Today we are launching an official blog for novaPDF, this is the next step in our to-do list to increase transparency and offer our clients a better understanding on what we’re working on. We will post news and other announcements … Continue reading →

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Backup4all 4.8 is now available, this is a major update and we highly recommend downloading and installing the new version. It contains important improvements, as this new version is at least 40% faster than previous ones, so if you haven’t … Continue reading →

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REDMOND, Wash. — Ju ly 3 , 2012 — In an effort to drive new revenue, EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services’ Chief Information Officer, Alan Bourassa, adopted a bold strategy of offering his company’s innovative dispatch and reservation system to its competitors. The cloud service offering, called BeTransported.com, is powered by Microsoft private cloud technologies: Microsoft System Center 2012 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V.

More than 13,000 ground transportation companies around the world could benefit from EmpireCLS’ dispatching service. Bourassa believes the software as a service (SaaS) model offered through a public cloud could grow to represent and support 40 percent of the company’s revenues within the next three years.

“Anything we can do to streamline and automate IT tasks and eliminate human effort speeds up our service to the business and makes us more successful,” Bourassa said. “With Windows Server and System Center our IT staff has more time to sit down with the business and strategize new products and services. When the business asks, ‘Do we have capacity for a new business like BeTransported.com?’ we can unequivocally say ‘Yes!’”

EmpireCLS’ proprietary dispatch and reservation system enables dispatchers to assign the right car and driver, monitor their progress using GPS and real-time traffic updates, and deliver an invoice when the assignment is complete.

EmpireCLS first used System Center 2012 to transform its virtualized data center into a private cloud environment, dedicated to its core chauffer service business. Once its private cloud environment was in place, EmpireCLS used a portion of it to launch a public cloud environment, which spawned the creation of BeTransported.com.

“These new services are enabling us to grow our business and would not have been possible without a cloud environment,” Bourassa said. “Microsoft did a very good job of creating one integrated toolset to help companies deploy a private cloud infrastructure with automated, orchestrated processes.”

Read more about EmpireCLS’s strategy for driving revenue with the assistance of System Center 2012 in the Microsoft case study.

More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available in 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.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 2 , 20 12 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will take a non-cash, non-tax-deductible income statement charge for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 for the impairment of goodwill in its Online Services Division segment, mostly related to its 2007 aQuantive, Inc., acquisition.

Under accounting guidelines, companies are required to conduct an annual goodwill impairment test for each business unit. Goodwill arises in an acquisition when the fair value paid for a business exceeds the value of the identifiable net assets. The goodwill in the Online Services Division was substantially the result of the 2007 acquisition of aQuantive. As a result of its 2012 impairment review, Microsoft has determined that a write down of its Online Services Division goodwill of approximately $6.2 billion is required.

Bing search share in the U.S. has been increasing, revenue per search (RPS) has been growing, MSN is the No. 1 portal in 29 markets worldwide and the company’s partnership with Yahoo! has continued to expand geographically. While the Online Services Division business has been improving, the company’s expectations for future growth and profitability are lower than previous estimates.

Microsoft completed its acquisition of aQuantive on Aug. 13, 2007, in an all-cash transaction valued at just over $6.3 billion. While the aQuantive acquisition continues to provide tools for Microsoft’s online advertising efforts, the acquisition did not accelerate growth to the degree anticipated, contributing to the write down.

Microsoft does not expect this accounting write down to affect its ongoing business or financial performance.

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

For more information, press only:

Supriya Venkat, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7000, svenkat@waggeneredstrom.com

Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com

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.

Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations Web site.

All information in this release is as of July 2, 2012. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.