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Technical Updates (Archive) [Page: 1016 of 2489] |
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Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include ReplayGain support, low memory footprint and native support for several popular audio formats.
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Full View / NID: 46367 / Submitted by: TACKtech Team
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Increases Dividend; Intends to Return to Shareholders $1 Billion of Capital in Fiscal 2015
SANTA CLARA, CA - NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2014, ended Oct. 27, 2013, of $1.054 billion, up 7.9 percent from $977.2 million in the previous quarter.
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Full View / NID: 46170 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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The Official Pattern Release or OPR is Trend Micro's latest compilation of patterns for identified viruses. It is guaranteed to have passed a series of critical tests to ensure that customers get optimum protection from the latest virus threats.
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Full View / NID: 46169 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Adding 2132 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46161 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Adding 1535 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46160 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Adding 1145 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46159 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Internet Explorer 11 is fast and fluid, and lets your websites shine and perform just like native applications on your PC.
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Full View / NID: 46158 / Submitted by: TACKtech Team
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Full View / NID: 46149 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Document Solutions Experts Have Demonstrated Success at Incorporating Enterprise Capture into Business SolutionsMunich, Germany (7th November 2013) - ABBYY Europe, a leading provider of document recognition, data capture, and linguistic technologies, today announced X-Partner Oslo has joined the ABBYY European Solution Partner Programme. The certification is granted to organisations that attend and pass a full ABBYY FlexiCapture training course. X-Partner now gains full access to ABBYY's Data and Document Capture solutions which provide a wide...
Source: RealWire
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Full View / NID: 46148 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Innovative bring your own key (BYOK) capability allows businesses to retain control of critical assets in the cloudPlantation, FL - November 7, 2013 - Thales, leader in information systems and communications security announces that its nShield hardware security modules (HSMs) have been deployed by Microsoft to provide enhanced security for Microsoft Rights Management service (Windows Azure RMS). The new online offering - a cloud-based digital rights management system - forms the core of a new...
Source: RealWire
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Full View / NID: 46147 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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REDMOND, Wash.
—
Nov.
6
, 20
13
— Microsoft Corp. is declaring Nov. 7 Get It Done Day, to spark action for people who seek to balance life’s demands on their own terms. From the streets of New York to Paris, Canada to Mexico, Asia to Australia, and online at http://office.com/getitdone and #GetItDone, Microsoft is empowering people everywhere to share their story and inspire others to express how technology helps them get the things they care about — from work to home — done from anywhere.
No matter where you are — the office, airport or the gym — the need to get things done away from the office has never been greater.
As life and work blend, more than half (55 percent) of office workers* said they need to be able to get work done no matter where they are, and more than one-third (37 percent) said they do their best thinking outside the office, according to a recent study conducted online by Harris Interactive Inc. on behalf of Microsoft of 1,000 U.S. office workers.
“The Harris survey brings to light compelling points about what people expect and what they would be willing to give up to accomplish more in a day,” said John Case, corporate vice president, Microsoft Office. “That’s where Microsoft Office 365 can help. Taking on the ‘enemies of done,’ from lack of Wi-Fi to that important document you need to send now that’s on your computer at home, Office 365 is productivity reimagined and way beyond anything else in its class. It is much more than just the Office used by a billion people around the world. This is the new Office, for the new world of work and play.”
Survey data reveals that office workers not only want, but need, the ability to work anywhere, online or offline, at all points throughout the day. More information on where people get work done outside the office and what they do can be found by clicking on the images below:
Companies turn to Office 365 to #GetItDone
Companies understand this demand for people to get work done no matter where they are. Today, BNSF Railway Co., one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America, announced it is turning to Office 365 to give its more than 40,000 employees the tools they need to be productive and responsive, regardless of location, on any device, while reducing IT costs, providing cloud services and integrating social media.
“The majority of our employees don’t work at a desk, but that doesn’t matter with Office 365,” said Jo-ann Olsovsky, chief information officer at BNSF. “With Office 365 our employees can securely access the information they need to help operate the railroad — from any device. Whether you are a mechanic in a shop or a sales rep with a customer, you can get to the information you need in real time. Microsoft’s Office 365 is a service that provides our users with various tools to communicate the way they want to communicate. Whether in an instant message, email, blog or chat, Office 365 connects our people wherever they are.”
Office
updates help more people #GetItDone
Microsoft on Wednesday also announced several product updates that will help even more people be productive:
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Microsoft Office Web Apps. Microsoft has updated Office Web Apps with two highly anticipated features — the introduction of AutoSave in the Word Web App and real-time co-authoring, a feature that allows multiple people to contribute to and edit documents simultaneously in the Word Web App, PowerPoint Web App or Excel Web App.
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Yammer. All Microsoft Office 365 Enterprise plans now ship with Yammer Enterprise, and all existing Office 365 Enterprise customers will receive Yammer Enterprise licenses. In addition, Office 365 customers no longer have to purchase individual new licenses for external users within their external networks. Microsoft has also created the Yammer Partner Enablement Program, designed to provide deeper insight and best practices for how to sell, implement and integrate a successful enterprise social solution.
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New sharing updates to Office 365 Home Premium. Starting next month, Office 365 Home Premium subscribers can share some of their subscription benefits with up to four members of their household. Each household member can use any of the available installs on their own PCs, Macs or mobile devices, get an additional 20 GB of SkyDrive storage, and manage their own installs from their My Account page.
More information on how Office 365 can help people get it done is available at http://www.office.com/getitdone, where people can also show how they get it done from anywhere and enter to win a trip with a friend to some of the most happening events — on a trip to NYC, a journey to Park City, Utah, or a musical voyage to Austin, Texas. People can tweet with #GetItDone to tell where they collaborate when they are away from the office. The Office 365 Facebook and Twitter profiles feature more stories about how people and companies are coming together to get things done, anywhere and anytime. For full details, review the Official Rules.
About the survey
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Microsoft Oct. 16–23, 2013, among 1,000 U.S. employed adults ages 18 and up. Respondents use technology (such as computers, smartphones and tablets) every day to get their work done and work in a traditional, executive/shared/not at the company headquarters, or virtual office. This online survey is not based on a probability sample, and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, is available at http://microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/office/docs/MicrosoftGetItDone.pdf.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for The Harris Poll®, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research across a wide range of industries. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing a client's research investment. Serving clients worldwide through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help our clients stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.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.
* Office workers are defined as employed adults who use technology (such as computers, smartphones and tablets) every day to get their work done and work in a traditional, executive/shared/not at the company headquarters, or virtual office.
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.
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Full View / NID: 46146 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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REDMOND, Wash. —
Nov
.
6
, 2013 — BNSF Railway Co., one of the oldest and largest freight railroad networks in North America, has selected Microsoft Office 365 to enable over 40,000 workers to share ideas and information via computers, kiosks and personal devices. BNSF chose Microsoft Office 365 as part of its Railroad 2020 vision for modernizing the user productivity portfolio at BNSF. The company looked at other offerings, but employees at BNSF preferred the familiar Office experience and the company wanted to capitalize on what people know and already use. Office was also chosen because of its interoperability with critical line-of-business applications such as SharePoint, and because of its ability to enable greater collaboration across geographically dispersed workers. Employees had organically started using Yammer as a communication tool, so BNSF plans to roll out Yammer Enterprise, the leading provider of enterprise social networks, to support this collaboration trend throughout the company.
“Whether it’s in locomotives, detectors along the side of the track, geometry cars or our vast telecommunications infrastructure to support the railroad, we rely on technology to operate our railroad and ensure delivery of our customers’ freight,” said Jo-ann Olsovsky, vice president and chief information officer, BNSF. “Due to the nature of our business, the majority of our employees are outdoors in the field, so supporting their mobility with access to leading productivity and communications tools is critical to our success. By using tools such as Office 365 and Yammer Enterprise, we will be able to connect our employees to each other and the information they need to be successful.”
BNSF was seeking ways to improve efficiency in its delivery and support of email, calendaring and collaboration software while leveraging new functionality. BNSF began implementing Phase I of its Office 365 and Exchange Online deployment in October to more than 40,000 users and expects to have Lync, email and calendaring services fully deployed by early November. Subsequent phases will include deployment of other services such as SharePoint Online and Yammer Enterprise.
BNSF’s strategic technology road map, Railroad 2020, calls for modernizing the underlying technology infrastructure and improving communications across the organization and externally. Office 365 is a natural fit for Railroad 2020 by providing BNSF employees with the familiar Microsoft Office experience. Office 365 is an always up-to-date cloud service that supports today’s bring-your-own-device initiatives and offers mobile employees the flexibility they need.
Employees are already benefiting from the new communication and collaboration platform. The cloud allows employees to store folders and files for easy access from virtually any device, and the integrated communications capabilities provides employees with voice mail and message transcripts directly from their inboxes, enabling faster response times from the office or the field. Employees who are not issued PCs, such as train crews and field maintenance workers, are able to access email and storage offerings from shared computers or their own personal devices.
“As a railroad, we have so many systems that we have to write from scratch because you can’t always buy an off-the-shelf system to move to trains; we typically have to write rail-unique systems,” Olsovsky said. “I’d much rather our team focus on support and development of those mission-critical operational systems rather than on our messaging platform. If we have an expert — like we do in Microsoft — that can ensure highly available messaging and collaboration tools, it just makes it all the better and enables my team to focus on the operational systems.”
More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.
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.
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Full View / NID: 46145 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Adding 1620 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46164 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Adding 1620 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46163 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Adding 1299 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46162 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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The Official Pattern Release or OPR is Trend Micro's latest compilation of patterns for identified viruses. It is guaranteed to have passed a series of critical tests to ensure that customers get optimum protection from the latest virus threats.
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Full View / NID: 46144 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Severity Rating: Critical
Revision Note: V1.3 (November 6, 2013): Corrected the product name for the Microsoft Office Web Apps Server 2013 (2817305) update. This is an informational change only. There were no changes to the update files or detection logic. Customers who have not applied the 2817305 update should reevaluate the applicability of the update for their environments based on the corrected information.
Summary: This security update resolves one publicly disclosed vulnerability and nine privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Server software. The most severe vulnerability could allow remote code execution in the context of the W3WP service account if an attacker sends specially crafted content to the affected server.
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Full View / NID: 46143 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Severity Rating: Important
Revision Note: V1.1 (November 6, 2013): Corrected the product name for the Microsoft Office Web Apps Server 2013 (2827222) update. This is an informational change only. There were no changes to the update files or detection logic. Customers who have not applied the 2827222 update should reevaluate the applicability of the update for their environments based on the corrected information.
Summary: This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office server software. The most severe vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Office file in an affected version of Microsoft SharePoint Server, Microsoft Office Services, or Web Apps.
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Full View / NID: 46142 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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The Official Pattern Release or OPR is Trend Micro's latest compilation of patterns for identified viruses. It is guaranteed to have passed a series of critical tests to ensure that customers get optimum protection from the latest virus threats.
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Full View / NID: 46141 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
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Full View / NID: 62955 / Submitted by: TACKtech Team
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Adding 1501 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46166 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Adding 1096 new threats. Keep your AVG software up-to-date by downloading the latest updates. No matter if you are using AVG Antivirus, Internet Security or another product, you are better protected with regular updates.
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Full View / NID: 46165 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Miranda IM is a multi-protocol instant messaging client for Windows. Very light on system resources and extremely fast, Miranda IM requires no installation and can be made to fit on a single floppy disk or USB drive. Featuring a powerful plugin-based framework and boasting over 350 plugins, Miranda IM is one of the most flexible and customisable messaging clients on the planet. Miranda includes support for AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), Facebook (See instructions), Gadu-Gadu, IAX (Inter-Asterisk Exchange), ICQ, IRC (Internet Relay Chat), Jabber, MSN, Netsend, Tlen, Yahoo, and more.
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Full View / NID: 46156 / Submitted by: TACKtech Team
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AMD (NYSE: AMD) today launched the AMD Radeon™ R9 290 graphics card, the latest addition to the award-winning AMD Radeon™ R9 Series GPUs, a powerful roster of ultimate-class GPUs from AMD. The AMD Radeon™ R9 290 joins the recently...
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Full View / NID: 46140 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Software-as-a-Service Companies Can Use NVIDIA GRID GPUs on Demand and Stream Graphics-Intensive Applications to Internet-Connected Devices
SANTA CLARA, CA - NVIDIA today announced NVIDIA GRID technology is now available from Amazon Web Services (AWS) through its newly announced Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) G2 instance, delivering GPU acceleration to users running graphics-intensive applications and games in the cloud.
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Full View / NID: 46139 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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GU10 spot light and BR30 downlight bulbs are available in Apple stores from November 5thEindhoven, The Netherlands - Philips welcomes new additions to the Philips hue smart lighting range today with GU10 spot lights, BR30 downlights and Philips and Disney Imaginative Lighting StoryLight for children's bedrooms. The GU10 lamps broaden the experience to enjoy personalized light controlled from your smartphone or tablet. The new hue GU10 spot lights are suitable for recessed spot light fixtures...
Source: RealWire
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Full View / NID: 46138 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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Service solves growing compliance and archiving headache from Instant MessagingLondon, UK - 5th November 2013 - Mimecast has launched Mimecast Archiving for Microsoft Lync IM, a secure cloud-based archive for all Microsoft Lync Instant Messages (IM), as well as the files, presentations and whiteboards that have been shared or transferred using Lync. The new service ensures IM conversations and files are archived securely on Mimecast's cloud service and available easily to the organization for search...
Source: RealWire
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Full View / NID: 46137 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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The Official Pattern Release or OPR is Trend Micro's latest compilation of patterns for identified viruses. It is guaranteed to have passed a series of critical tests to ensure that customers get optimum protection from the latest virus threats.
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Full View / NID: 46136 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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BARCELONA
—
Nov
.
5
, 2013
—
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: “MSFT”) on Tuesday highlighted how businesses are differentiating themselves in the market with Microsoft Dynamics technology in the opening keynote of the company’s sold-out Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 EMEA conference. The keynote address, delivered by Microsoft Business Solutions Executive Vice President Kirill Tatarinov and Microsoft International President Jean-Philippe Courtois, focused on how people and businesses can reimagine the way they engage with customers, build brand relevance, and collaborate to stay ahead of the ever-changing market and business environments.
“This is truly the era of the customer where people are more informed and better connected than ever. Businesses urgently need solutions to unite and empower their people so they can best serve and nurture their customers,” Tatarinov said. “Microsoft is positioned to deliver agile, integrated business solutions that will help organizations in this new era by delivering amazing customer experiences.”
Delivering customer-centric business solutions
Following the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Global Premiere Event, which was broadcast live from Barcelona to more than 70,000 attendees and featured customers Metro Bank, Pandora, and Servcorp, the company announced a set of 18 new predefined and configurable process templates that include sports management, healthcare, government and nonprofit, as well as some specialized areas such as prison offender management. These templates are available for customers to download at no charge from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Marketplace.
Delivering on the promise of giving customers access to their CRM information on any device, Microsoft confirmed the availability of new touch-optimized experiences on Windows Phones, iPhones and Android phones that give customers powerful functionality and analytics on the go, without a separate license fee.* These apps are available today in their respective online stores.
To make it easy for businesses to buy Microsoft Dynamics CRM to use with Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft is also introducing a new global pricing promotion that lets eligible existing and new Microsoft Office 365 customers purchase professional licenses of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and get up to a 40 percent discount on the price of the CRM license, giving them immediate and significant value for their technology investment. This promotion runs through March 31, 2014, and is available in 42 markets where the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online service is offered. Specific details as well as terms and conditions can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/offers/CRME.aspx.
Metro Bank, Great Britain’s first new high street bank in more than a century and an early adopter of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, is using the new solution as the foundation of its customer-first strategy.
“Metro Bank is driving a revolution in banking. We aim to create fans, not customers, and we have a culture that is all about surprise and delight,” said Paul Marriott-Clarke, commercial director, Metro Bank. “Microsoft Dynamics CRM is our platform to engage with customers and along with Yammer, SharePoint, Office 365 and Lync is helping us to deliver our promise to offer customers the very best in service and convenience.”
Designed to help businesses run an agile operation that exceeds their customers’ needs, engages with them on their terms and helps fuel growth, Microsoft today introduced new capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, the next update for its flagship ERP solution. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 delivers new warehouse and transportation management capabilities to provide customers with real-time end-to-end insights into supply-chain execution. New Lifecycle Services available with this release help organizations improve the predictability of Microsoft Dynamics AX implementations by simplifying and standardizing processes, and bringing innovative and integrated experiences for serviceability and support.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 introduces support for deployment on Windows Azure via infrastructure as a service (IaaS), bringing customers true choice and portability between on-premises and private cloud deployments, along with all the benefits and security features that come with the world-class Windows Azure service. With the availability of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 expected in April 2014, the company also shared that it remains on track to deliver the next major version of Microsoft Dynamics AX on-premises and as a public cloud service offering.
Following the delivery of Expense management and reconciliation, Timesheets and Approvals apps for Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft announced an update to the Microsoft Dynamics Business Analyzer app that enables people to accelerate their business by giving them actionable and engaging business insights whether they are in the office or on the go. These apps, designed to be personal, social and immersive, provide a more relevant experience based on people’s roles and devices, helps them connect with their social networks, and provides an engaging and actionable experience. They are currently available in the Windows Marketplace.
As part of the event, Microsoft shared that Microsoft Dynamics NAV is closing in on 100,000 customers worldwide, a significant milestone for this product. It also reinforced the availability of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2, which was released in October 2013. This release adds great new capabilities to the product such as single sign-on with Office 365 and SharePoint Online, a new user interface for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client and the Windows client, a new foundation for cash management, a new Help Server, and powerful provisioning and administration tools.
Passion for Life (PFL) Healthcare
, a United Kingdom-based manufacturer and distributor of medical products with an annual turnover of 2.5 million pounds ($4 million), is benefitting from a hosted version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM today. As Will Web, commercial director, PFL Healthcare noted, “We aim to grow the business by 20 percent next year, and Microsoft Dynamics will help us do that. It was the right decision for us.”
More information
More information about Microsoft’s Dynamic Business vision can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/about.aspx. More information and news from Convergence 2013 EMEA is available at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/dynamics. The opening keynote presentation and general session keynote speeches are available on the new virtual event platform for Convergence 2013 EMEA at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/emea13. Those who want to follow and engage with the Microsoft Dynamics Twitter community can do so at @MSFTDynamics and @MSFTConvergence using #Conv13EMEA. Partners interested in starting a Microsoft Dynamics CRM practice can get more information by contacting mbsjoin@microsoft.com.
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.
* Some functionality requires Wi-Fi, Internet connection or mobile data plan (fees may apply).
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.
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Full View / NID: 46135 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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JOHANNESBURG
—
Nov
. 5
, 2013
— Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner on Tuesday unveiled an online hub that will give South African small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) access to a range of free products and services from Microsoft and other partners.
The hub, at http://southafrica.biz4afrika.com, is specifically designed to aggregate all the best resources — both IT and non-IT — available to local SMEs. The baseline services offered are free and highly relevant for South African SMEs looking to bring their business online and improve their general competitiveness. The launch offer will provide SMEs with the opportunity to get their businesses online for free for the first year. This includes a free .co.za domain, a free website, as well as free email and collaboration tools.*
Speaking at the launch in Johannesburg today, Turner said the opening of the Biz4Afrika hub was a strategic component of Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative announced earlier this year, when the company committed to bringing 1 million African SMEs online in three years’ time. He also noted that this launch was the latest step in the company’s heritage of investing and supporting entrepreneurs across the world.
The launch follows research released last month by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which showed that tech-savvy SMEs created twice as many new jobs and grew revenues 15 percentage points faster over the past three years than SMEs using little technology.
“Our objective is to help more SMEs transition to, and benefit from, modern IT so they can improve their overall competitiveness,” Turner said. “Our commitments under the 4Afrika banner are focused on actively engaging in Africa’s economic development, and for SMEs this means providing training on how to apply technology to their business and helping them understand how they can benefit from a broad range of available devices and services.”
Microsoft South Africa managing director and vice chair of the 4Afrika Advisory Council Mteto Nyati said the research underlined Microsoft’s belief that the best way of addressing unemployment in South Africa, and Africa, is by creating small businesses.
“If we can help small companies succeed in the first three to five years of their lives, we will help grow job creation and economic development significantly,” Nyati said. “By doing this, we’re supporting government’s national priorities of creating jobs, growing skills and giving people meaningful work, while investing in local communities to help remove some of the systemic barriers that hold SMEs back.”
Nyati said that to further support the development of small enterprises and to help address employability, Microsoft will also place one 4Afrika intern in each of the Small Enterprise Development Agency’s 43 centers across the country, where they will receive on-the-job-training on technology and other SME-related issues to become fully fledged SME business and technology advisors in needy communities.
Speaking at the launch of Biz4Afrika, Yusuf Abramjee, Primedia Broadcasting head of communications and head of Crime Line, said “a lot” hinges on getting South Africa’s entrepreneurial culture right.
“South Africa is a society of extremes. A glittering modern consumer culture sits alongside — and just out of reach of — a society mired in dire poverty,” Abramjee said. “South Africa’s unemployment rate, at 25 percent of the workforce, is one of the worst in the world. There is growing recognition that the job creation outcomes of economic development are not solely about putting unemployed people to work for a wage, as important as that is, but about offering those presently excluded a stake in society.”
The BCG report revealed that high-performing SMEs stayed ahead of mainstream IT adoption, riding new waves of advancement to improve productivity, connecting with new customers and markets, particularly outside their own region or country, and competing with much larger players.
An interesting finding was that technology leaders in emerging markets grew jobs and revenue faster than in developed markets, and are even quicker than their developed market counterparts to embrace new tools. Also, women-owned firms are among the most technically advanced, innovative and successful firms interviewed.
But at the same time, Turner said, the research revealed a risk, because adoption of IT by SMEs is decidedly uneven.
“Across the world, many SMEs, and their customers, don’t have access to modern broadband networks, and many lack the skills to get the most out of IT. Many SMEs are also still using large amounts of old and less efficient hardware and software,” Turner said.
“What we are seeing is that technology can help level the playing field for groups with historical disadvantages in business, and we would like to see more SMEs benefit from technology to help them become strong, local business leaders.”
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
* Connect-time charges may apply.
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.
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Full View / NID: 46134 / Submitted by: The Zilla of Zuron
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