REDMOND, Wash., March 10, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. and Ernst & Young LLP (E & Y) today announced a strategic alliance to provide services in support of enterprise customers implementing large-scale, mission critical solutions based on Microsoft® technology. This alliance combines Microsoft industry-leading products with Ernst & Young’s management consulting and custom application development competencies in serving global enterprise customers.
Specialized Needs of Enterprise Customers
Enterprise organizations worldwide face the challenge of achieving competitive breakthroughs and gaining business advantages through their information technology investments. Microsoft and Ernst & Young are addressing the specialized needs and challenges of these enterprise customers with a broad range of technologies, services and support to help organizations achieve business advantages by encouraging innovation and a better return on their IT investments.
Enterprise customers are already working with Ernst & Young to standardize on the Microsoft BackOffice
™
family and on Microsoft Internet technologies as the foundation of their mission critical computing environments.
“Microsoft is teaming with E & Y to meet the service needs of enterprises implementing mission-critical, Microsoft-based applications in geographically dispersed business environments,”
said Jeff Raikes, group vice president, sales and marketing at Microsoft.
“This alliance provides enterprises with Ernst & Young’s complete life cycle of services, from strategic consulting to IT implementations and facilities management, based on Microsoft technology, thereby fully using the core competencies of both companies to deliver high-quality, cost-effective solutions.”
In addition to working with Ernst & Young in developing enterprise solutions, Microsoft offers its global, Premier Support seven days a week, 24 hours a day to these joint enterprise customers.
Microsoft and Ernst & Young Working Together
“Ernst & Young believes that the Microsoft BackOffice suite of server products is enterprise-ready,”
said Roger Nelson, deputy chairman, Ernst & Young LLP.
“As a result, Ernst & Young is forming a strategic alliance with Microsoft to provide enterprise customers with rapid, high-quality solutions to meet their critical business needs.”
As a part of this alliance, Ernst & Young will develop a global field organization certified in Microsoft technologies and establish a Microsoft technology-based development center, called Entyron, located within Microsoft’s facilities in Bellevue, Wash. Ernst & Young and Microsoft will team up to build a comprehensive relationship with enterprise clients that incorporates a combination of Microsoft products and Ernst & Young’s services.
Entyron, Ernst & Young’s Microsoft Solutions Development Center
At the center of Ernst & Young’s Microsoft Technology Practice is Entyron, the Microsoft-based solutions development facility. Entyron will be owned and operated by
Ernst & Young and will integrate with other facilities in the company’s global network of development centers. Entyron will be a specially designed environment that focuses on accelerating the design, construction and deployment of Microsoft-based solutions. The physical environment is designed to facilitate rapid team-based collaboration and to continuously improve upon the design, development and testing of systems. Entyron will have access to Microsoft technical resources on a just-in-time basis. Staff in the facility also will coordinate their activities with both Microsoft and Ernst & Young field personnel working at client sites.
The Entyron facility staff will deliver a full range of services to help anticipate and then meet urgent business needs of enterprise customers including the following:
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Rapidly developing technology architectures that account for the complexity of having consistent global designs with appropriate standardization balanced against the localized needs at business unit, country and regional levels
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Reducing risks by quickly running proof-of-concept projects to validate areas of a technical design
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Working closely with field client teams to develop component-based technology
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For companies with year-2000 issues, rehosting complex application suites from mainframe environments to the Microsoft BackOffice platform
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Using Microsoft technical resources and competencies for field client teams
All these services can reduce the total cost of ownership of next-generation systems by combining Ernst & Young’s best practices from accelerated enterprise systems deployments with Microsoft technology.
About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young LLP provides assurance and advisory business services, tax services and consulting solutions for domestic and global clients. Visit the Earnst & Young Web site at (http://www.ey.com./)
About Microsoft
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.
Microsoft and BackOffice are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages
