Press Releases – Page 6

Posted on March 15, 2022 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft expands healthcare cloud strategy with new solutions and capabilities across data, AI and clinician experiences

Delivers industry’s first generally available solution that ingests, manages and transforms a combination of clinical, imaging and MedTech data

REDMOND, Wash. — March 15, 2022 — On Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. announced advancements in cloud technologies for healthcare and life sciences with the general availability of Azure Health Data Services and updates to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. Combined with the recent close of its acquisition of Nuance Communications, Microsoft is uniquely positioned to amplify an organization’s ability to help others by leveraging trusted AI to address the biggest challenges transforming the future of healthcare for all.

The health industry has undergone a rapid digital transformation over the past two years. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare launched in September 2020 to address the health industry’s challenges — from reducing clinician burnout, delivering more personalized experiences for patients, and enabling health data interoperability. With today’s announcements, Microsoft continues to deliver on its healthcare strategy with solutions that help enhance patient engagement and clinician experiences, empower health team collaboration, and improve clinical and operational insights. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare threads together innovative solutions from across the company to deliver a powerful, integrated, comprehensive cloud offering.

“The past two years have starkly revealed the pressing challenges facing healthcare and life sciences across the globe,” said Tom McGuinness, corporate vice president, Global Healthcare & Life Sciences, Microsoft. “At a time when healthcare systems are strained to capacity and researchers are racing against the clock, we believe that data and AI hold the keys to a new world of health and discovery for patients, clinicians, researchers and administrators. Microsoft is bringing together the solutions the industry needs in a cohesive way.”

Azure Health Data Services: Interoperability to drive better patient outcomes and clinical advances

The health industry generates an overwhelming amount of data, much of which is unstructured and inaccessible. Oftentimes this data sits in silos and is not used to its full potential. Within that data lies the power to deliver better patient care and outcomes, further clinical advances, and accelerate research breakthroughs. The key to unlocking the data is interoperability across the entire health ecosystem. Microsoft took the first step to address health data interoperability with Azure API for FHIR in 2019. Today the company revealed the next evolution of that journey — announcing general availability of Azure Health Data Services.

Azure Health Data Services is purpose-built for protected health information (PHI) and brings together diverse datasets — like clinical, imaging and streaming data from medical devices — in the cloud using global interoperability standards of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR^®) and Digital Imaging Communications in Medicine (DICOM). Azure Health Data Services is the only generally available solution of its kind to ingest, manage and transform a combination of clinical, imaging and medtech data. While other solutions exist for clinical and imaging data, Azure Health Data Services provides the most holistic view of the patient by unifying all three types of health data.

With Azure Health Data Services, metadata from medical images and medical devices can be read alongside clinical information, yielding more powerful results when a provider or researcher searches and queries patient information. The service also features a suite of tools that supports the de-identification and connection of data for compute, analytics and more — in a way that enables a meaningful impact on medicine and patient care. Azure Health Data Services includes the following features:

Support for secure PHI exchange in the cloud for structured, unstructured, imaging and medtech data using global interoperability standards like FHIR and DICOM.
A suite of healthcare APIs that securely brings health data to the cloud and persists it within a compliance boundary in Azure.
The ability to enable management, de-identification, event notification and transformation of data for downstream use.
Connection of PHI datato powerful technology in the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare ecosystem, such as Synapse for deep analytics and AI development, Power BI for data visualization, or Microsoft Teams and Dynamics 365 for care team collaboration and improving patient engagement.

“There are several areas where cloud technology like Azure Health Data Services can help enhance healthcare. I believe it will play a critical role between various systems, allowing us to take data from health records and other data sources and combine it together in a centralized place where it can be used to inform and deliver patient-centric care,” said Matthew Kull, chief information officer, Cleveland Clinic. “It also can enable real-time complex deep learning — by normalizing data from different systems in a way that allows complex algorithmic analyses to occur via AI or ML — and integrate research-based insights back into a clinical workflow.”

The Azure Health Data Services are part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, which is built for enterprise scale with Azure’s foundation of trust and security, providing all the benefits of Microsoft’s global footprint and commitment to open interoperability standards. Azure Health Data Services supports an organization’s HIPAA compliance, and data is managed according to applicable regulations, with certifications for ISO, HITRUST, FedRAMP and SOC.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare: Enhancing patient experiences and health team collaboration

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare provides trusted and integrated capabilities that make it easier for organizations to create personalized patient experiences, give health teams connected collaboration tools, and adopt data standards important to healthcare.

Today, Microsoft announced several updates and new features that further strengthen Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. The improvements are designed to transform the healthcare journey, using AI to give full visibility into data, reduce provider administrative burden, boost productivity for care teams on the frontline, increase workflow automation that can improve quality of care, reduce clinician burnout, and deliver better care faster and at a lower cost. New features that enhance patient and clinician experiences include:

New features in Microsoft Teams for virtual appointments, including the ability for patients to request on-demand appointments with their provider and new analytics capabilities that give providers key insights into the performance of virtual appointments. Teams also includes a new device tester that lets patients test their hardware settings before their virtual appointment, allowing the patient and provider to focus on the appointment instead of managing tech challenges. Learn more about additional features in Teams.
Enhanced clinical workflow integrations in Teams, including the general availability of the Microsoft Teams EHR connector for Cerner (a Cerner-validated application), which enables clinicians to launch virtual appointments and consult with other providers in Teams directly from their health record system. Additionally, the Teladoc app for Teams is now generally available, which brings the Teladoc Health Solo platform directly into Teams and makes it easier for healthcare workers to manage patient engagement across the care continuum.
Enhancements to Azure Health Bot templates, enabling organizations to quickly develop scenarios for self-reporting quality-of-life measurements and chronic condition management through virtual agents.
Updates to the Patient View, which provides insights into demographic and clinical patient information. This update enables integration to Power Apps — allowing providers to easily customize the view for their own care scenarios.
A preview of the new Patient Insights capability, which enable care managers, patient representatives, outreach specialists and population health analysts to efficiently deliver and capture useful patient insights. Analytics from patient insights can potentially help organizations improve clinical processes and care management experiences.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare: Improving clinical and operational insights

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare also introduces new features that improve clinical and operational insights, such as Text Analytics for health structuring to FHIR. Text Analytics for health enables healthcare organization to process and extract insights from unstructured medical data. This new feature transforms unstructured clinical documents into FHIR resource bundles to accelerate insights and supercharge interoperability. Microsoft is the first cloud provider to allow customers to formalize their natural language processing output as bundles of interconnected hierarchical FHIR resources, in adherence with the U.S. Core standards.

Get a deeper look at Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare’s new features by reading the full blog.

Microsoft and Nuance: Better together

Microsoft recently announced the completion of its acquisition of Nuance Communications, a leader in conversational AI and ambient solutions. As a single organization, Microsoft and Nuance are uniquely positioned to amplify an organization’s ability to help others by leveraging trusted AI to address the healthcare industry’s most pressing needs.

The scale, security and power of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and Azure Health Data Services’ strong cloud foundation for managing data, combined with Nuance’s deep domain expertise, give customers access to the broadest and deepest set of advanced AI solutions that will help drive better decision-making, create more meaningful connections and produce tangible outcomes.

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.

FHIR^® is the registered trademark of HL7 and is used with the permission of HL7.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

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 December 14, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft and Warner Bros. Pictures assemble all-star team in Lebron James, Bugs Bunny and Xbox to celebrate gaming and coding education inspired by the upcoming animated, live-action adventure ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’

Fans can submit their best video game ideas and join free coding workshops with Microsoft

REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 14, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. and Warner Bros. are tipping off an epic partnership, celebrating the release of the new movie “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” coming in 2021. The campaign launch teams up Xbox with basketball champion and cultural icon LeBron James, Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes Tune Squad to amplify coding education and create an original Xbox arcade-style video game inspired by the movie.

As announced on his Instagram, LeBron and Bugs Bunny are on the hunt for the best fan-submitted video game ideas. Starting Dec. 14 through Dec. 30, fans aged 14 and up can visit the official contest website to review official rules and submit their game ideas. To enter, fans select the gaming genre of their choosing using a key image, and then describe the game idea in less than 500 words.

Two winners will have their ideas brought to life in the official “Space Jam: A New Legacy” arcade-style video game, available as a Perk for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in 2021. Winners will also receive the following prizes: their names featured in the game credits; an exclusive winner’s bundle with signed and authenticated LeBron James memorabilia, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” merchandise and Nike VIP packs, and a personalized Xbox Series S console; a private friends and family screening of the film; and a virtual Microsoft coding workshop for their local community.

To help coders of all ages jump-start their creativity, Microsoft Stores are hosting free, one-of-a-kind “Space Jam: A New Legacy”-themed virtual workshops on video game creation. Students will build a playable prototype of a video game using block-based coding on the MakeCode Arcade platform, while learning about the professional skills and STEAM careers involved in game design. Additional resources and other free workshops that teach new skills and keep kids entertained this holiday season can be found on the microsoft.com virtual student workshop page.

There are also two film-themed Microsoft Learn lessons, targeting more experienced coders, older teens, high school and college-aged students, and adults, that focus on how to use player stats to make real-time decisions in the middle of a game. The first lesson includes predicting efficiency ratings with machine learning and Visual Studio Code, using data from human and Tune Squad basketball players. The second lesson includes building a web app that uses additional machine learning models in real time to help a coach decide who needs a water break and who should be put in the game to yield the highest likelihood of winning.

The video game contest, coding workshops and lessons align with Microsoft’s greater skilling initiative, which aims at helping 25 million people — including those from underrepresented populations —acquire new digital skills and apply them to their passions.

ABOUT SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY

Welcome to the Jam! Basketball champion and cultural icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny with the animated/live-action event “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” from director Malcolm D. Lee and an innovative filmmaking team including Ryan Coogler and Maverick Carter. This transformational journey is a manic mashup of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents will go to connect with their kids. When LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.

ABOUT MICROSOFT

For more information, press only:

Assembly PR for Xbox, [email protected]

Warner Bros. Pictures, Camille Smith, [email protected]

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 December 11, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Industry leaders in tech, education and financial services join together in new national council to activate AI for the greater good

Coalition established to identify and solve significant societal and industry barriers through the adoption of AI

REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 11, 2020 — On Friday, leading organizations across the U.S. financial services, technology and academic industries announced the formation of a new National Council for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI). The council brings together the Brookings Institution, CUNY, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Mastercard, Microsoft, Nasdaq, Plug and Play, SUNY, University of Central Florida, and Visa with the goal of maximizing technology to jointly solve specific issues of interest to the industry.

“The goal of the newly created NCAI is to establish a pragmatic coalition with public-private partnerships in the financial services sector to identify and address significant societal and industry barriers,” said Gretchen O’Hara, vice president of AI and sustainability strategy, Microsoft U.S. “I am excited about the launch of our distinguished board, and the continued momentum to work with the members of this coalition to better serve the needs of our stakeholders and communities through AI innovation.”

The NCAI board, composed of volunteer senior executives acting as advisors to the council on behalf of their company or organization, will work to co-create AI solutions for positive societal and financial impact, identify and set the AI strategy and vision for a wide range of projects, and track AI adoption progress. Each member organization has nominated its own AI ambassadors to serve as regional leads and drive programs. All members have an equal voice in the way it operates and is governed.

The council intends to apply AI to resolve significant challenges in business such as:

General economic and industrial challenges – including research transfer, industry standards and funding instruments
Digital skills and employability – including organizational and cultural challenges, and labor policies
Data privacy – including data access and shared innovation

“Although there are many councils focusing on resolving technology challenges, I appreciate NCAI’s charter to figure out how AI can deliver deeper societal impact,” said Ed Fandrey, vice president of Financial Services, Microsoft U.S. “The NCAI coalition brings partners together across the industry to ensure AI and the technologies underpinning it are transparent and safe for not only financial services customers but throughout the regulated industry.”

Overall, the objective of the collaboration is to accelerate AI innovation and adoption by:

Lowering the risk of AI adoption and bias
Lowering the barrier of entry to innovate
Defining the educational journey for the AI talent of the future and equipping workers facing AI displacement with the right skills to maintain career momentum
Serving as an advisor of vision, information and multidisciplinary partnership with a focus on AI policy

To achieve these goals, the NCAI will deliver a robust curriculum for AI education and skilling, and will engage with the community through research white papers, new tools and programs, hosted events, and social media outreach to make AI more applicable and impactful. The council also plans to host quarterly meetings and public events to transparently communicate the resolution and progress of key challenges through AI adoption.

Initial work from the council will focus on reskilling and upskilling of the current workforce and business leaders. More details about the coalition’s programs and its impacts will be available in early 2021.

For more information, press only:
Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

Perspectives from NCAI member organizations

“Mastercard has been pioneering the use of AI, applying it across our business to help keep the digital ecosystem safe for governments, banks, merchants and consumers,” said Rohit Chauhan, executive vice president, Artificial Intelligence, Mastercard. “It has enabled us to provide quicker, easier and safer ways to transact and interact. As AI’s role and influence continues to expand, partnership, knowledge-sharing and best practices are needed to help accelerate the adoption in a responsible, secure and human-centric manner. Our work with the council is just beginning and we’re eager to collaborate and innovate with this group of industry leaders.”

“At Nasdaq, we are leveraging AI to solve challenges for the capital markets and beyond, with an aim to make markets safer, smarter and stronger,” said Michael O’Rourke, senior vice president and head of Artificial Intelligence and Investment Intelligence Technology, Nasdaq and NCAI council member. “We enthusiastically support the formation of the NCAI to progress these values and to use AI for the greater good for the investing public in the U.S. and worldwide.”

“Brookings Institution aims to advance effective and inclusive governance of transformative new technologies,” said Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, director of the Center for Technology Innovation, the Brookings Institution. “While artificial intelligence is generating benefits, difficult questions surface in terms of bias and discrimination. I am excited to join the National Council for Artificial Intelligence together with Microsoft and the other member organizations to work together to drive major solutions and policies that govern innovation, and drive the advancement of digital equity and inclusion for historically disadvantaged populations.”

“SUNY’s inclusion in the National Council for Artificial Intelligence shows our system’s dedication to partnering with fellow institutions of higher education and industry leaders in artificial intelligence — a field that is ever-growing and in need of diverse perspectives to serve businesses and organizations throughout the country,” said Chris Ellis, deputy chief of staff, SUNY. “We are proud to be a member of the council and look forward to working with the other members to influence artificial intelligence innovation of tomorrow and shaping educational programs involving AI.”

“It is incumbent upon leaders from the public and private sectors to ensure that our shared values of accountability, transparency and civic-mindedness guide us as AI becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives,” said Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, chancellor, CUNY. “AI promises many hopeful rewards, but it also presents a host of new and ever-evolving challenges. One thing is certain: CUNY is committed to educating and training students, as well as upskilling displaced workers for the ever-shifting 21st century labor market. We thank our partners in the National Council for Artificial Intelligence for the opportunity to ensure that the future remains bright and promising for all.”

“We are thrilled to participate on this board and have ambition to form an AI-focused innovation platform and accelerator,” said Michael Olmstead, chief revenue officer, Plug and Play. “With participation from the fellow board members, we will use this platform as a potential investment vehicle and sandbox to test different policies and ideas this group is looking to create.”

Posted on December 10, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Deutsche Telekom and Microsoft redefine partnership to deliver high-performance cloud computing experiences

Seven-year strategic agreement to help enterprise and midmarket customers accelerate digitalization
Enhance productivity and digitize business operations with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure as T-Systems’ preferred cloud platform in select solution areas
Support digital education efforts in Germany

BONN, Germany, REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 9, 2020 — Deutsche Telekom Group and Microsoft Corp. announced an expansion of their partnership that will help customers of all sizes accelerate their cloud transformation initiatives.

For many companies, the cloud represents an opportunity to reduce IT costs, increase flexibility and accelerate innovation. However, to fully take advantage of cloud computing, it requires a high-performance network that can scale to meet increasing technology demands. By combining Microsoft’s cloud and AI capabilities with Telekom’s Cloud Migration Framework and telecommunications services, the companies enable customers to increase their productivity, build more agile and resilient operations, and deliver new cloud offerings faster.

“We have agreed on the framework for joint strategic growth with our long-term partner Microsoft. We are delighted,” said Adel Al-Saleh, member of the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management and CEO of T-Systems. “This partnership will enable us to enhance services for our customers. We will also be supporting each other with digitalization and network build-out.”

“The case for digital transformation has never been more urgent. We know that the next decade of economic performance for every business, whether large or small, will depend on the digital investments made today,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, executive vice president and president, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations. “Through this strategic partnership, which combines the power of Deutsche Telekom’s network and Microsoft’s cloud, customers will have more opportunities to become resilient, accelerate innovation and ultimately drive success.”

Trusted cloud infrastructure to accelerate business innovation

The delivery of secure and powerful software applications requires a modern IT infrastructure. To accelerate business innovation, Telekom plans to migrate the majority of its internal IT workloads to the public cloud by 2025, and Azure is a central part of that strategy. Through a companywide training program, thousands of Telekom employees will learn how to maximize the benefits of Azure.

Moving mainframe workloads to the cloud is one of the targeted areas of the partnership. Historically, mainframes were designed as scale-up servers to run high-volume online transactions and batch processing. Using cloud-based mainframes, businesses can deliver new services based on evolving customer demands without retrofitting legacy hardware. This means companies can drive scale, business continuity and energy efficiency while reducing operational and hardware costs.

Telekom will also offer its customers direct access to the Microsoft cloud through Azure ExpressRoute. By bypassing the public internet, customers will have increased agility through faster connectivity to better address regional compliance and data residency needs.

Enabling digital collaboration and streamlining business operations

To help people and businesses be more connected and productive from anywhere, Telekom will offer Microsoft 365, including Microsoft Teams. As part of this, the companies have started a project for German schools to reimagine traditional approaches to education, enabling remote learning through cloud-based IT infrastructure, modern devices and the cloud productivity and collaboration applications within Microsoft 365.

To leverage the benefits of cloud computing for critical business processes, such as enterprise resource planning and supply chain management, Telekom supports its customers with moving their SAP environments to Azure. SAP solutions on Azure offer enterprise-grade security, and business continuity and reduce hardware expenses, making it easier for startups and smaller organizations to get started.

Accelerating cloud initiatives: assessment, migration, service

Telekom’s enterprise customer unit T-Systems has migrated and securely managed large-scale applications and critical enterprise workloads. With Azure as a preferred cloud platform for select solution areas, T-Systems is providing these capabilities to companies across all industries so they can harness the global scale, security and latest advances without needing to manage installation and maintenance. This Cloud Migration Framework combines automated assessment, cloud migration and services management to help accelerate customers’ cloud initiatives.

Small and medium-sized businesses will benefit from these offerings as they can focus on their core competencies and don’t need to provide the resources and knowledge usually required to implement a comprehensive cloud strategy.

Telekom and Microsoft will work closely together to continue to address compliance needs and European regulatory requirements.

About Deutsche Telekom: Deutsche Telekom company profile

About T-Systems: T-Systems company profile

About Microsoft

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

Deutsche Telekom AG, Corporate Communications, +49 (0) 228 181 49494, [email protected]

Further information for the media at:

www.telekom.com/en/media

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/mediacenter/images

www.twitter.com/deutschetelekom

www.facebook.com/deutschetelekom

www.telekom.com/en/blog

www.youtube.com/deutschetelekom

www.instagram.com/deutschetelekom

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 December 8, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Johnson Controls and Microsoft announce global collaboration, launch integration between OpenBlue Digital Twin and Azure Digital Twins

Microsoft announces the general availability of Azure Digital Twins
Holistic integration across digital twin technologies will enable users to digitally manage physical spaces, maximize efficiency, support COVID-19 safety and pilot new solutions
Solution aims to encompass the entire ecosystem of building and device management technologies with digital cloud technologies
Collaboration will support efficient and environmentally friendly design, construction and ongoing operation of buildings and spaces through modeling, analytics and digital control mechanisms

CORK, Ireland, and REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 8, 2020 — Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart and sustainable buildings, and Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced a global collaboration to digitally transform how buildings and spaces are conceived, built and managed. Microsoft also announced the general availability of Microsoft Azure Digital Twins.

As a key partner for Azure Digital Twins, Johnson Control’s OpenBlue Digital Twin is a comprehensive platform that will support the entire ecosystem of building and device management technologies with digital cloud technologies.

Johnson Controls is a Microsoft partner leveraging several Azure services including Active Directory Services, Azure Data Lake, Access Control and Time Series Insights. Microsoft’s Azure Digital Twins is the newest Azure platform service integrated into Johnson Controls OpenBlue platform that aims to enable the creation of next-generation IoT connected solutions that will model the real world. Johnson Control’s platform turns the physical world into computable objects that will enable customers to create detailed digital versions of physical buildings, assets and systems.

Digital twins are digital replicas of physical entities capable of providing an in-depth analysis of data and the potential to monitor systems to mitigate risks, manage issues and utilize simulations to test future solutions. The use of digital twins plays an important role in helping technicians identify the root cause of issues accelerating problem-solving. Additionally, building managers are able to support COVID-19 safety and security protocols, while ensuring efficient use of energy and other facility resources.

Azure Digital Twins enables the creation of knowledge graphs based on digital models of entire environments, whether they are buildings, factories, farms, energy networks, railways, stadiums or entire cities. These digital models empower property managers with actionable insights that drive better products, optimize operations, reduce costs and create breakthrough customer experiences.

OpenBlue Digital Twin is a unique platform purpose-built with smart buildings and spaces in mind, enabling and unifying all aspects of an intelligent building: security, employee experience, facilities management, sustainability and more. The open platform’s open system seamlessly integrates with existing building infrastructure, regardless of brand, make or model.

“Our partnership with Microsoft is a vital ingredient in our innovation strategy, as the company shares our vision of using technology to transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play,” said Mike Ellis, vice president and chief digital and customer officer at Johnson Controls. “Digital twins are playing an increasingly important role in the design, construction and ongoing operation of healthy buildings and spaces, and can be particularly valuable when analyzing large datasets and predicting patterns and trends to tell our customers things they don’t yet know. Our OpenBlue digital platform, closely connected with Microsoft’s platform and workplace technologies, represents an unbeatable opportunity to help our customers make shared spaces safer, more agile and more sustainable.”

“We have an incredible opportunity to use advances in cloud and compute capabilities to help customers reimagine the physical world,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud + AI, Microsoft. “By integrating the power of Azure Digital Twins with JCI’s OpenBlue Digital Twin platform, our collaboration will provide customers with a digital replica and actionable insights to better meet their evolving needs.”

Among the numerous pilots currently under development is an ambitious effort at The National University of Singapore (NUS). As part of the university’s ongoing efforts to create a smart, safe and sustainable campus for students and staff, the new alliance’s complementary products and services are coming together to test the foundations of a Digital Twin-powered operations platform. The data-driven platform will enable integrated building management across the campus and serve as the foundation for energy and space optimization, predictive maintenance, and unmanned operations.

“NUS is excited to collaborate with Microsoft and Johnson Controls, in our digital transformation journey that changes the way we design and manage our buildings and infrastructure, as we move toward a carbon-neutral campus by 2030,” said Professor Yong Kwet Yew, senior vice president (Campus Infrastructure), NUS.

Working with Microsoft, Johnson Controls will address how people can return to work to maximize space while operating facilities safely, including:

Energy optimization. Optimizing energy usage within facilities maintenance with a goal of reducing carbon emissions to save money and support sustainability efforts.
Access control and safety. Addressing physical access and safety using live video analytics and spatial intelligence, combining Microsoft cloud services and Johnson Controls security access controls hardware end points.
Collaboration for facility managers. Integrating facility management workflows with workplace collaboration platforms such as Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Teams to increase productivity and collaboration across remote teams.
Workspace optimization. Maximizing the use of spaces by merging building and occupancy data with experiences to create actionable insights for facility managers and the occupants.

Johnson Controls OpenBlue platform — launched in July 2020 — was designed with agility, flexibility and scalability in mind, to enable buildings to become dynamic spaces. In leveraging the platform, customers will be able to manage operations more systemically, delivering buildings that have memory, intelligence and unique identity. Those wanting to read more about OpenBlue Digital Twin can visit https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/openblue/openblue-digital-twin.

About Johnson Controls

At Johnson Controls, we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. From optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancing comfort, we drive the outcomes that matter most. We deliver our promise in industries such as healthcare, education, data centers and manufacturing. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries and over 130 years of innovation, we are the power behind our customers’ mission. Our leading portfolio of building technology and solutions includes some of the most trusted names in the industry, such as Tyco®, YORK®, Metasys®, Ruskin®, Titus®, Frick®, Penn®, Sabroe®, Simplex®, Ansul® and Grinnell®. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

About Microsoft

For more information, press only:

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

JCI Media Contacts: Phil Clement, (414) 208-5161, [email protected]; Michael Isaac, +41 52 6330374, [email protected]

JCI Investor Contacts: Antonella Franzen, (609) 720-4665, [email protected]; Ryan Edelman, (609) 720-4545, [email protected]

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 December 2, 2020 by — Leave a comment

UNICEF and Microsoft launch improved, scalable technology to protect vulnerable children and women amid rise in domestic and gender-based violence due to COVID-19

Primero, an innovative online and offline application, empowers social workers to help more children

NEW YORK — Dec. 1, 2020 — UNICEF and Microsoft Corp. launched a new version of Primero called Primero X — an open source case management web application that helps social service providers coordinate critical support to vulnerable children. Key interventions include providing access to lifesaving services, such as family reunification and tracing, while still adhering to physical distancing and movement restrictions due to COVID-19. The launch of Primero X comes amid an increase in the rates of domestic and gender-based violence linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of children are now more vulnerable to violence, abuse and neglect due to the socioeconomic consequences of the intensifying pandemic. There are 1.8 billion children in the 104 countries where violence prevention and response services have been disrupted due to COVID-19.[1] Schools are shuttered, parents and caregivers are losing jobs, and families are under increasing financial strain.

Over the past 12 months, UNICEF and Microsoft have been working together to enhance Primero to allow governments and other partners to deploy the application more quickly in humanitarian crises; support usage in offline and online settings from any device; improve the quality and consistency of care to vulnerable groups; and protect the privacy of at-risk children. The new version of Primero is currently being piloted in Ghana, with expected release to dozens of other countries through 2022. UNICEF aims to have Primero X live in 60 countries and territories by 2025.

UNICEF and partners are urging governments and protection authorities to adopt innovative technologies, like Primero X, to ensure that vulnerable women and children can be protected even under the most challenging of circumstances. Primero X supports multiple modules and can adapt to a broad range of protection programming, including unaccompanied and separated children, psychosocial support, children in alternative care, and gender-based violence in emergencies. Additionally, UNICEF has been advocating for social service workers to be recognized as “essential workers.”

“Social workers offer a lifeline to vulnerable children, especially during times of crisis and upheaval,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Charlotte Petri Gornitzka. “COVID-19 is undermining the ability of these essential workers to do their jobs at the same time as needs are increasing. The partnership between UNICEF and Microsoft will help strengthen the Primero platform and scale it up to benefit millions of children and young people, both now and in the future.” Primero is an example of how UNICEF partners with business — based on a shared-value approach, where producing social value and addressing challenges also makes business sense.

“We firmly believe technology can be a force for good in these challenging times, and our partnership with UNICEF to support vulnerable children and women is even more critical during COVID-19,” said Microsoft Global Head of Tech for Social Impact Justin Spelhaug. “Primero is improving the quality and consistency of care for social workers so they can focus on those who need it most.”

Primero X is offered as a digital public good, providing social service organizations with program expertise and operational support from a diverse global community of experienced child protection and gender-based violence specialists. It also protects client confidentiality and is aligned with Responsible Data for Children, ensuring children’s privacy when accessing services facilitated by the system.

New features of Primero X will help social service providers reach children with vital protection and support as communities around the world continue to grapple with the socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic. These features include:

Microsoft technical infrastructure and design
Online and offline use from any smart device without interruption
Full-feature web application available on smartphones, resized to fit the screen
Intuitive workflows and embedded help
Enhanced security including two-factor identification
Delivery via the Microsoft Azure cloud service

Primero has thus far been rolled out in 29 countries and territories including Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen.

More information about Primero can be found at www.primero.org, www.cpims.org and www.gbvims.com.

More information about COVID-19 and guidance on how to protect children and families can be found at www.unicef.org/coronavirus.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook.

About Microsoft

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

Christopher Tidey, UNICEF New York, +1 (917) 340-3017, [email protected]

[1] https://www.unicef.org/reports/protecting-children-from-violence-covid-19-disruptions-in-prevention-and-response-services-2020

Posted on November 11, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft names Christopher Young to lead business development

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 11, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday named Christopher Young as executive vice president of business development. Young will report directly to Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella.

A respected voice in technology and cybersecurity, Young most recently served as chief executive officer of McAfee, one of the largest cybersecurity companies in the world. In 2017, Young led the initiative to spin McAfee out of Intel as a standalone company and has since spearheaded McAfee’s mission to protect systems and data of customers around the globe. Previously, Young held senior leadership positions at Cisco, VMware, RSA and AOL.

“I’ve known Chris for many years and have admired his accomplishments as a leader. His experience and skills are an invaluable addition to our company and the senior leadership team,” Nadella said. “We know that for our customers and partners, the next decade of economic growth will be defined by the digital investments made today. With Chris’ leadership, the Business Development team will continue to be a key accelerant for our partnerships and new growth opportunities.”

Young will be responsible for developing Microsoft’s global business development strategies that drive growth across the company. This includes leading the evaluation and execution of strategic partnership opportunities, including alliances, venture investments and joint ventures that align with corporate strategy.

“The pace of change in our world is accelerating, and technology-driven experiences that are more connected, interactive and intelligent are the drivers,” Young said. “It is great to be joining Microsoft, to help lead this transformation in the way we work and live.”

Young holds an A.B. from Princeton University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He serves as a member of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and sits on the boards of directors of American Express and Snap Inc.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

Posted on November 10, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft and the Open Data Institute announce an Education Open Data Challenge to help close the digital divide

LONDON, UK and REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 10, 2020 — Microsoft and the Open Data Institute (ODI) on Tuesday announced the launch of an Education Open Data Challenge to shine light on the relationship between broadband access and K-12 (ages 5 to 18 years old) education outcomes. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Education Open Data Challenge will help educators and research organizations better understand the potential long-term impact the ongoing disruption to traditional learning will have on the world’s most vulnerable learners.

Microsoft and the ODI are encouraging teams that wish to participate in the challenge to help generate innovative solutions to close the digital divide in K-12 education to go here to learn more. The winning team will be invited to elect a non-profit organization of their choice to receive a £50,000 award, with the runners-up electing non-profit organizations of their choice to receive £30,000 and £20,000 awards. The challenge is open to teams and individuals based globally.

“As students around the world increasingly rely on technology and connectivity to succeed in school, we must find ways to allow every student, everywhere, to succeed. Combining datasets in new ways can help unlock solutions to expand equitable and robust access to broadband,” said Jennifer Yokoyama, Microsoft Vice President and Chief IP Counsel. “We’re excited to join in the launch of this Education Open Data Challenge to help close the digital divide and level the playing field for students around the world.”

Participants will receive access to tools and resources from Microsoft, the ODI, and BroadbandNow, as well as data made available for the first time as part of this challenge:

Participants will have access to a more granular version of Microsoft’s U.S. broadband usage data, this time with differential privacy applied. Microsoft will make available documentation that demonstrates the impact that applying differential privacy has had on the data.
The ODI will provide access to several eLearning modules on Open Data Essentials, Finding Stories in Data, Guidance for data users on data licensing and How to anonymize datasets for participants who wish to contribute their own data, as well as mentorship. Participants are also able to access free MS Learn training resources and training modules.
From BroadbandNow, participants will be able to access U.S. broadband terrestrial provider data.

The use of privacy-preserving technologies will become more prevalent as organizations seek to collaborate across the spectrum of data. The datasets that will be made openly available with the challenge will help participants to assess and understand the effect that technologies such as differential privacy can have on data insights and analysis.

“Organizations like Microsoft and BroadbandNow possess a wealth of interesting data that can be used to provide insights and support decision-makers in the education sector and beyond, especially as they face unprecedented challenges. This Challenge will stimulate the exploration of innovative uses for this data, outside the boundaries of the organizations that hold it,” said Jeni Tennison, Vice President & Chief Strategy Adviser of the ODI. “The ODI is here to help organizations that want to ensure the data they hold brings the most value to the sectors, communities and societies they work in.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted learning for more than 1.6 billion children and youth worldwide, as governments across the globe have closed educational institutions to stop the spread of the virus. In response, schools and teachers have made an unprecedented effort to reach students remotely through distance learning tools and platforms.

As the digital divide is expanded by the abrupt global transition to remote learning, understanding how and where the digital divide affects communities will be critical for managing the short-term delivery of education and ensuring a sustainable, equitable economic recovery.

“We are thrilled to participate in providing data for the Open Data Challenge and look forward to discoveries made by the participants,” said John Busby, Managing Director of BroadbandNow. “Access to affordable broadband internet is crucial to education and digital equity.”

Participating teams will be asked to identify gaps in digital infrastructure that affect the delivery of education services online, pinpoint potential impacts on learning outcomes, and suggest innovative and realistic solutions to address these gaps in a cost-efficient way. Some of the questions the challenge seeks to answer include:

How do students access remote learning, especially those who may not have easy access to digital infrastructure (e.g., technology and internet connectivity)?
What level of digital access to learning do students from disadvantaged groups have, relative to more advantaged groups?
What is the relationship between levels of digital skills and learning outcomes for different demographics?

Participants will have four months to complete the challenge from the opening date. Individuals and teams interested in participating in the challenge can learn more and register interest here. Once registered, individuals will be invited to attend dedicated activities to preview the data, learn more about it from the involved partners, and get equipped on how to best use it ahead of the public release on December 10, 2020.

###

About Microsoft

About the Open Data Institute

The ODI was co-founded in 2012 by the inventor of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee and artificial intelligence expert Sir Nigel Shadbolt to show the value of data, and to advocate for the innovative use of data to affect positive change across the globe. We’re an independent, non-profit, non-partisan company headquartered in London, with an international reach. We work with companies and governments to build an open, trustworthy data ecosystem, where people can make better decisions using data and manage any harmful impacts.

For more information, contact:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft
(425) 638-7777
[email protected]

Posted on October 28, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Cooler Screens collaborates with Microsoft to deliver immersive digital experiences in retail

Editor’s note – Oct. 28, 2020 – The press release below was updated to clarify Cooler Screens’ current partnership with Walgreens.

CHICAGO, Il. and REDMOND, Wash. (October 28 (8am PT), 2020) — Cooler Screens and Microsoft Corp. announced a multi-year collaboration focused on bringing an immersive digital experience to brick-and-mortar retail environments. Through the collaboration, Cooler Screens will work with Microsoft to scale the delivery of its immersive digital media and merchandising platform hosted on Microsoft Azure to retailers and product brands. The companies will also explore additional integration opportunities to deliver enhanced experiences to customers.

Cooler Screens’ retail technology replaces traditional cooler doors with IoT enabled, high-resolution smart screens which use sensors both outside and inside of the coolers to track inventory and product placing. The solution uses “identity-blind” data from consumer interactions, combined with external data like weather to deliver more personalized experiences.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with an industry leader like Microsoft to drive innovation in retail and build the largest in-store digital media platform in the world,” said Greg Wasson, co-founder and chairman of Cooler Screens. “We are changing the way consumers shop for the better, and this collaboration not only gives us the capabilities to implement our strategy but also gives us immediate massive scale.”

“Retailers today are looking to use digital technology to transform their businesses and redefine the shopping experience for customers,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Through the power of Microsoft Azure, companies like Cooler Screens are meeting this important need by bringing immersive digital experience to brick and mortar stores.”

Cooler Screens are currently located in more than 50 Walgreens locations. Cooler Screens will expand its platform into 2,500 Walgreens stores across the U.S. in 2021, reaching over 75 million in-store consumers monthly, including 2.5 million on a daily basis.

“Walgreens is committed to enhancing our customer shopping experience through digital transformation, one of our key strategic priorities,” said Stefano Pessina, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance. “Pairing the Cooler Screens digital media and merchandising technology with Microsoft’s Azure platform will bring a unique and innovative offering to Walgreens customers shopping the cooler aisle.”

Brands including MillerCoors, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Chobani, Tyson Foods and Monster Energy currently advertise with Cooler Screens. The company is working with a number of leaders in the grocery and convenience store industry, including Kroger and GetGo, to bring more contextually relevant shopping to the stores.

To learn more about how Cooler Screens is working to transform the in-store retail experience, visit www.coolerscreens.com.

About Microsoft

About Cooler Screens

Cooler Screens is reimagining the consumer experience in brick-and-mortar retail. The company has developed a patented in-store digital merchandising and media platform that enables consumers to experience in-store what they love about shopping online. Enjoying simplified access to the latest and most relevant information, consumers can now make more informed in-store decisions to best fit their budgets, taste and health preferences. The impact for retailers is a dynamic way to increase sales by offering shoppers a better, more personalized experience at the last mile of advertising. For consumer product companies, Cooler Screens is providing a new platform to build brand awareness, market their products at the point-of-sale, and improve visibility with real-time analytics. Cooler Screens fully adopted Privacy by Design, a rigorous framework developed by global privacy experts and is now one of only 10 organizations with the PECB MS Privacy by Design certification. For more information, please visit http://www.coolerscreens.com.

For more information, press only:

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

Posted on October 27, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Microsoft cloud strength fuels first quarter results

REDMOND, Wash. — October 27, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

Revenue was $37.2 billion and increased 12%
Operating income was $15.9 billion and increased 25%
Net income was $13.9 billion and increased 30%
Diluted earnings per share was $1.82 and increased 32%

“The next decade of economic performance for every business will be defined by the speed of their digital transformation,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “We are innovating across our full modern tech stack to help our customers in every industry improve time to value, increase agility, and reduce costs.”

“Demand for our cloud offerings drove a strong start to the fiscal year with our commercial cloud revenue generating $15.2 billion, up 31% year over year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. “We continue to invest against the significant opportunity ahead of us to drive long-term growth.”

Business Highlights

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $12.3 billion and increased 11%, with the following business highlights:

Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 9% driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 21% (up 20% in constant currency)
Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 13% and Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers increased to 45.3 million
LinkedIn revenue increased 16%
Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 19% (up 18% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 38% (up 37% in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $13.0 billion and increased 20% (up 19% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

Server products and cloud services revenue increased 22% (up 21% in constant currency) driven by Azure revenue growth of 48% (up 47% in constant currency)

Revenue in More Personal Computing was $11.8 billion and increased 6%, with the following business highlights:

Windows OEM revenue declined 5%
Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 13% (up 12% in constant currency)
Xbox content and services revenue increased 30%
Surface revenue increased 37% (up 36% in constant currency)
Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs decreased 10% (down 11% in constant currency)

Microsoft returned $9.5 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, an increase of 21% compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2020.

Business Outlook

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

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.

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.

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, Alice Jolla, 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 October 27, 2021.

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 September 30,
($ in millions, except per share amounts)	Revenue	Operating Income	Net Income	Diluted Earnings per Share
2019 As Reported	$33,055	$12,686	$10,678	$1.38
2020 As Reported	$37,154	$15,876	$13,893	$1.82
Percentage Change Y/Y	12%	25%	30%	32%
Constant Currency Impact	$108	$71	$231	$0.03
Percentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency	12%	25%	28%	30%

Segment Revenue Constant Currency Reconciliation

	Three Months Ended September 30,
($ in millions)	Productivity and Business Processes	Intelligent Cloud	More Personal Computing
2019 As Reported	$11,077	$10,845	$11,133
2020 As Reported	$12,319	$12,986	$11,849
Percentage Change Y/Y	11%	20%	6%
Constant Currency Impact	$32	$42	$34
Percentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency	11%	19%	6%

Selected Product and Service Revenue Constant Currency Reconciliation

	Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
	Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)	Constant Currency Impact	Percentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency
Office Commercial products and cloud services	9%	0%	9%
Office 365 Commercial	21%	(1)%	20%
Office Consumer products and cloud services	13%	0%	13%
LinkedIn	16%	0%	16%
Dynamics products and cloud services	19%	(1)%	18%
Dynamics 365	38%	(1)%	37%
Server products and cloud services	22%	(1)%	21%
Azure	48%	(1)%	47%
Windows OEM	(5)%	0%	(5)%
Windows Commercial products and cloud services	13%	(1)%	12%
Xbox content and services	30%	0%	30%
Surface	37%	(1)%	36%
Search advertising excluding traffic acquisition costs	(10)%	(1)%	(11)%

About Microsoft

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 September 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.