Microsoft Highlights New Solutions for “Connected Experiences” in the Retail and Hospitality Industry at National Retail Federation Annual Convention & EXPO

REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 6, 2011 —

Where: National Retail Federation (NRF) Annual Convention & EXPO

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

655 W. 34th St.

New York, NY 10001

When: Jan. 9–12, 2011

What: At NRF 2011, Microsoft Corp. and its community of partners will showcase how they are delivering exceptional business value in enabling customers to deploy and manage mission-critical solutions on the Windows platform. Microsoft is unique in bringing together a breadth of consumer and enterprise cloud capabilities in conjunction with a familiar technology and productivity platform and a broad developer ecosystem to provide retail enterprises with the IT flexibility and choice they need to run their businesses and compete in today’s global economy.

Microsoft Booth No. 836 will feature the following:

  • Connecting customers. Microsoft and its partners continue to help retail companies succeed in today’s competitive global marketplace by meeting the demand for a highly personalized and connected shopper experience. Demonstrations will showcase how retailers can engage and serve their customers at an individual, demographic and local level — critical elements to attract and retain customers in an increasingly connected and mobile world.

  • Connecting stores. Microsoft will demonstrate advanced technologies to help retailers build a modern store architecture that can make their staff and resources more effective through automating systems administration, improving sales productivity and improving stock management.

  • Connecting operations. Retailers can help increase productivity and improve operational efficiencies in the back office with technologies that are designed to support tighter store-to-headquarters collaboration and enterprise business intelligence. Demonstrations will showcase how retailers can build an efficient retail operation, fueled by an integrated back office with real-time store data feeds, integrated retail management and enterprise resource planning, multichannel capability, and ubiquitous business insight.

  • Innovation. Microsoft, through its product and engineering teams, incubation labs, core Microsoft Research organization and university partnerships, is deeply involved in supporting and advancing the state of the art in ways that fundamentally transform people’s lives and society as a whole. New product offerings such as Kinect for Xbox 360, speech recognition features in Windows Phone 7 and touch capabilities in Windows 7 are evidence of Microsoft’s leadership in natural computing and Natural User Interface that is taking the retail user experience beyond today’s mouse and keyboard and offering a much richer natural interaction.

Microsoft and Partner News and Highlights:

  • Microsoft Dynamics will have a major presence at NRF 2011 to show the progress that has been made with Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, and to highlight customer centricity solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  • Connected operations. Demonstrations will showcase key capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, as well as complementary solutions from partners, including Aldata Solution.

  • Connected customers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM will be central to the customer-centric solutions demonstrated by partners Avanade, HCL Technologies and Retaligent Solutions Inc.

  • Windows Embedded will showcase its platforms and technologies tailored for the retail and hospitality markets, including Windows Embedded POSReady, Windows Embedded Handheld and next-generation digital signage products.

  • Microsoft partner Retalix Ltd., a leading provider of software and professional services to retailers and distributors worldwide, will announce a new store system utilizing advanced Microsoft technologies to help ensure scalability and resilience, and support an innovative architecture design.

  • Microsoft partner Lokad will announce Salescast, a Web application for sales forecasting hosted on Windows Azure, for the retail industry.

  • The Consumer Goods Forum, together with Capgemini, HP and Microsoft, will publish a new report on the “2020 Future Value Chain: Building Strategies for the New Decade.”

Other News:

Microsoft and partner executives will participate in NRF’s BIG !deas and Super Sessions:

  • Tuesday, Jan. 11, 8:30–9:30 a.m.: Super Session: Making the Retail Business Dynamic

  • Speaker: Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president, Microsoft Business Solutions, and featured guest Bill Fields, chairman, China Horizon

  • Monday, Jan. 10, 11:30 a.m.–noon: Translate Customer Understanding Into Differentiated Strategies

  • Speaker: Randy Misener, retail solutions director, Avanade

  • Monday, Jan. 10, 3–3:30 p.m.: Connecting Your Business to Devices and Customers with Windows Embedded

  • Speaker: Barb Edson, senior director of marketing, Windows Embedded, Microsoft

  • Monday, Jan. 10, 4:45–5:15 p.m.: Aligning the Agendas of the CMO and CIO

  • Speakers: Tom Kersten, national retail director, Microsoft, and Jeong Woo, retail specialist, Microsoft

  • Tuesday, Jan. 11, 11:30 a.m.–noon: Winning in Retail Today and Tomorrow

  • Speakers: Dilip Popat, global retail industry director, Microsoft Dynamics, and Michael Griffiths, global retail group product director, Microsoft Dynamics

  • Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1:45–2:15 p.m.: Connected Customer Centricity: Customer Relationship Management in the Digital Age

  • Speakers: Bill Patterson, director, product management, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and Javed Sikander, global retail technology strategist, Microsoft

Who:

  • Bill Gonzalez, general manager, Worldwide Distribution and Services Sector, Microsoft

  • Brendan O’Meara, managing director, Worldwide Retail Industry, Microsoft

  • Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president, Microsoft Business Solutions

  • David Gruehn, retail industry solutions director, U.S. Distribution & Services, Microsoft

  • Dilip Popat, global retail industry director, Microsoft Dynamics

  • Barb Edson, senior director of marketing, Windows Embedded, Microsoft

  • David Wurster, senior product manager, Windows Embedded, Microsoft

  • John Doyle, group product manager, Windows Embedded Systems and Services, Microsoft

More Details:

For more information, press only:

Wendy Grover, Microsoft, (425) 705-7609, [email protected]

Chris McManus, NarratePR, (718) 832 9154, [email protected]

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

Related Posts