REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 28, 1997 — In a techno-savvy world, college students with technology skills have a competitive edge for careers. Now students have easier access to the desktop application skills they need to be the job candidate Fortune 500 companies want. With the launch of Microsoft®
Office 97 and Microsoft’s Career Awareness Campaign, Office 97 is available now to students across the country to develop Office skills, enjoy powerful applications and make themselves more attractive candidates to the nation’s leading companies.
According to leading analyst and research firm Computer Intelligence, LaJolla, Calif., 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies run Microsoft Office as their desktop applications suite. Being proficient in Office 97 not only helps students work more productively now but also can make them more marketable to these leading companies.
“America’s leading Fortune 500 corporations have told us that they want students with a solid knowledge of Office for careers at all levels of the company since Microsoft Office is integral to the way they do business,”
said Tina Arnold, higher education marketing manager at Microsoft.
“Investing in Office now makes it possible for students to get the essential skills these companies value.”
Through the Career Awareness Campaign, January 22 through May 31, 1997, Microsoft Office 97 is available to college and university students, teachers and administrators at nearly 70 percent off the estimated retail price through participating campus bookstores and authorized academic resellers.
At General Mills Corporation, makers of Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Yoplait yogurt, about half the work force – more than 5,000 employees – use Microsoft Office as their desktop applications suite.
“At General Mills, we train our employees on the software applications they’ll be using in their jobs,”
said Bill Dittmore, director of recruitment and college relations at the Minneapolis, Minn. company.
“So, those who already know Microsoft Office will be ahead of the game and will be able to concentrate on other software and other aspects of their jobs.”
With its intelligent applications and powerful Internet solutions, newly launched Office 97 is the foundation for mission critical operations that Fortune 500 employees perform every day. Turner Broadcasting Systems, which now includes 14 broadcast networks and nine entertainment-related subsidiaries, is developing a fully integrated and Web-aware application based on the entire suite of Microsoft Office 97 applications. Employees will be able to cut the turnaround time and direct costs for order entry, credit approval and placement of ads on Turner’s Web sites. Turner’s sales force will be able to spend more time selling.
“The Internet and productivity features of Office 97 make this new version an irresistible upgrade,”
said Matthew Drooker, director of technology implementation at Turner.
At CIGNA Property & Casualty, Philadelphia, Penn., Office 97 is replacing independent desktop applications. CIGNA’s developers are taking advantage of Office 97’s flexibility to create a custom solution to increase the efficiency of the company’s important risk analysis service, saving an estimated 20,000 staff-hours per year.
“We knew there had to be a better way,”
said Jack Brangan, Information Systems project manager for CIGNA Special Risk Facilities.
“Office 97 enables us to improve personal productivity, create cutting edge Intranet/Internet opportunities and build business applications that will support new and valuable ways to service our customers.”
Since the recent introduction of Microsoft Office 97, media and analysts have endorsed the enhanced product’s robust features. Countless early product reviews have touted the new Office with intelligent, integrated applications that realize the full potential of the Internet and Intranets. Microsoft Office 97 already has earned product honors including the prestigious ‘Best of Show’ award at Fall Comdex ’96 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Some innovative Office 97 features include:
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Save as HTML in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and PowerPoint ® : Saves your Office documents into HTML format with the click of a button for posting to the Internet or the university department web.
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Web templates in Microsoft Word: Provides custom templates to design great looking Web pages.
For more information about the newly launched Office, visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/ . Available now, academic pricing starts at an estimated retail price of $159 and is available at participating campus bookstores and through authorized academic resellers. For more information on Microsoft Authorized Education Resellers call 1-800-426-9400 (U.S.) or 1-800-563-9048 (Canada).
For more information on the Career Awareness Campaign and for other information important to college students launching their careers, visit Microsoft’s education web site http://www.microsoft.com/education/students/default.asp .
The Career Awareness Campaign is part of Microsoft’s continuing initiative to provide the tools and training to help colleges and universities make the best use of technology – in the classroom, in administration, and even beyond the campus – and to preparing information technology professionals and students for success in the workplace and for lifelong learning.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Prices listed in this press release are in United States currency. This press release is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft and PowerPoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.. Other product names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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©1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Contacts:Lisa Collins/[email protected] or Joelle McGinnis/[email protected] , Marcy Monyek and Associates, 312-263-2135
