1,700 IT pros join the Microsoft Tech Summit 2017 to build cloud and infrastructure skills for digital transformation

Empowering companies to arm themselves against cybercrime in the digital age

Hong Kong, February 14, 2017 – Microsoft Hong Kong today kicked off its annual premier technology event – Microsoft Tech Summit 2017 – with a line-up of international experts hosting seminars in 16 locations around the world. More than 50 technical breakouts are being offered during the two-day event across a broad range of hot technology topics, including productivity, security, networking, big data, storage, unified communications, collaboration, hybrid cloud, open source, DevOps and Internet of Things (IoT). More than 20 partner solution booths are hosted at the event.

Microsoft Tech Summit 2017 attracted 1,700 IT professionals and developers to join industry leaders and Microsoft experts in discussing the latest developments in cloud computing and IT infrastructure and how these can be key drivers underpinning digital transformation within enterprises. The Keynote showcased innovative and exciting technologies that transcend the limits of time, humankind and computation.

“Microsoft believes very much that the IT industry is a community of professionals rich in experience and knowledge and that it is vital this is shared. This is the ethos of our global Tech Summit,” said Horace Chow, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong. “We are very proud to bring this outstanding global event to Hong Kong and feedback from local participants and partners has been overwhelmingly positive,” he added.

The Microsoft Tech Summit enables IT pros to learn the most exciting trends and best practices from top local and Microsoft corporate speakers on products and platforms such as Azure, Dynamics 365, Office 365 and Windows 10. The event also provides transformational training sessions and application scenarios for artificial intelligence, mixed reality, OSS, BlockChain, IoT and data insights, along with hands-on experience, networking opportunities within the global IT community and a wide range of certifications designed to take IT skills to the next level.

Empowering companies to arm themselves against cybercrime in the digital age

A trusted cloud is a key enabler for digital transformation. One of the Tech Summit keynote speakers this year was Tim Cranton, Chief Legal Counsel, Microsoft, Greater China. Microsoft called for local enterprises to be hyper vigilant against cybercrime in their digital transformation journey.

“With increasing numbers of cyber incidents and the rampant incidence of cybercrime in today’s highly connected networks and devices, enterprises should assume breach at any point and operate at all times with this readiness mentality,” said Tim Cranton, Chief Legal Counsel, Microsoft, Greater China. “The cloud environment is very dynamic and Microsoft has invested heavily and operated vigorously to help companies to protect, detect and respond to any breaches immediately,” he added.

Locally, close to one-fifth of computers in Hong Kong encountered malware in the second quarter of 2016, and the percentage of computers in Hong Kong that are found to be running up-to-date real-time security software in the same period lagged the worldwide percentage, indicating that Hong Kong’s cybersecurity mentality is yet to be improved.

Microsoft takes its commitment to safeguard customers’ data very seriously, to protect their right to make decisions about that data and to be transparent about what happens to that data. Cranton also highlighted the trusted cloud principles through which Microsoft is helping companies become more secure. These range from the foundational security built into core products, to value-added offerings and services and sophisticated data protection and compliance protocols.

Apart from offering products and services with security solutions, Microsoft invests more than US$1 billion each year on security. In 2015, this included the opening of the Microsoft Cyber Defense Operations Center, or CDOC. The CDOC facility provides a centralized hub for front-line protectors and defenders from various security teams, who are connected to more than 3,500 security professionals across the company.

For more information about the Tech Summit, please visit here.

WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH KEYNOTE

Watch the video to see how Microsoft Hong Kong is empowering businesses and individuals with technology breakthroughs in 3 dimensions: time, humankind and computation.