651) 202-1670, BDillon@landolakes.com

Posted on July 13, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft announces 2020 Partner of the Year Awards winners and finalists

Partners recognized for innovative solutions and making more possible for customers worldwide

REDMOND, Wash. — July 13, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced the winners and finalists of the 2020 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. The annual awards recognize Microsoft partners demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. Award winners and finalists from around the world will be recognized at the first-ever digital Microsoft Inspire, July 21-22, 2020.

This year, Microsoft acknowledged partners in 49 categories celebrating each of the solution areas, industries and sectors globally in which Microsoft technologies are used. Microsoft introduced ten new categories this year, including the first-ever Community Response Award, which recognizes partners that have made a great difference, providing innovative and unique services or solutions to help solve problems for our customers and community during these unprecedented times.

The finalists and winners for all Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards were selected from more than 3,300 nominations collected from more than 100 different countries worldwide based on their commitment to customers, their solution’s impact on the market and exemplary use of Microsoft technologies.

“It is an honor to recognize the winners and finalists of the Microsoft 2020 Partner of the Year Awards,” said Gavriella Schuster, corporate vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft. “These partners go above and beyond, delivering timely solutions that solve the complex challenges that businesses around the world face — from communicating and collaborating virtually to helping customers realize their full potential with Azure cloud services, and beyond. I am proud to honor and congratulate each winner and finalist.”

Additional details on the Microsoft 2020 Partner of the Year Awards are available in a Microsoft Partner Network blog by Gavriella Schuster: https://blogs.partner.microsoft.com/mpn/congratulations-to-the-2020-microsoft-partner-of-the-year-awards-winners-and-finalists/.

The complete list of categories, winners and finalists, including the Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award winners for 2020, is available at https://aka.ms/POTYA_WinnersFinalist_List. For more information visit https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/inspire/awards.

About Microsoft Inspire

Microsoft Inspire provides Microsoft’s partner community with access to key marketing and business strategies, leadership, and information regarding specific customer solutions designed to help partners succeed in the marketplace. Microsoft Inspire provides partners with informative learning opportunities covering sales, marketing, services and technology. More information can be found at https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/inspire.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications, (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 http://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.

Posted on July 13, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Samsung and Microsoft transform real estate and smart property management

New pilot collaboration offers single, integrated portal for managing devices and smart appliances in buildings

SEOUL, South Korea and REDMOND, Wash. — July 13, 2020 — Samsung Electronics Co. and Microsoft Corp. today announced a global collaboration focused on digitally transforming the real estate development and property management industries. This collaboration, combining smart appliances and digital cloud technologies, aims at helping to drive improved building operations and maintenance, along with creating better experiences for both service technicians and residents.

This new strategic alliance, with pilots currently under development, brings together the power of Microsoft’s Azure IoT platform and productivity cloud services with Samsung’s smart devices and SmartThings platform, to help optimize building operations, equipment maintenance, energy management, asset performance, and new tenant experiences for commercial, hospitality and residential buildings as well as mixed-use developments.

The companies will leverage Samsung’s smart home appliances, HVAC systems and smart TVs integrated with SmartThings, together with Microsoft’s Azure Digital Twins technology and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service, to improve building maintenance and management by aggregating and analyzing IoT data from building systems and connected appliances. For example, with this new capability building managers can not only create an integrated dashboard for handling building issues in real time but potentially before failure, saving time and resources.

Microsoft’s Azure IoT platform is able to process data messaging from millions of building sensors and devices and then use machine learning and AI to help building managers and operators determine what issues should be addressed in what order, and then link to Dynamics 365 Field Service to determine who is the right person, with the right skills, in the right location to resolve the issue. This helps to reduce service calls while also improving the productivity of service technicians who can now troubleshoot multiple issues on a single visit and, if needed, get remote assistance through the Microsoft Teams application.

This collaboration with Samsung extends this capability to include Samsung smart appliances, HVAC systems and TVs, with plans to expand into digital signage equipment. The alliance also covers Samsung mobile devices, including the XCover Pro mobile phone, to create improved experiences for frontline workers involved in handling building issues. Additionally, Samsung plans to offer SmartThings mobile development tools to enable builders to craft custom, tailored connected living experiences for their end users.

The collaboration will leverage data from Samsung’s range of smart refrigerators, washing machines, vacuums, air purifiers, ovens and other devices connected through the intelligent SmartThings platform. Such data integration allows building operators to monitor nearly all devices in real time, identify issues and take appropriate measures before real damage happens, should a problem occur.

“We believe collaboration with a key partner like Microsoft is essential for innovation, as the company shares our vision of inspiring the world to shape the future by innovating in technology and products,” said Chanwoo Park, corporate vice president heading up the IoT Biz Group at Samsung. “Providing building owners and operators with a robust and powerful set of tools to help them optimize their building costs and equipment, including the management of Samsung’s connected appliances and other devices, is paramount to our long-term alliance. Together with Microsoft, we are helping to solve real challenges faced by our customers by creating secure integrated insight and digital solutions that keep properties functioning sustainably and efficiently while providing better experiences for residents.”

“With Azure Digital Twins, we can create comprehensive digital models of entire environments and a living digital replica of real-world things, places, business processes and people to help customers gain insights that drive better products, optimization of operations, cost reduction and breakthrough customer experiences. This collaboration with Samsung opens up new opportunities for further innovation in the real estate development and property management industries,” said Sam George, corporate vice president, Azure IoT, Microsoft. “Together, we’ll bring the best of Microsoft’s trusted, easy-to-use and secure Azure IoT platform, Azure Digital Twins and Dynamics 365 Field Service technology with Samsung’s expertise in connected devices and appliances to streamline building operations and maintenance.”

In addition to bringing new capabilities to the real estate and property management world, the companies have aligned their worldwide marketing, partner and sales programs to deliver these new integrated solutions for their customers, including facilities management companies and real estate developers.

Oxford Properties, one of the largest real estate companies in North America, also with operations in Europe and Australia, says this new alliance has the potential to add high value for customers.

“We are excited about the collaboration of Microsoft’s Digital Twins technology and Samsung’s range of connected devices, and the potential of these instruments to deliver meaningful new insights across the commercial real estate value-chain,” said Dean Hopkins, chief operating officer, Oxford Properties. “Investing in digital twins sets a foundation to unlock future opportunities. We are working with thought leaders around the world to advance the intelligence of our buildings and see enormous potential to positively impact building operations, asset management and customer experiences. Microsoft and Samsung coming together to accelerate the value that digital twins are bringing to the commercial real estate ecosystem is a great step forward.”

The National University of Singapore (NUS) will serve as a pilot for solutions pioneered under this alliance between Samsung and Microsoft as part of the university’s ongoing efforts to create a smart, safe and sustainable campus for students and staff.

“NUS is very excited to work with Microsoft and Samsung in piloting smart building management solutions on our campus,” said Professor Yong Kwet Yew, senior vice president of Campus Infrastructure at NUS. “The experience gained from this trial could help us transform the way we maintain our buildings with predictive maintenance, enable better user experiences and create a smart campus ecosystem, and it has potential to scale up at the national level.”

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.

About Microsoft

For more information, press only:

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

Posted on July 7, 2020 by — Leave a comment

ONE Championship and Microsoft partner to further accelerate and reinvent the digital fan experience

Microsoft named ONE Championship’s preferred cloud provider, delivering new fan engagement experiences powered by Microsoft Azure and best-in-class collaboration with Microsoft 365

SINGAPORE — July 6, 2020 — The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE) and Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft) today announced a strategic partnership to harness the Microsoft cloud, including Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, to transform digital fan experiences and enhance collaboration for employees. Microsoft is now ONE’s preferred cloud and data services provider, powering its digital transformation and accelerating innovation across all touchpoints.

Microsoft and ONE, through this alliance, are co-investing in digital fan experience transformation. The partnership is set to further enhance ONE’s position as a leading global sports media property and further execute its vision to engage fans through its unique brand of Asian values, world-class athletes and global appeal. As ONE accelerates its digital journey, the company will leverage the power of the cloud and data to build new capabilities and deliver cutting-edge digital experiences for its millions of fans around the world.

Empowering and enriching fan experiences

ONE will further enhance its over-the-top platform by leveraging Azure to accelerate its world-class streaming services and personalized content offers for fans around the world. AI-powered recommendation engines and analytics on fan behavior and viewing habits will allow ONE to better engage fans across all touchpoints and provide them with reimagined, tailor-made experiences.

Through Azure AI, machine learning and data analytics, ONE will expand its core data capabilities and transform its direct-to-consumer digital experiences. To further delight fans, ONE will provide them with unique sets of data and statistics to better understand the strength of a kick or a punch. Ultimately, the fans will be able to enjoy a more immersive experience when watching live events.

The collaboration between Microsoft and ONE will also allow fans to experience events remotely with the flexibility and scalability needed to address increasing demand from end users — especially during this unprecedented time when sports entertainment shifts to digital. In the future, the partnership will also enable ONE to explore other innovations such as the use of holographic computing in injury prevention; as well as the ability to improve athletic performance through AI and machine learning.

“I am thrilled to announce that ONE Championship has officially partnered with Microsoft to deliver fans the absolute best in data-driven digital experiences,” Chatri Sityodtong, chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated. “ONE Championship is a global leader in live sports, and through the Microsoft cloud, we can accelerate our capabilities and digital presence.”

“Demand for digital experiences has never been higher and our partnership with ONE Championship — a leader in sports entertainment with the largest and most rapidly growing millennial fan base — will enable them to deliver on this opportunity in innovative new ways and enhance the services they provide for supporters, athletes and employees,” Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and president, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing & Operations, stated. “We’re looking forward to working with ONE to help accelerate its digital transformation for the benefit of millions of sports fans around the world.”

Expanded productivity and content ecosystem

As part of its push toward digital transformation, ONE will roll out Microsoft 365, including Microsoft Teams, as the primary productivity platform for ONE employees worldwide, helping to ensure seamless collaboration in a new remote work reality.

In addition, to provide fans with a one-stop source of digital content, ONE has also partnered with Microsoft to bring its exclusive content stacks to the Microsoft News ecosystem, which reaches more than 500 million people in 180 countries every month through personalized news feeds on MSN, Bing and Microsoft Edge, as well as through dozens of global syndication partners.

World-class global sports thought leadership

ONE and Microsoft will also leverage the Global Sports Innovation Centre (GSIC),[1] a collaborative initiative between private, public and academic partners powered by Microsoft, to support innovation in the sports industry around the world. ONE is a powerhouse of innovation and thought leadership in sports, and through its involvement in GSIC activities, initiatives and open innovation projects, ONE will connect with industry stakeholders in other continents, exchange experiences, learn and add value to the sports tech ecosystem of start-ups, companies, organizations, universities and research groups.

About Microsoft

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship (ONE) is the largest global sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE is the world’s largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more. ONE hosts the biggest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world’s best martial artists and world champions on the largest global media broadcast in Asia. ONE Esports, a subsidiary of ONE Championship, runs Asia’s largest global esports Championship Series with some of the biggest blockbuster game titles in the world. With a focus on both martial arts and esports, ONE Championship is currently the largest producer of millennial live sports content in Asia. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 2.7 billion potential viewers across 150+ countries with some of the largest global free-to-air and digital broadcasters, including Star Sports, Tencent, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Startimes, Fox Sports, Thairath TV, Turner Sports, Skynet, Mediacorp, Great Sports, Mediaset Italia, ProSiebenSat.1, Dubai Sports, and more.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit https://www.onefc.com/about-us/, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Asia, Joanna Frackowiak, joannafr@microsoft.com
Microsoft Singapore, Antonia Ong, anong@microsoft.com
Edelman (Partner Agency for Microsoft Asia), Adeline Goh / Amanda Sng, EdelMSFTComm@edelman.com

ONE Championship, Tammy Chan, Director of PR & Communications, +601 9326 2473, t.chan@onefc.com
ONE Championship, Cissy Long, Director of PR & Communications, China, +86 186 2179 9403, c.long@onefc.com

[1] The Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC) is a collaborative initiative between private, public, and academic partners to support innovation in the sports industry across the world, as a driver of job creation and economic growth. Its goal is to improve the value chain of the Sports Industry by leveraging the most advanced technologies, and enabling business connections among startups, sports organizations, educational institutions, and enterprise organizations. With over 170 members located in 20 countries all around the world, the GSIC has become a worldwide reference for the sports industry.

Posted on July 1, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft and the city of Atlanta lead coalition of partners to close the digital skills gap and build a more inclusive workforce

ATLANTA — July 1, 2020 — On Wednesday, Microsoft Corp. announced “Accelerate,” a new program designed to address economic recovery through both skilling underserved communities and re-skilling the many Americans impacted by COVID-19. Accelerate: Atlanta is the first of many city-focused digital skills and employment partnerships designed to upskill and increase employability.

Accelerate: Atlanta is the first U.S. implementation 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. The announcement supports the needs of Atlantans impacted by the global pandemic and racial inequities in access to education. With support of the mayor’s office and additional public and private partnerships, the initiative aims to accelerate economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19, address the needs of people of underserved communities who require digital skills to stay competitive, and empower them to seize the employment opportunities of the future. Expanding access to digital skills is a critical first step in improving employability to help build local economic recovery, especially for the people hardest hit by job losses.

Accelerate: Atlanta brings together civic, learning and corporate partners to provide skills across the spectrum of digital proficiency to build a more inclusive workforce for all.

Empower underserved communities to close the digital divide in the growing workforce.
Provide digital skills to promote economic uplift for Atlanta’s populations with the highest susceptibility to automation and COVID-19 impact.
Target the market with existing digital fluency to ensure that they can keep up with the advances in AI and machine learning.

Partners in the coalition include:

Civic partners: The Office of the Mayor of Atlanta and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Learning partners: General Assembly, OpenClassrooms and TechBridge
Corporate partners: Accenture and others to be announced soon

Microsoft is backing the effort with over $1 million in investments to assist those who need it most, including people with lower income, people with lower educational attainment and racial/ethnic minorities. Atlanta-based nonprofit organizations led by and serving Black/African American communities will be among the 50 such organizations across the United States receiving cash grants to aid in this skills initiative.

“Through Accelerate: Atlanta, Microsoft and its partners will help close the digital divide and ensure there is a place for everyone in our shared future,” said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “The road to economic recovery must begin with pathways to opportunity that are inclusionary and accessible to all. This is more than an initiative — this is an investment in underserved and underrepresented communities that will equip our residents with skills to compete in a modern workforce, while at the same time grow our middle class.”

“Atlanta is the first U.S. city in our ambitious national investment plan to support our country’s economic recovery,” said Kate Johnson, president of Microsoft U.S. “We’re delighted that we can bring the breadth of the Microsoft technology ecosystem in partnership with the mayor to provide communities in Atlanta with the digital skills needed for a more equitable, prosperous future.”

“We’re committed to equipping more communities with the digital skills needed to come back from this crisis even stronger through our work with Microsoft,” said Jake Schwartz, CEO and co-founder at General Assembly. “We’ve been proud to be a part of Atlanta’s thriving tech, startup and innovation ecosystem for years, and are thrilled to continue our investment in the community while advancing this important national partnership with the launch of Accelerate: Atlanta.”

“Microsoft shares our commitment to serving underrepresented communities with equity, access and opportunity. We are thrilled to align our mission of ‘breaking the cycle of generational poverty through the innovative use of technology’ with Microsoft and the Atlanta community to close the digital divide, creating real opportunities for those who need it most,” said Nicole Armstrong, CEO of TechBridge.

“I applaud Microsoft and the many partners working to make Accelerate: Atlanta a success. Our region is uniquely situated to benefit from this initiative through our dense innovation community coupled with the presence of noted higher education institutions training our brightest minds,” said Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Katie Kirkpatrick. “I am excited to see the progress as Accelerate: Atlanta closes the digital divide and equips the next generation with the in-demand skills needed to succeed.”

“Accenture is committed to advancing equality for all people all the time, and to doing more to drive sustained change in our communities,” said Jimmy Etheredge, Accenture’s CEO for North America. “We are pleased to join Microsoft and our coalition partners in Atlanta to equip more of our citizens with the digital skills they need to be prepared for the jobs of the future — and we look forward to extending the impact of this initiative across the United States.”

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

For more information, press only:

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