Microsoft Online Services Available Worldwide

Furthering its commitment to deliver communications and collaboration software as enterprise-class services, today at CeBIT 2009 Microsoft Corp. announced that the Business Productivity Online Suite, part of Microsoft Online Services, is now available for trial to businesses of all sizes in 19 countries. In addition, Microsoft will release Microsoft Office Communications Online, for instant messaging and presence, and the Business Productivity Online Deskless Worker Suite, an extremely economical e-mail, calendaring and collaboration service for the occasional user.

That paragraph above was taken directly from the Microsoft Online Services press release. Why am I blogging about it? Aside from being one of the chosen bloggers to cover Microsoft Online Services in the U.S. and overseas, I think it's important to mention this announcement now because the move - for big and small companies - to any online services today will be a significant savings to their bottom line tomorrow.

“These services open up new possibilities for businesses to control costs while continuing to enhance the productivity of their employees,” said Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division. “Customers can save between 10 percent and 50 percent in IT-related expenditures as a result of deploying Microsoft Online Services.”

And, those companies are not alone. Palo Alto Software shared that one of its Email Center Pro customers realized a 50-percent gain in email sales conversions by using the company's online email response management and distribution service for small businesses. HerbalBuddy.com, a top distributor of Herbalife products in the United States, was faced with a big work flow efficiency issue. Its previous email management system left the company uncertain whether or not customer inquiries were slipping through the cracks, an especially harrowing realization in the midst of an economic downturn. The bulk of its business is handled online and accessibility to customers is vital to its success.

HerbalBuddy.com chose to work with Email Center Pro, which centralized the customer and business email messaging effort and made it transparent to the entire organization. Messages sent to addresses like info@, sales@ and support@ are now accessible to multiple users inside one common interface. Once in this central location, users apply a host of collaborative features that truly differentiate the service.

A few days ago I hired a new employee and spent about two hours taking her through Email Center Pro. On her second day she performed flawlessly in the service. It was refreshing.

"We are at least 50 percent more efficient than before we started using Email Center Pro" said Daniel Lewis, HerbalBuddy.com Senior Partner. "The service has simplified things, streamlined our work flow and made us more profitable. In an (economic) time when you want to capitalize on every sale that you can, especially given the importance of the holiday retail season, Email Center Pro ensures that you're not missing out on any customer interactions."

Microsoft's Exchange Online and SharePoint Online are available for trial in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Organizations worldwide will be able to trial and purchase the entire Business Productivity Online Suite, including Office Communications Online, in April.

In addition, Microsoft is committed to providing opportunity for a global ecosystem of partners that will sell, customize and provide consulting, migration and managed services for Microsoft Online Services customers around the world.

The Deskless Worker Suite, including Exchange Online Deskless Worker and SharePoint Online Deskless Worker, will also be available to organizations in the 19 countries. The Deskless Worker Suite is a low-cost solution designed for users who don’t have access to messaging and collaboration capabilities today.

The worldwide availability of the Deskless Worker Suite will offer customers an affordable e-mail and collaboration solution for occasional users. By providing a cost-effective subscription rate (currently listed at 2.56 euros or 2.01 pounds per month per user), the Deskless Worker Suite will make it possible for organizations to give all employees access to the same messaging and collaboration systems. Today, in organizations that have deployed e-mail, more than 40 percent of employees do not have e-mail.*

The Deskless Worker Suite will be available for trial and for purchase worldwide in April.

A growing number of companies across the globe, from small businesses to large enterprises, are already adopting Microsoft Online Services, which were first released in the U.S. last fall. Today, Microsoft announced that pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline will deploy the Business Productivity Online Suite, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online, Office Live Meeting and the Deskless Worker Suite, to its employees worldwide.

“GlaxoSmithKline has more than 100,000 employees, hundreds of business partners, and locations around the world, so effective collaboration is critical to our business,” said Bill Louv, chief information officer, GlaxoSmithKline. “We have chosen Microsoft Online Services because it promises to deliver a simple intuitive Information Workplace that should not only value to the company through simplification, but provide an improved user experience and ultimately create a more productive GSK.”

“The move to Microsoft Online Services will help GlaxoSmithKline cut operational costs by an estimated 30 percent and create a variable cost model that will provide increased flexibility in the future,” said Ingo Elfering, vice president of Information Technology Strategy, GlaxoSmithKline.

An executive Q&A video with GlaxoSmithKline’s CIO is available.

A GlaxoSmithKline executive blog is available on the Microsoft Online Services team blog.