Three leaders in digital advertising converge on technical specifications for programmatic sales, simplifying the purchasing process of premium digital ad inventory.
NEW YORK — Sept. 24, 2013 — AOL Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo on Tuesday announced that they have each committed to converge around a common set of API specifications for the premium programmatic digital advertising sales channel. The goal is to make it easier for advertisers and agencies to procure premium digital advertising by reducing the friction in discovering, ordering and paying for premium inventory. (more…)
Part of the 4Afrika Initiative, the program will offer mentorship, training, university-level education and employment opportunities to aspiring African youth.
LAGOS, Nigeria — Aug. 12, 2013 — In recognition of International Youth Day, Microsoft Corp. Monday introduced the 4Afrika Scholarship program, as part of its 4Afrika Initiative, through which it will provide mentorship, leadership and technical training, certification, university-level education, and employment opportunities for promising African students. Mentorship will be provided by Microsoft employees from around the world, and employment opportunities will include internships and both part-time and full-time jobs within Microsoft, as well as with the company’s more than 10,000 partners across Africa.
Through the company’s 4Afrika Initiative and YouthSpark program, Microsoft has committed to helping millions of Africans get critical skills for entrepreneurship and employability. The 4Afrika Scholarship program is one way the company intends to meet that goal, by helping ensure that promising youth have access to the education, resources and skills they need to succeed, regardless of their financial situations. To help redress gender disparity in higher education in Africa, the company is actively encouraging young women to apply. (more…)
Microsoft’s new film series “On the Whiteboard” explores topics at the intersection of technology and culture, and introduces people, places and things behind the products.
REDMOND, WASH. – June 24, 2013 – In the second episode of Microsoft’s new film series “On the Whiteboard,” Editor Pamela Woon exposes an anechoic chamber of secrets. It’s an isolated space where you can actually hear blood pumping through your veins – because in here, there’s no echo. In this heavily padded room built on top of springs, sounds don’t bounce back, they’re absorbed. (But your body might, since you’re walking on springs.)
Researchers study the sounds of silence here, including testing and analyzing Surface to make sure that click you hear when you snap the kickstand shut is pleasing and robust to the average ear. (more…)
Microsoft delivers on its enterprise social vision with accelerating user, customer and engagement growth.
REDMOND, Wash. — June 25, 2013 — Today marks one year since Microsoft Corp. announced its acquisition of Yammer, the leading provider of enterprise social networks. Since the acquisition, Microsoft’s enterprise social momentum has accelerated in all areas, including new users, paid customers, user engagement, innovation, and the ecosystem of partners selling and connecting to the Yammer platform.
Twelve-month growth highlights include the following:
Registered users have grown by more than 55 percent to nearly 8 million.
Paid networks increased more than 200 percent year over year.
Yammer user activity (i.e., messages, groups and files) has approximately doubled year over year. (more…)
Microsoft’s new film series “On the Whiteboard” explores topics at the intersection of technology and culture, and introduces people, places and things behind the products.
REDMOND, WASH. – June 17, 2013 – In the first episode of Microsoft’s new film series “On the Whiteboard,” Editor Pamela Woon chats with two-time Oscar winner Randy Thom about the (often underestimated) importance of sound in human-technology interactions.
Thom, the lead sound designer at Skywalker Ranch who worked on films such as The Incredibles, Castaway and Forrest Gump, says that people rarely consider the significance of those signature sounds that come from their trusty devices, whether it be a cell phone, a computer or a tablet. (more…)
Microsoft’s Windows Embedded Automotive team is creating automotive solutions that meet the needs of drivers and passengers in Brazil, Beijing and points in between.
REDMOND, Wash. — June 12, 2013 — Nothing epitomizes the American car experience like the road trip. For many Americans, the image of a two-lane highway stretching toward the horizon evokes a certain sense of adventure and longing for the open road, to pack your bags and head out with no itinerary or timeline. The opposite is true in Asia, where the adventure stems more from the perpetual traffic jams and unpredictable driver behavior in mega-cities like Bangkok, Beijing and Seoul. (more…)
Microsoft-commissioned study highlights opportunity for hosting providers as companies look to achieve growth with hybrid cloud solutions.
REDMOND, Wash. — May 29, 2013 — Companies and organizations are increasingly turning to the cloud as a strategy for business growth, according to The New Era of Hosted Services, a Microsoft-commissioned study conducted by 451 Research LLC. As they look ahead to the next two years, more than 52 percent of organizations identify the cloud as beneficial for either growing their business or realigning their organization to a new company strategy. Along with this drive for growth comes significant opportunity for Microsoft hosting partners as customers look to grow their business with a hybrid cloud consumption model.
“The next two years will be the era of hybrid cloud, with 68 percent of customers planning to adopt hybrid cloud models — up from 49 percent today,” said Marco Limena, vice president, Hosting Service Providers Business, Microsoft. “In addition, the survey found that as customers begin to move their IT environments into the cloud, software is sticky and brand is even more important.” (more…)
