MADRID — June 25, 2013 — TechEd Europe 2013, Microsoft Corp.’s premier event for IT professionals and enterprise developers in Europe, kicked off today with Server & Tools Corporate Vice President Brad Anderson delivering a keynote speech to more than 4,800 attendees. Anderson announced the availability of preview software for Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014, part of the next wave of enterprise IT solutions that will enable businesses to break down boundaries across customer datacenters, service provider datacenters and the public cloud. Customers can download the preview software here.
Businesses around the world are betting on Microsoft solutions to embrace cloud computing, empower employees and create new applications. Enterprise customers Telefónica, DDM and ARM Holdings use Microsoft devices and services to reduce costs, improve mobility and fuel business growth.
Telefónica drives global business with hybrid cloud
Telefónica, a leading communications provider with operations in more than 24 countries, chose Microsoft as an alternate solution to VMware to run the virtual platform of its tier 4 datacenter, completed earlier this year in Madrid. Beginning in July 2013, Telefónica will begin deployment of Windows Server Hyper-V and SQL Server, with the goal to virtualize more than 80 percent of its IT services and design for expansion into the Windows Azure platform as needed. This deployment will improve Telefónica’s business agility and productivity while cutting down IT management and hardware costs.
Currently, it can take up to 20 weeks to get equipment into Telefónica’s on-premises datacenters. Adrian Steel, European production hub lead and global director at Telefónica, believes betting on Microsoft’s Cloud OS solution will improve the company’s competitiveness by reducing this timeframe to just one week, helping Telefónica remain a leader in the global market.
“We have a strong global reach, and our world-class datacenter in Spain has virtually no downtime, keeping us robust and credible,” Steel said. “A global company needs to work quickly, and virtual machines allow us to get services to market faster.”
The company believes it can attain up to 15 percent cost savings in the next three to five years through this deployment while supporting the company’s security and privacy requirements.
CineTrailer creates consistent user experience across platforms
When DDM, an Italian digital media agency, developed its movie-viewing application CineTrailer, it needed to use a platform that matched its corporate philosophy: “Be anywhere, any time, on any screen.” DDM’s customers expect to consume content through different device platforms, and the agency’s previous solution, Amazon Web Services (AWS), wasn’t as easily scalable to ensure all the services across PCs, mobile devices and connected TVs could be maintained, given the fast growth rate of the application.
Switching to Windows Azure saved DDM nearly half the cost it was previously paying for AWS and provided the company with flexibility to invest in an easy-to-scale solution, instead of one that had to be manually re-configured any time needs changed. Windows Azure allowed the development team to save time when setting things up, thus letting them focus more on creating a well-organized and visually appealing app, optimized for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
“We have just started understanding the full potential of the Windows 8 platform, as it grants developers an unprecedented freedom,” said Camillo Morganti, partner at DDM. “The future is getting what you want, when you want it, in any given situation, so the freedom Windows Azure provides is intoxicating for both developers and users.”
The seamless developer experience that Microsoft delivers across PCs, tablets and smartphones allows DDM to creatively build versions of the app for other device platforms, including Android and iOS. This cross-platform mentality provides a consistent experience for global users that transcends devices and encourages content consumption, which has led to the app’s success. It is available in 11 countries and in nine languages throughout Europe.
ARM Holdings powers its mobile workforce
Employees of ARM Holdings, a leading provider of semiconductor IP based in Cambridge, England, often find themselves on the road, working with more than 1,000 partners worldwide. The team wanted a mobile computing experience that allowed them to be more productive outside the company’s 28 international offices. ARM Holdings decided that including Surface RT with Windows RT, which utilizes an ARM-based chip, would enhance efficiency and mobility. The ARM team already uses Microsoft Office for a variety of productivity solutions.
ARM has now deployed Surface RT devices to IT employees within IT, quality assurance, marketing and sales, allowing them to work more efficiently with features such as live tiles and notifications while being virtually always on and always connected.
More news from TechEd can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/events/teched. A video of Anderson’s keynote speech can be found here, and his related blog post is available on the Official Microsoft Blog.
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