OSAKA, Japan — Oct. 29, 2012 — To support its consumer and corporate banking businesses, Bank SinoPac has adopted Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server to run the next-generation TEMENOS T24 core banking system. This new system will help SinoPac save up to 50 percent on future annual maintenance costs over five years. With future flexibility and competitive advantages in mind, SinoPac deployed the solution to centralize its operations and support the growth of its domestic and global branch network. The new core banking system has enabled SinoPac to increase flexibility and reduce maintenance and operating costs as the bank migrated off the mainframe and to the cloud. By simplifying its systems architecture and streamlining its business processes, SinoPac was able to significantly improve its straight-through processing rate and reduce its close-of-business time by 30 percent.

Microsoft Corp. is working with Temenos Group AG, a banking software company, to offer core banking solutions that help banks achieve greater profitability, an improved customer experience, and the agility to meet future market and customer demands.

“Amid rapid market liberalization, changing financial behavior, and fierce competition from local and international counterparts, banks have to improve competitiveness and offer better customer service to be the leading player,” said Karen Cone, general manager of Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft. “To achieve these goals, SinoPac adopted Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server to deploy its new Temenos core banking system.”

With higher stability, scalability and availability, Microsoft SQL Server also boosts performance of next-generation hardware. SinoPac is one of the first banks to establish both front-end and back-end environments using a single Windows platform, and it also is pioneering the use of a single solution to support domestic and global branches. Because one team within SinoPac can manage all global systems, the company is lowering TCO, increasing development speed and avoiding costly maintenance issues.

“When selecting a core banking system, our first criterion was that it must run on the Windows platform because it provides the advantages of both open and closed systems,” said Robert Tsai, chief information officer, Bank SinoPac. “Windows outperforms traditional legacy mainframe systems in maintenance, investment cost and professional training, while its security and stability are way ahead of the game.”

The new core banking system has helped SinoPac reduce hardware initial costs by 40 percent and will further save the company 50 percent on software and hardware maintenance over five years. In the past, maintaining systems on different platforms required intensive training and multiple IT teams, including the support from third-party IT specialists. With a single Windows-based core banking system, the recruitment and training become much easier.

SinoPac’s new core banking system from Temenos and Microsoft is in place at 129 branches in Taiwan, with overseas locations expected to join the central hub in Taipei, Taiwan, starting at the end of 2012. With support for multiple countries, currencies and companies, the new system will enable SinoPac to speed its global market expansion.

Microsoft and Temenos are showcasing the SinoPac adoption Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 at Sibos, the world’s premier financial services event.

Microsoft and Temenos Collaboration

The long history of collaboration between Microsoft and Temenos has brought increased productivity and profitability to financial institutions through an improved total cost of ownership and uniform operational environment, which enhances time to market and overall efficiency. The result of their collaboration is a modular system designed to offer financial-industry customers a full front-to-back core banking solution on an all-Microsoft platform.

“The work we’re doing with Microsoft is changing the economics of the financial services industry,” said David Arnott, CEO Temenos. “Together, we’ve built a solution that scales from device to PC to cloud and enables a differentiated customer experience. Microsoft’s high-performance, yet cost-effective, server platform complements Temenos’ modular banking system, thereby changing the economics of banking.”

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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.

REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 28, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) has selected Microsoft BizTalk Server and Microsoft SQL Server to support its mission-critical financial messaging operations. As a result, the bank has significantly improved the performance, transparency and reliability of its core processes and reduced costs by up to 90 percent.

As a provider of financial and information services for businesses, financial institutions and the Republic of Austria, OeKB plays a critical role in the Austrian economy. The bank’s core services for capital management and trade services strengthen the country’s thriving business climate and help Austrian industries compete successfully in the global marketplace.

The bank was challenged with a myriad of complex systems that needed to be integrated with those of customers, partners and external financial networks, including SWIFT, the Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial. Custom integration solutions for mission-critical processing are complex, expensive to build, and require unique skills for maintenance and support. Instead of building this type of platform from scratch, OeKB selected Microsoft BizTalk Server and the Accelerator for SWIFT (A4SWIFT) because of the technologies’ simplicity, affordability and reliability. The solution is underpinned by Microsoft’s high-performance and cost-effective SQL Server platform.

Integration with SWIFT requires extensive technical expertise. Formatting transaction messages from internal applications to SWIFT formats is complex and also places an annual burden of ensuring SWIFT message compliance. BizTalk Server and the A4SWIFT enable application-to-application integration, plus support for SWIFT message formats and connectivity to SWIFT software.

“A cost-efficient and, above all, a highly available solution was required. With BizTalk Server, we have a solution that gave us not only a solid transaction foundation, but also the ability to minimize our integration expenditure and drastically improve our agility at the same time,” said Michael Nedved, head of IT Development at OeKB.

“BizTalk Server, in particular, easily replaces legacy processes, creates future benefits by reducing the cost of creating new interfaces, and costs only 10 to 14 percent as much as the previous solution,” Nedved said.

In addition to the reduction in IT costs, operational costs are now at a mere 7 percent of the cost of the previous system because BizTalk Server integrates seamlessly with OeKB’s applications and server network. OeKB is also saving about 65 percent in personnel costs associated with development compared with the old system.

Karen Cone, general manager of Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft, said, “Banks around the world seek to reduce operational and infrastructure costs. Financial messaging is complex, and integration of complex transactions demands a solution that simplifies processing and is quick to implement, yet is cost-effective in a mission-critical environment. As a result, an increasing number of banks are turning to Microsoft to achieve this.”

“The addition of BizTalk Server to our core processes has already helped OeKB succeed in its efforts to support Austrian industries, and it will continue to do so in the long term,” Nedved said.

More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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.

We’re back with a new giveaway, this time from the most popular anti-virus solution provider, Norton. We tried to get our hands on the newly released Windows 8 version, but no luck as Steve said he was occupied with some … Continue reading →

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NEW YORK — Oct. 26, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that its new PC, Microsoft Surface, is now available for purchase at all Microsoft retail, holiday and online stores in the United States and Canada. Designed to be the ultimate stage for Windows RT, Surface is unique and represents exceptional value, providing an immersive entertainment experience and a foundation for getting things done. With a starting price of US$499,* Surface will be available online at http://www.microsoftstore.com in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. In China and Hong Kong, Surface will be available online at Suning. More details are available at http://www.surface.com.

A variety of Surface accessories are also available for purchase, including Touch Covers in five vibrant colors — black, white, magenta, cyan and red — priced at US$119.99, so customers can express their personal style.** Customers also have the option to purchase a Type Cover in black for US$129.99, which adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.

At all Microsoft retail and holiday store locations, knowledgeable staff are on hand to answer questions and help with Windows RT and Surface setup, so customers can have a great out-of-the-box experience and walk out the door with a product that is personalized for them. Customers can visit http://www.microsoftstore.com to find a Microsoft retail store nearest them.

First unveiled in June, Surface represents an extension of the Windows experience, letting customers work, play and connect with others. From its ultralight durable casing, integrated kickstand and Touch Cover, which allow customers to be productive anywhere, to a full-sized USB port, 16:9 widescreen, high-definition display and 22-degree angle that make it optimal for viewing and sharing content easily, Surface lets customers seamlessly transition between entertainment and creation.

A complete list of Microsoft retail store and holiday store locations is available at http://content.microsoftstore.com/home.aspx?WT.mc_id=onlinestore_footertray.

Those interested in learning more can visit http://www.Surface.com or follow Surface on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Surface and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/surface.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Starting price for Surface 32 GB without black Touch Cover. ** Available Touch Cover colors vary by market.

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.

NVIDIA's deep expertise in visual and mobile computing, and its extensive collaboration with Microsoft Corp., mean that consumers will enjoy premium experiences running on NVIDIA®-powered systems for Windows 8 and Windows RT.