REDMOND, Wash. — Sept . 1 7 , 20 1 3 — Microsoft Corp. announced on Tuesday that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, reflecting a 5 cent or 22 percent increase over the previous quarter’s dividend. The dividend is payable Dec. 12, 2013, to shareholders of record on Nov. 21, 2013. The ex-dividend date will be Nov. 19, 2013.

The board of directors also approved a new share repurchase program authorizing up to $40 billion in share repurchases. The new share repurchase program, which has no expiration date, replaces the previous $40 billion share repurchase program that was set to expire Sept. 30, 2013.

“These actions reflect a continued commitment to returning cash to our shareholders,” said Amy Hood, chief financial officer of Microsoft.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For more information, financial analysts and investors only:
Investor Relations, Microsoft, (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 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/investor.

SAO PAULO — Sept. 17, 2013 — Microsoft Brazil and Shell on Tuesday announced that Shell will deploy approximately 200 Windows Phone 8 devices to company distributors, which will increase its number of Windows Phone devices from 100 to 300 during 2013. These devices will support the entire sales force of the company’s distribution network in Brazil, which is made up of company resellers tasked with visiting individual gas stations to collect client requests. The newly deployed Nokia Lumia devices, including models such as the Lumia 520 and the Lumia 920, were chosen based on cost benefits and security.

The adoption of these Windows Phone 8 devices has enabled the company to significantly lower costs, which would not have been possible with the iOS devices Shell also considered. The phones have also helped improve the productivity of its commercial team, which previously required software installation and updates to be made on each individual device. Now Shell is able to make these changes directly on the server, and the program is updated automatically on all fixed and mobile networks.

To increase the data analysis resources available to the team, Shell invested in Blink Mobile, a sales force automation solution developed by Microsoft solutions partner Blink Systems. The investment in this application is a reflection of Shell’s strategy to increase productivity throughout its distributor network with the use of better-equipped devices. Automatic updating is another important advantage of the Blink Systems application. Now Shell distributors have a tool that streamlines searches, accelerates the ordering process and is easy to use for the sales force. Thanks to the incorporation of the Windows Phone-based app, the network is now easier to use and more practical in terms of information gathering.

In addition to the cost benefit and reliability of the platform, Windows Phone integrates seamlessly with the rest of the Microsoft servers used at Shell. Windows Phone supports advanced security and administration solutions, which can be synced with other devices running the same platform. “This effortless integration has been a determining factor in the decision-making process for companies such as Shell,” said Celso Winik, managing director of Windows Phone at Microsoft.

About Microsoft Braz il

Founded in 1989, Microsoft Brazil has 14 offices throughout the country and generates locally direct opportunities in technology for over 18,000 companies and 424,000 professionals. In the last 10 years, the company has invested more than R$167 million in social projects, bringing technology to schools, universities, NGOs and communities in need. Microsoft Brazil is one of the 112 subsidiaries of Microsoft Corp., founded in 1975, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help companies and individuals realize their full potential.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

More information is available at :

Press Relations Center: Microsoft Notícias
Microsoft Brazil on Twitter: @MicrosoftBR
Microsoft Brazil on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MSFTBrasil
Microsoft Brazil Blog: http://www.blogmicrosoftbrasil.com.br
Microsoft Brazil Interoperability Blog: Porta 25

For more information, press only :

Bruna Cortez, FSB Comunicações, (11) 3165-9655, bruna.cortez@fsb.com.br

Ana Cristina, FSB Comunicações, (11) 3165-9655, ana.cristina@fsb.com.br

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 have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

SANTA CLARA, CA - NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today announced that it has named Colette Kress, a 24-year veteran of the tech industry, as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sept. 17, 2013 — At the Sibos global financial services event in Dubai, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”) on Tuesday announced that a number of leading global financial institutions are modernizing their business operations and choosing Microsoft Dynamics CRM as the platform to shift from transaction-based businesses to customer-centric businesses.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM has been designed from the ground up to help businesses engage and delight their customers by delivering exceptional customer experiences and interactions. Financial institutions are drawn to the customer-first design philosophy and the fact that Microsoft Dynamics CRM works seamlessly with other productivity applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft SharePoint and Yammer. Microsoft Dynamics CRM gives financial institutions a powerful solution to drive proactive interactions with end customers, provide deep client insight, and deliver intelligent offers and custom-built experiences, enabling banks to improve customer retention, add new customers and improve advisor productivity. In essence, Microsoft Dynamics CRM helps financial institutions become a true trusted advisor for their clients.

Prioritizing customer service is the key competitive differentiator for Metro Bank, Great Britain’s first new bank in more than a century. Microsoft Dynamics CRM, combined with Microsoft devices and services, is the foundation of Metro Bank’s customer-first strategy.

“As the first new high street bank in the U.K. for over 100 years, our unique, customer-focused model is reinventing the rules of retail banking,” said Paul Marriott-Clarke, commercial director at Metro Bank. “Microsoft Dynamics CRM helps us enhance our customers’ experiences, combining traditional face-to-face service in our stores with amazing technology to ensure our customers receive the very best in service and convenience.”

MKB Bank, the second-largest bank by equity in Hungary, chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM to steer all customer-related processes in the bank and keep up with growth. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, MKB improved customer service times by 25 percent, decreased customer churn by 5 percent and increased profit earned on the primary banking customer segment by 20 percent in the same period.

“Customer service is our top priority, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM gave us a comprehensive view of customers and integrated access to all channels,” said Laszlo Kiraly, head of CRM and E-Channels at MKB. “Our CRM-driven front-end system has become the core application for our business. It is now our primary platform for collaboration, better efficiency and a superior multichannel experience.”

Volkskreditbank AG (VKB) tapped Microsoft Dynamics CRM to help it become one of the most customer-oriented banks in Austria. The results have been undeniable: a 32 percent boost in sales productivity, an 18 percent increase in customer service quality and a 95 percent decrease in the time needed to provide analyses and reports, giving managers and executives a near-real-time view into the health of the business.

“We needed a CRM solution to power our entire bank, not just a single division or set of products,” said Michael Reifetshamer, IT manager at VKB. “Our experience with Microsoft Dynamics CRM shows that we made the right choice.”

ABN AMRO Bank NV improved customer service by implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM and connecting it to its asset management system to provide a single view of each customer account.

“Dynamics CRM is a robust solution tool,” said Su Kia Tan, head of Process & Project Management for ABN AMRO Bank. “We use it to support our end users in managing business growth and productivity improvement with necessary controls built on customized and streamlined workflows.”

And at the end of the day, to become a customer-centric organization banks must first start thinking from their customers’ perspectives. They need tools, technologies and processes that allow them to address customer inquiries anywhere, anytime. Banks need tools that provide complete and holistic views of their customers and enable them to reach out with intelligent and timely offers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the tool that ultimately allows them to become trusted advisors to their customers.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM customers and prospects can learn more about Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the financial services space at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm-financial-services.aspx. In addition, they can follow and engage with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM community @MSDynamicsCRM, at http://www.twitter.com/msdynamicscrm.

About Microsoft Dynamics

At the heart of every successful business are the people who make things happen. Microsoft Dynamics designs modern business solutions that empower individuals with intuitive tools that allow them to do their best work. Our proactive, easy-to-use business applications adapt to the way people and systems work, enabling businesses to rapidly deploy and be forward-looking in an ever-changing world.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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 have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 16, 2013 — Bing.com and FOX News Channel (FNC) are teaming up on the Bing Pulse online voting tool, enabling viewers to share their opinions and reactions to news commentary in real time online at http://Bing.com/politics. With the new feature, viewers will have the opportunity to interact with the panel segment on FNC’s “Special Report with Bret Baier” (weeknights at 6 p.m. ET) to offer their feedback instantaneously.

“This is a first for evening news,” said Josh Gottheimer, general manager of Strategic and Special Projects at Microsoft Corp. “With the Bing Pulse, viewers get a seat at the table to weigh in on the discussion. It’s the perfect marriage of the Internet, Bing’s big data technology and television news programming.”

Earlier this year, Bing and FNC debuted the Bing Pulse as part of the network’s coverage of the 2013 State of the Union address. The breakthrough Bing Pulse recorded the largest live online poll in history, garnering 12.9 million votes during President Obama’s live address. Real-time results from the tool were shown on the network and available at http://Bing.com/politics.

How it works

The Bing Pulse allows people to join the conversation by “voting” every five seconds on their reactions to the content they are watching during the panel’s discussions. Viewers simply go to http://Bing.com/politics from a computer, tablet or mobile device to connect with the conversation. Unlike typical polls, the Bing Pulse allows people to self-identify as male or female and register their party affiliation. The Bing Pulse enables Americans to track and share opinions on the top issues of the day. As the panel discussion progresses on the program, viewers have five choices to characterize how they are feeling about the discussion: strongly agree, somewhat agree, neutral, somewhat disagree and strongly disagree.

The live count of the number of “pulses,” or votes, is shown as a line graph of how users react to language and issues throughout the discussion that is visible on-screen. In addition to measuring the sentiment of the audience about the conversation, the Bing Pulse also provides an intensity score, which highlights the moments on the panel segment when the greatest number of viewers voted at the same time.

Data is split by gender and political affiliation. During the course of the program’s panel, the Bing Pulse features updated results every few seconds on the TV screen with data also available at http://Bing.com/politics. Final results are reported at the end of the program.

During a monthlong pilot of the tool on the Friday editions of “Special Report” in August, millions of votes were cast and as many as 60,000 votes per minute were recorded during the panel discussions on the program.

About Bing

Bing is the search engine from Microsoft, designed for people who do. For people like you who are always doing more and don’t have time to sit still. Now, only Bing brings together the best search and the best people from your social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, to help you spend less time searching and more time doing. So whether you’re on your PC or on your phone, Bing is designed not just to connect you to the information you are looking for, but also to help you get things done right on Bing.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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 have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sept. 16, 2013 — As Sibos 2013 gets underway, SunGard, Thomson Reuters, Temenos and FreedomPay are announcing new apps for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 that will help financial services companies across the world grow their businesses with mobile experiences for employees and customers.

According to Gartner, “CIOs see these technologies as disrupting business fundamentally over the next 10 years. When asked which digital technologies would be most disruptive, 70 percent of CIOs cited mobile technologies, followed by big data/analytics at 55 percent, social media at 54 percent and public cloud at 51 percent.”* By year end of 2015, 40 percent of all in-person interactions between banks and their customers will be initiated or completed using a tablet computer.**

“Customers have more information and ways to connect than ever before. Providing an easy, do-it-your-way experience that is personally and professionally relevant is essential to customer retention and acquisition. Competition is coming from non-banks and changing the financial services industry landscape, and the bottom line is more important than ever,” said Karen Cone, general manager, Microsoft Financial Services. “Microsoft and our industry partners are focused on building great mobile experiences to help financial services institutions harness this new technology and evolve their businesses.”

Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices continue Microsoft’s long history of providing the security, manageability and compliance that financial services companies rely on. As financial services go mobile, the importance of access control, data security and computing power become even more important. App builders for the financial services industry recognize the power of the Windows 8 platform on mobile devices as essential to providing the solutions that their customers demand. Windows 8 enables new critical business mobility and productivity scenarios that meet the rigorous IT standards for security, manageability and support required in today’s financial services industry.

SunGard removes barriers between branch employees and customers

In today’s bank branch environment, employees need to be able to move around and engage customers on their terms, and Windows 8 devices help them do this. SunGard is announcing the availability of its tablet banking solution, Ambit Concierge, on Windows 8. SunGard’s Ambit Concierge helps empower relationship managers with real-time, secured mobile access to customer, product and service information, helping to deliver a more personalized, convenient service to enhance the customer experience. Combining the rich functionality of Ambit Concierge with the affordability, enhanced security and mass usability of Windows 8 will help retail banks address the growing need for increased connectivity to multiple information sources and channels. This will help empower relationship managers and drive growth through more competitive client service.

Thomson Reuters helps make board meetings more secure

Thomson Reuters is announcing its BoardLink app for Windows 8 this week. BoardLink offers company board members an easy, direct and more secure way to access and share information. Today, many board meetings require a physical book of documents for board members to review, which can present security concerns. The boards of public companies also face heightened scrutiny from investors, regulators and the media, and therefore increasingly rely on technology for support and assistance. BoardLink encrypts the important information on meeting attendees’ tablets, provides links to Thomson Reuters’ market information, and ensures attendees are informed and prepared with continuously updated information. The BoardLink app for Windows 8 allows users to seamlessly integrate their board experience across desktop and mobile devices. Board members can access data from remote locations around the clock without compromising security. Developing on Windows 8 also allows BoardLink to reach new audiences around the world.

Temenos creates central location for data

Temenos, the market-leading provider of banking software systems, announced a prototype Temenos Treasury Management Dashboard app for Windows 8. The app provides a central location for all essential data for treasury managers and senior bank members. Using the intuitive Windows 8 touch navigation and live tiles, the Treasury Management Dashboard app provides a constantly updated and centralized view of risk and positioning, giving users the ability to better manage potential opportunities and challenges.

FreedomPay and Windows Phone 8 make mobile money easy

FreedomPay, a mobile payment and incentive company, has developed the FreedomPay Commerce Platform, available first on Windows Phone 8, which allows consumers to use the platform as a mobile wallet to pay at local stores and get exclusive mobile incentives. Payment cards, offers and loyalty cards are secured in the SEEK digital wallet, which simplifies the consumer’s payment experience. It also benefits banks, as they can white label the powerful commerce platform to target consumers based on buying habits and use the app to deliver highly relevant offers to them. By taking advantage of the intuitive user experience on Windows Phone 8, FreedomPay gets a more immersive app experience, including benefits such as Live Tiles, enhanced search and an easy-to-navigate, user-centric interface.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Gartner press release, “Gartner Executive Program Survey of More Than 2,000 CIOs Shows Digital Technologies Are Top Priorities in 2013,” Jan. 16, 2013, http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2304615

** Gartner, “Predicts 2013: External Forces Will Increasingly Challenge Banks and Investment Services Firms,” published Nov. 20, 2012.

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 have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.