CLOUD

REDMOND, Wash. -- In advance of its annual Worldwide Partner Conference to be held in New Orleans this week, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced strong validation of its unique approach to serving enterprise customers through partnering, as shown by the success and growth of its alliances with the world's pre-eminent services and technology companies. Microsoft and alliance partners will be on hand at the conference to discuss the success of their relationships, as evidenced by these achievements: -- A rapidly expanding portfolio of innovative, strategic information technology (IT) solutions built on the Microsoft(R) Windows Server System(TM) for organizations across all industries -- Continued partner program investments in training on emerging Microsoft technologies, attaining Microsoft certifications, and building facilities for developing, testing and demonstrating Microsoft solutions -- A growing list of Global 2000 and Fortune 500 organizations that can attest to the business value realized from working with Microsoft and its global alliance partners on strategic technology projects -- Partners' growing services revenue from projects based on Microsoft technologies, as well as anticipated strong revenue growth Microsoft manages global relationships with more than 17 leading services and technology partners, including Accenture, Avanade Inc., BearingPoint Inc., Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGE&Y), Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), Dell, EDS, EMC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., Getronics, HP, IBM Global Services, Infosys Inc., Satyam Computer Services Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services, Unisys Corp. and Wipro Ltd. Microsoft and its global services partners align goals and resources across solutions development, co-marketing, sales, services and support to help organizations across all industries improve operations and how they serve customers. "Microsoft's relationships with global services leaders are successful because they make sense," said Sanjay Parthasarathy, corporate vice president of the Platform Strategy & Partner Group at Microsoft. "Building on Microsoft's integrated platform, partners can drive a higher return on investment in development resources and capitalize on a strong and growing market opportunity. For Microsoft, collaborating with the experts in business and industry enables us to accelerate innovation and minimize customer risk. And our mutual customers gain the flexibility to work with the partner of their choice to address their unique business requirements." "Companies that are committed to partnering as a core, strategic function work with their partners and customers quite differently from companies that view partnering as an extension of their sales effort," said Christine Adams, principal analyst at Gartner Inc. "Those who take the strategic view are likely to be more concerned with integrating partners into their solution development and delivery, investing the time, resources, and real and intellectual capital necessary to deliver a seamless offering. And this -- the seamless, integrated, pretested solution delivered by best-of-breed providers who genuinely work together -- is where the real value added of partnering emerges. You can't fake this type of commitment and investment." Innovative Solutions The company's global services and technology partners have developed, tested and brought to market hundreds of solutions for organizations representing every major industry across the globe, including financial services, manufacturing, healthcare and telecommunications, as well as government. Built on Microsoft .NET enterprise technologies, these prebuilt and tested solutions span the computing spectrum, from infrastructure solutions to mission-critical line-of-business applications, and can be customized to bring value to customers rapidly and with minimal risk. Following are a few examples: -- In the past three years, Accenture worked with Microsoft to deliver more than 75 Microsoft-based solutions, including the widely adopted eGovernment Accelerator, which enables government organizations to provide citizens with round-the-clock access to services. -- Since it was founded in April 2000, Avanade has delivered on more than 1,800 engagements worldwide, using assets such as the Avanade Connected Architecture for .NET with Microsoft enterprise technology to help customers cut costs and improve business results. Projects include a high-volume, high-availability .NET-based mortgage processing application for the Federal Home Loan Bank, and a .NET-based vehicle licensing system for the state of Colorado. -- With a strong focus on healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and oil and gas, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young announced 18 Microsoft solutions last year using, including a suite of mobility solutions using the .NET Compact Framework and Windows(R) CE .NET, a SAP VALUEUpgrade solution for migrating SAP R/3 to the Microsoft platform, and a set of Extended Retail Solutions with Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. In addition, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young has developed several solutions using the new Microsoft Office System, including a clinical portal healthcare solution, Corporate Accountability Review, Electronic Document Records Management, and Office-as-a-SMART-client. -- EDS's myCOE (My Consistent Office Environment) solution uses the Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment and zero-touch provisioning technologies to reduce the time and cost associated with deploying Microsoft software. The solution gives employees anywhere and anytime portal access to applications and data, and enables users to choose services from their desktop and use them on a pay-for-use basis. In addition, EDS has built several business productivity solutions under its Digital Work Environment framework that utilize the new Microsoft Office System platform. -- Fujitsu delivered a Legacy Migration Suite for transforming existing data center systems to a more powerful, cost-effective environment based on the .NET Framework and Windows Server(TM) 2003. Fujitsu today announced its Application Value Assessment solution, which builds upon the Legacy Migration Suite by providing a business case and road map for enterprises migrating applications to a Windows- based environment. -- Getronics delivered Service Management Centre (Get.SMC), a service desk and asset management solution based on the .NET Framework and Getronics' Get.NET framework, a complementary set of tools and objects to rapidly deliver smart client applications. Microsoft .NET also plays an important part in Getronics' vertical solutions, including Getronics Globalfs, an enterprise, multichannel suite for retail banking automation. -- HP has developed a broad range of .NET solutions for customers in manufacturing, education, government, healthcare, financial services, retail and telecommunications industries. This includes a case management solution, HP Document Information System, which enables government agencies to archive and economically manage large numbers of documents and e-mail messages to reduce costs, better serve constituents and meet applicable legal requirements. Another example is HP Integrated Service Management for .NET, which enables telecommunication companies to deliver new revenue-generating services quickly while lowering cost of ownership. -- Infosys developed a .NET solution framework designed to deliver a high degree of straight-through processing, thereby reducing the risk and inefficiencies of the securities trading process. -- Unisys developed new Microsoft solutions for financial services, government, transportation, communication, outsourcing and security, including new Identity Management Solutions for Windows. Unisys and partner SocialTech Inc. used Visual Studio(R) .NET and the .NET Framework to develop a Web services nationwide alert system designed to help law enforcement agencies exchange information rapidly and enhance public safety. Technical Skills and Solutions Delivery Capacity Microsoft and its global services and technology partners continue to invest in developing technical skills and consulting capacity worldwide to accelerate innovation, minimize customer risk and speed delivery of solutions. The results are as follows: -- More than 65,000 consulting and integration professionals are ready to deliver Microsoft solutions worldwide. -- As part of its .NET initiative announced with Microsoft, HP is adding to its worldwide force of 23,000 Microsoft trained engineers and consultants by training 5,000 HP sales professionals and 3,000 HP consultants and solution architects on Microsoft .NET. -- Global services and technology partners have established close to 100 state-of-the-art development, testing and demonstration centers worldwide. These facilities include Accenture's Global Delivery Center Network; BearingPoint collaborative development labs; Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's Accelerated Development Centers, Accelerated Solutions Environments and Mobility Centers of Excellence; EDS' Digital Labs; Fujitsu's Microsoft Solution Centre, Windows Platform Center, Microsoft Technology Lab and Joint Support Center; HP .NET Solution Expertise Centers; the Infosys Microsoft Enterprise Architecture Lab; and Unisys' Jupiter Lab and Business Intelligence Center of Excellence. -- Many global services and technology partners have attained Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status. For example, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a Gold Certified Partner for E-Commerce Solutions, Collaborative Solutions, Business Intelligence and Enterprise Systems; EDS is a Gold Certified Partner for Support Services; Getronics is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for E-Commerce, Enterprise Systems, Support Services, Security Solutions and Collaborative Solutions; and CSC is a Gold Certified Partner for Security Solutions. Customer Value Global 2000, Fortune 500 and other leading companies and government organizations are increasingly turning to Microsoft global services and technology partners to address business and technology objectives. Some of these customers are Allstate Insurance Co., AstraZeneca, city of Chicago, Pharmaceuticals LP, De Beers LV, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post AG, JetBlue Airways, La-Z-Boy Inc., the London Stock Exchange, Marks & Spencer, Mary Kay Inc., Reid Elsevier Group plc, Shell, state of Texas, Timex Corp., Toshiba America Inc. Procurement & Export Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture, West Virginia Healthcare and World Rugby Cup. Revenue and Anticipated Growth Microsoft's global services and technology partners are seeing increased revenue resulting from their enterprise relationship with Microsoft, and are continuing to invest in Microsoft solutions, skills and capacity in anticipation of accelerated growth in the coming years. -- Accenture reported that its Microsoft-related revenues have grown by more than 500 percent since it formed an alliance with Microsoft in 2000. -- Cap Gemini Ernst & Young anticipates that its Microsoft-related services revenue will nearly double in the next two years. -- Since forming a .NET initiative with Microsoft in September 2002, HP has secured more than 300 .NET solution projects in its capacity as a worldwide prime integrator for Microsoft .NET technologies. -- Fujitsu realized $100 million in Microsoft-related consulting revenue last year, and $2.2 billion total revenue based on hardware, software and consulting related to Microsoft projects. -- Unisys expects sales of its Windows-based ES7000 server to grow 50 percent this year, and recently sold 28 ES7000 servers in one week.