High tech industry case studiesSee how we're helping customers reduce costs and increase valueHow can Microsoft solutions help your organization succeed? Browse our case studies to learn how Microsoft technologies have helped the high tech industry. View case studies for:  AMDAMD is one of the world’s two largest manufacturers of computer microprocessors. For more than three decades, AMD has been building the technologies that run the world’s personal computers, workstations, servers, handheld devices, and game consoles. AMD needed to replace its Web content management system, update its enterprise Internet site, and develop a single environment for managing all its Web assets. In 2007, AMD initiated a project to deploy Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 to manage global and local content at the company’s enterprise Internet site. The company built a Web content management solution that could scale to a very high volume, support regional Web sites, and put Web content management into the hands of business users.  ArcelikAs one of the largest appliance manufacturers in Europe, Turkey’s Arçelik uses SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) to help manage its global operations. When Arçelik needed to refresh its software and hardware infrastructure, it faced the question of whether to update its existing Sun/Solaris/Oracle technology stack or migrate to a new solution. After analyzing options, including conducting onsite proof of concept testing of an IBM/DB2 stack and the Microsoft Application Platform hosted on HP servers, Arçelik decided to migrate to the Microsoft/HP solution, including a forthcoming upgrade to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise database software running on the Windows Server 2008 Enterprise operating system. The software is hosted on HP Integrity rx8640 and HP ProLiant DL380 server computers. Arçelik has enjoyed three times faster performance and a lower total cost of ownership.  ASPEX CorporationWith an important trade show only two months away, automated microanalysis solution provider ASPEX Corporation had only a short time to add rich reporting and graphing functionality to its Perception MQA (Metal Quality Analyzer) software. The company used ComponentOne Studio for WinForms 2008—a suite of more than 60 .NET Framework components—to quickly and easily add the desired functionality in only six weeks, meeting its deadline and saving roughly 75 percent in software development costs.  AvanadeWhen a global retailer turned to the IT consultants at Avanade to redesign its e-commerce Web site, Avanade assembled an international team of experts, designers and project managers in the United States and application developers in India. The 11.5 hour time difference and network latency issues introduced a unique set of collaboration challenges. To address these challenges, Avanade deployed Microsoft Office Groove 2007 software to the project team. The India team used the offline capabilities to maintain productivity even when network latency issues prevented them from accessing other Web-based resources. The U.S. team used the transparent discussion threads to quickly respond to developer queries. Using Office Groove 2007, Avanade expanded its collaboration capabilities across time zones and reduced issue response time from 4 days to 24 hours.  Cadence Design SystemsA world leader in electronic design automation technologies, Cadence Design Systems communicated with its customers through two Web sites, a corporate Web site, and a community site where Cadence software users could share best practices and resources. To expose prospective customers to its user community and better connect its employees with customers, Cadence wanted to integrate the two sites. Building a single Web site with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Community Server by Telligent, Cadence incorporated product, company, and user information with blogs, forums, and other social networking features. The integrated site meets the Cadence brand promise of being an indispensible partner to drive customer success, while exposing community content, enhancing the Web-site experience, and making content and contact management more efficient and effective.  CDW BerbeeTechnology provider CDW supported its sales organization with a small intranet site that complicated the effort of sales professionals to find and use sales-related information, adding to the length and cost of the sales cycle. The company addressed this issue with an intranet sales portal based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. The new site provides centralized access to comprehensive product information, proposal templates, and sales status; enterprise search that indexes a third-party sales application; and dashboards and reports for at-a-glance insights into sales performance. Each of the sales professionals saves 10 hours per week searching for information; the time to close sales has been slashed in half; and managers can make faster and better decisions about allocating resources, scheduling sales events, and maintaining the sales pipeline. CDW Berbee"Windows 7 is what a modern managed desktop should be. It helps us increase productivity, reduce costs, and provide enhanced desktop security."Doug Miller, Practice Architect, CDW  DellTo serve its global customer base, Dell sends millions of communications to customers each day. In the past, templates for those communications were created and maintained by developers, requiring Dell business users to rely on the company's IT staff whenever changes were required. To improve efficiency, Dell used Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and Microsoft Office Word 2007 to develop its internal Global Customer Interactions solution, which the company is just starting to deploy. By enabling business users to create and manage their own templates, the solution is expected to help them meet their own needs in days instead of months, and to allow Dell to reallocate IT resources to new tasks. Dell was able to develop the solution quickly and anticipates a rapid return on investment. DellDell Inc.'s continued success as the leading provider of computer systems worldwide is based on its direct sales model that focuses on providing a superior customer experience. To keep pace with its growth in the Americas, Dell established the target of designing built-in efficiencies by placing an increased emphasis on information technology solutions at its newest and largest manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem. Further, this new operational framework would serve as the "gold standard" model for future Dell manufacturing facilities. To accomplish its goal, the Dell team deployed Dell products and specialized manufacturing, operations and shipping software, all of which utilized Microsoft technologies. DellDell relies on its public Web site, Dell.com, as a key channel for its direct sales. To help customers more easily find the information they need and to simplify site management, Dell decided to redesign the underlying architecture of the site. It chose a solution based on Microsoft products and technologies, including Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, FAST enterprise search technology, and the Microsoft .NET Framework. With this new solution, Dell can provide a more personal, efficient shopping experience that builds customer loyalty and helps ensure the completion of purchases. The solution also reduces the need to involve the IT department in Web content management. Finally, by transitioning to a Microsoft-based environment, Dell is confident that it has implemented a foundation that it can expand and extend to meet its ever-evolving business requirements. DellAs one of the world’s leading computer manufacturers, Dell knows how critical client computers are to business productivity and success. Dell is planning to upgrade its 100,000 desktop and portable computers to the Windows 7 operating system to reduce desktop management costs and enhance data security. Dell has been impressed with Windows 7 performance, especially on portable computers.  Electro Scientific Industries (ESI)Electro Scientific Industries (ESI) needed to quickly implement a powerful but cost-effective means of analyzing and delivering information. So ESI is working with SoftSource Consulting to evaluate a data analysis and reporting solution using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. With it, employees will gain secure access to data to help ESI quickly measure performance and determine required actions to increase revenue and manage costs.  Exar (formerly Sipex)Exar is a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and markets analog circuits for original equipment manufacturers in the networking, computing, and optical storage markets. The company needed to improve information distribution, content management, and enterprise search capabilities and wanted a more structured way of obtaining, sharing, and using information. Digital content was stored in multiple locations and servers with various levels of permissions. The company engaged Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Magenic Technologies to help them implement Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for enterprisewide search functionality. Employees are now using the Enterprise Search feature within the Project Binders environment, the corporate intranet, and the ECO project. The result is better communication and collaboration.  Hitachi AsiaHitachi Asia developed an electronic procurement system based on Microsoft SQL ServerTM 2000. The company decided to upgrade this architecture and take advantage of a range of new business intelligence features available with Microsoft SQL ServerTM 2005. In particular the company wanted to use the rich reporting functionality of SQL Server 2005 to increase the business value of its IT systems. Specifically, it aimed to reduce costs by assessing the service delivery of suppliers more effectively. As a member of the Microsoft Select License programme, Hitachi Asia received significant support for the new technology roll out, while minimising deployment costs. The company has now enriched its reporting processes and enhanced efficiency through increased understanding of its supplier base.  HPHP, a global technology leader, provides services, solutions expertise, hardware, and software to companies worldwide. A Microsoft partner for more than 20 years, HP participated in the early development of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. With HP business technology solutions and services, companies can maximize the value of Office Communications Server 2007 to turn real-time information into better business outcomes. Deep experience and expertise with Microsoft technologies, plus strong partnerships with outer leading industry partners, enables HP to provide seamless integration of multiple technologies. As a result, customers can simplify communication and collaboration, increase employee efficiency and productivity, accelerate decision making, and reduce costs as they transform their communications infrastructure and make it a competitive advantage. HPProCurve Networking by HP, the networking hardware division of Hewlett-Packard, is the number two Ethernet switching vendor in the world, with nearly four times the market growth rate in revenue. To accommodate this rapid expansion, ProCurve wanted to replace its Web-based sales force automation solution with a system that encourages greater user adoption and is easier to integrate with other business systems. Microsoft Services helped ProCurve tailor Microsoft Dynamics CRM to its unique needs over a six-month period and rollout the solution to more than 400 employees around the globe. After just six months, ProCurve has recouped its investment through greater productivity, improved collaboration, and more accurate demand forecasting. In addition, Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides the technical flexibility to support ongoing enhancements.  IntelBeing able to identify and track meaningful conversion events that occur on the site after an ad has been clicked is critical to measuring the success of a business-to-business campaign -- and to continuing to deliver a superior customer experience. For that reason, Intel turned to Microsoft adCenter and Paid Insight, a solution offered by SEMDirector for results that can be measured. Intel"As we scale out the deployment, we expect to save 20 percent or more from our audio conferencing expense. When you conduct a million minutes a day, that is significant."Donald Clark, Technical Services Manager, Intel  IntermecIntermec is a supply chain technology provider with many employees working in virtual teams. The company wanted to improve these workers' productivity so it offered Windows Mobile phones along with Blackberry devices. Most people chose the Windows Mobile phones for ease of use, so it's phasing out the BlackBerry solution. Today, mobile workers have ubiquitous access to e-mail, calendars, and a dispatch application so they can provide better service.  Microsoft CorporationIn Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), software company Microsoft Corporation relied on local subsidiaries to feed sales data into a proprietary application that lacked the functionality to produce sales forecasts. The EMEA Information Worker group partnered with Decision Support Panel to implement a business intelligence solution based on Web Parts that integrated with Microsoft tools and technologies such as SQL Server. Now, employees can quickly create and share sales forecast graphs and tables in real time across portal sites, and revenues for the group have increased 31 percent. Microsoft CorporationAs part of its marketing and relationship-engagement activities, Microsoft hosted numerous events to deliver messages and grow relationships with Chief Information Officers (CIOs)—the primary decision makers for technology purchases. However, these events alone didn’t encourage peer-to-peer conversations or networking beyond the events themselves. As an innovative solution, the Microsoft Online Community team collaborated with Billy Fez Productions to create the CIO Network—an online Microsoft community site built using the Telligent Systems Community Server social network platform, which is based on the Microsoft® .NET Framework. In just a short time, the Network has become a popular forum for ongoing dialogue between CIOs and Microsoft, and one that fosters networking, relationship building, learning, and collaboration. Microsoft CorporationMicrosoft Office Groove 2007 allows partner managers and teams to share critical documents and collaborate efficiently, accelerating project delivery and enhancing communication between users. Microsoft Corporation"Since implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM, we’ve been able to validate that we’re achieving 98 percent compliance—a metric that earned us the 2008 Trustworthy Computing Award." Tony Balogh, PRSS Customer Partner Manager, Microsoft Corporation Microsoft CorporationWith hundreds of internal organizations and business groups, Microsoft Corporation found it challenging to ensure that everyone through every level of the enterprise was aligned with its business goals. To solve this problem, Microsoft instated a monthly target-setting solution using Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, with comprehensive capabilities that include budget and forecasting. This easy-to-use solution allows Microsoft to measure actual performance against stated goals through monthly target-setting, cascade targets through Microsoft's organizational hierarchy, and ensure consistent measurement of targets and results by setting targets at the enterprise level. Microsoft CorporationMicrosoft Home and Entertainment Division (HED) needed to minimize the time and money spent developing Microsoft Xbox 360. To meet this goal, HED brought some research and design tasks in house, forming the Silicon Operations (SiOps) group to oversee development of the graphics processor unit (GPU) Manufacturing would remain outsourced, so the team needed visibility of the supply-chain management process and access to real-time data from existing Microsoft and contract manufacturers' systems. The SiOps group implemented Microsoft Dynamics AX and, with Microsoft partner Fullscope, developed Microsoft Dynamics AX for High Tech Industries. Today, the team enjoys a comprehensive, user-friendly solution that supports a quick deployment and delivery timeline, increases on-time deliveries by 20 percent, and has already provided a first-year return on investment of 126 percent. Microsoft CorporationThe Entertainment and Devices Division (EDD) at Microsoft needed real-time insight into its supply chain to meet production deadlines. It wanted to better support business processes, but its highly distributed, cross-organizational infrastructure limited visibility. To improve efficiency, the EDD implemented a solution based on Microsoft® BizTalk® Server 2004 with Microsoft BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet. It upgraded to BizTalk Server 2006 R2, and then deployed BizTalk Server 2009 to take advantage of support for Hyper-V™ technology and connect applications in a virtualized server environment. Benefits include better business agility and productivity. For example, with virtualization the division can deploy a new line-of-business solution in two weeks instead of several months. Also, it can use service-oriented architecture to build new solutions from existing applications.  Microsoft Corporation, Entertainment & Devices DivisionFor the next-generation Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, Microsoft faced more complex manufacturing requirements than it saw with the original Xbox console. It also faced a need to speed production and reduce inventory costs compared to the performance of its earlier, EDI-based supply-chain solution. To provide full, real-time visibility into the supply chain for the product's graphics chips, Microsoft created an integrated business process automation solution based on Microsoft Windows Server System integrated server software components, including BizTalk Server 2004 and BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet. As a result, the company expects to speed on-time deliveries by 20 percent and reduce inventories by 10 percent. Those gains, plus increased productivity of manufacturing and IT staffs, will help deliver a first-year ROI of 126 percent. Developing the solution was 50 percent faster and more cost-effective than using EDI, saving six months and U.S.$500,000. Microsoft Corporation, Entertainment & Devices DivisionThrough the first year and half of production nearly 13 million Microsoft Xbox 360 video game systems were sold. Each console contains over a thousand parts which are assembled by contract manufacturers. To support business reporting requirements as well as business decision-making needs, such as budgeting and forecasting, the Microsoft Entertainment and Devices (E&D) business group gathers, compiles, and analyzes a variety of data every month from its manufacturers and internal operations. These include reports on Cost of Goods Purchased (COGP), Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), Inventory levels and planned Bill of Materials (BOM) configurations. Microsoft Corporation, Silicon Operations GroupResponsible for the graphics processor unit that drives the Xbox 360 video game and home entertainment system, the Silicon Operations (SiOps) group at Microsoft coordinates a complex supply chain that includes many suppliers and contract manufacturers. SiOps worked with Microsoft Certified Partner Kineticsware and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Sonata Software to upgrade its Microsoft Dynamics AX business management software. The partners used the Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step Methodology to facilitate collaboration across geographies and time zones, resulting in a seamless transition that preserved extensive custom integrations. The updated Microsoft Dynamics AX implementation provides enhanced reporting and alerting features to help with supply chain management and financial tracking, as well as simpler inclusion of new vendors and suppliers into the supply chain.  NetAppAs NetApp, the maker of innovative storage management solutions, grew, so did the challenges of enabling its global workforce to find the information they need quickly and to collaborate effectively. The company replaced its decentralized information stores and lengthy e-mail exchanges with a comprehensive document management and collaboration solution based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the company's own NetApp SnapManager for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and NetApp fabric-attached storage system. As a result, business decisions can be made up to three times faster, new employees can be trained in 83 percent less time, and marketing activities and events can be tracked more effectively than before. Because the solution was deployed with virtually no customization, development costs were minimal, and the solution remains easy to manage.  Network Equipment TechnologiesFounded in 1983, Network Equipment Technologies (NET) is a leader in providing network and voice exchange solutions for government and enterprise customers worldwide. To increase its operational efficiency, cut costs, and improve government reporting and compliance capabilities, NET needed to implement a new enterprise resource planning system. For nearly a decade, the company relied on a business management solution from Oracle, which proved difficult to integrate and costly to manage. After a thorough evaluation process, NET engaged Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Fullscope to facilitate implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Using Microsoft Dynamics AX, NET has increased the speed and accuracy of its sales order process, improved its government-contract compliance capabilities, and has estimated savings of U.S.$1.5 million compared to its Oracle system.  NikonPrecision is the business of Nikon, a Japanese technology corporation. Whether dealing with a high-resolution camera or a scientifically precise microscope, the point is to always focus on the details. Before, Nikon GmbH Deutschland had a less detail-oriented approach to customer data. Data was distributed across several systems, which was more of a hindrance than a help to sales. Staff lacked important information during customer visits and found that routine tasks like preparing sales reports were a lot of work. Nikon decided to address these issues with professional CRM software. Nikon now is using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for quick and simplified collection of data, which has resulted in better quality in the reporting system. Management now has much more sales information available for decision making. Also, more efficient business processes have resulted in additional timesavings.  NumonyxNumonyx, a newly formed innovator of nonvolatile memory solutions combining the flash memory assets of Intel and STMicroelectronics, had just 80 days to create a public Web presence for customers and a collaboration intranet for its 7,000 employees. An extraordinary public site would establish brand value from day one. The internal site would forge a new corporate culture for employees from parent companies on two continents. Numonyx created a dynamic solution within its aggressive deadline by implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Employees modify site content in real time, rather than waiting days or weeks for IT assistance, key in this fast-paced industry. Customers receive news while it is fresh, enhancing the Numonyx reputation for customer orientation and increasing return traffic. Internally, employees share information instantly, no matter where they are located. Watch the video casestudy.  Open SiliconASIC manufacturer Open-Silicon needed a better way to track yields. So, it turned to an integrated financial and supply-chain management solution from Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Tensoft. The solution, including Microsoft Dynamics GP and Tensoft Fabless Semiconductor Management, reduces costs by up to 15 percent or more, gives customers visibility into order status, and provides better customer service more cost-effectively.  OticonOticon's finance department wanted to improve its key functions and processes, namely financial consolidation, budgeting, planning, forecasting, and reporting with an integrated solution. Oticon made a strategic decision to unify all its Performance Management solutions under Microsoft. Oticon's first priority was to rebuild its system for financial consolidation for monthly, quarterly and year-end reporting. Using Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, Oticon developed a solution that would automatically consolidate financial results from companies while allowing users at both local and enterprise levels to work in Excel, the undisputed tool of choice in finance.  Patriot Memory, formerly PDP SystemsPatriot Memory designs, manufactures, and distributes memory modules to customers worldwide, including retailers, e-tailers, and systems integrators that build high-performance PCs. As the company expanded, it quickly outgrew its Macola warehouse management system. Patriot Memory considered numerous enterprise resource planning solutions before turning to Microsoft Gold Certified Partner SCS to implement Microsoft Dynamics NAV business software. Since implementation, the company has streamlined business operations, reduced inventory by 27 percent, and identified U.S.$500,000 in dead capital, of which it has recovered nearly 80 percent. In addition, custom views in Microsoft Dynamics NAV have helped employees at Patriot Memory better manage job-related tasks.  Pioneer ElectronicsA subsidiary of Japanese audio system manufacturer Pioneer Corporation, the Pioneer Electronics (USA) Mobile Business Group sells Pioneer and Premier after-market car audio, navigation, and accessories through a 4,000-dealer network across the United States. Relying on its dealers to correctly install its increasingly complex after-market car audio products, Pioneer Electronics began to look for ways to better support the dealers, many of whom had no way to collaborate with peers for help. So Pioneer deployed social networking technologies in a business context, building a dealer portal based on Microsoft software. Now dealers have a vibrant online community where they can share their knowledge, take training, promote their stores, and build allegiance to the Pioneer brand. The dealer portal also is used by staff at large retail outlets, for training and installation information.  Plantronics"At a conservative estimate, if each employee saved 15 minutes per day by using Office Communications Server 2007 collaboration tools, it would equate to more than 2,100 work days saved per year."Tony Williams, Director of IT Plantronics EMEA  Powell ElectronicsPowell Electronics, a distributor serving major defense and aerospace companies, wanted to automate its order processing. Orders arrived as electronic documents, but employees had to process them manually by converting them into text format, extracting production requirements, and entering this information into the company's enterprise resource planning software. This process diverted staff from other tasks, risked errors, and reduced efficiency. By implementing a business process management solution based on Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2, part of the Microsoft Application Platform, Powell eliminated manual order entry and gained economies of scale by scheduling production in larger lot sizes. A top salesperson who had been spending 20 hours per week processing orders can now focus on sales, and the efficiency of processing production orders has increased by 40 percent.  Roland DGARoland DGA Corporation is the U.S.-based marketing, distribution and sales arm of the Roland DG Corporation of Japan, a worldwide leader in the sign, graphic-arts, fine-art, photography, engraving and 3D-modeling industries. Roland distributes its products through a channel of nearly 400 dealers on a one-tiered distribution model. Communications with these dealers is critical, since customer satisfaction is essential to maintaining the strength and reliability of this exclusive network. Roland's existing portal, used for maintaining these channels of communications, was reaching the end of its useful life. Roland sought a global solution that would provide a high level of integration with internal processes while at the same time support the growing demands of its dealers. Roland's research indicated that Microsoft Office SharePoint Server would improve dealer interaction, creating an efficient single point of communication and collaboration for both Roland employees and dealers. Roland DGARoland DGA depends on dealers in North and South America to sell its wide-format inkjet printers, vinyl cutters, 3-D scanning and milling equipment, and engravers. To support and develop working relationships with dealers, the company needed a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) system. Roland DGA teamed with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Axonom and implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM to create a foundation for customer information that integrates easily with other systems. To gain industry-specific functionality, the company also implemented Axonom-developed solution Powertrak, an add-in that extends Microsoft CRM functionality. Roland DGA now has a powerful solution that supports dealer Web portals and provides insight into sales, marketing, and service events. Roland DGA made significant process improvements and shrunk lead distribution time from weeks to days. Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics, a leading Korean company as well as a symbol of the IT industry, carried out an innovative project to strengthen its global Supply Chain Management (SCM) execution ability, gaining the industry’s interest. Samsung Electronics placed its emphasis on the business management scenario of predicting and preparing for future environmental changes and competitiveness, which is one of the survival strategies of an industry with an unpredictable future. The company is aggressively establishing the foundation for enhancing business management speed and efficiency-oriented business management innovations since early this year. In accordance with this type of scenario, Microsoft’s Business Intelligence (BI) Platform provided life to Samsung Electronics’ SCM system. Samsung Electronics decided to implement an action-oriented BI solution that enables on-demand changes of business management plans and reflects these adjustments. As such, it decided to deploy SQL Server 2008, which can satisfy all three major requirements of BI solution, including ‘performance and reliability’, ‘cube write-back’ and ‘user convenience’, and the company is thoroughly experiencing the benefits of this IT innovation. In the face of enterprise-wide application, it has completed application in only its video display business division, so it is still too early to mention any fixed quantity of benefits. However, with this system implementation, Samsung Electronics expects to increase its forecast accuracy for product demands by more than 20%. Samsung ElectronicsSamsung Electro-Mechanics is a global electronics parts manufacturer with production facilities in eight locations around the globe. The company measures productivity and competitiveness to increase its yield. In order to carry out this analysis, Samsung Electro-Mechanics deployed Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 and Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007 within its Business Integration (BI) framework, mapped to its business models. Following its deployment, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has reduced time spent on product yield analysis from hours to minutes, and can perform a multi-dimensional analysis, which was not previously possible. These enhancements to the manufacturing process and reduction in yield analysis times mean Samsung Electro-Mechanics can rapidly and accurately run its business.  Sanyo ElectricAs one of the world's largest consumer electronics companies, Sanyo Electric creates an array of innovative products that enhance people's lives. In July of 2005, Sanyo announced a corporate realignment that focuses on environmental sustainability. The new "Think Gaia" vision includes a three-year restructuring program that involves creating a new information worker environment in which the company's 100,000 employees can freely and securely share information. Sanyo is in the midst of implementing the new work environment using Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Windows Server technologies also play a key role by providing centralized directory and Rights Management Services. The new environment simplifies communication and collaboration, secures sensitive information, and helps with regulatory compliance.  Sharp ElectronicsSharp Electronics needed the most accurate, most detailed intelligence possible about how its products were faring in retail stores nationwide, and it needed to get that intelligence quickly. But the paper-and-pen-based surveys that its field marketing managers took during store visits were time-consuming to collect, error-prone, and not very thorough. To meet its needs, the company turned to Windows Mobile powered devices and the FAST (Field Adapted Survey Toolkit) solution from Microsoft Certified Partner GeoAge. Sharp now updates its surveys 400 percent faster, gains 400 percent more information, and cuts survey time by 67 percent, so that field managers can spend more time building rapport with store personnel and selling product. Sales by field managers are up 500 percent in the year since Sharp adopted the solution.  SiemensWhen Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) wanted to make its business more efficient, it set up an internal communications system. Its first company intranet was not user friendly, however, and annual updates reduced effectiveness. Siemens A&D needed a solution all employees could use to easily upload information. The solution would also have to format presentation sites according to strict style guidelines. Siemens A&D worked with Microsoft Certified Partner BlueBridge Technologies and combined existing Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003. Now, employees can use templates to create and publish intranet information quickly and easily that meets corporate design specifications. Siemens A&D employees worldwide also enjoy faster processes and can share accessible information consistently across the organisation. SiemensSiemens PLM Software scales to 5,000 concurrent users and gains 50 percent compression for database files running on SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 and Intel-based hardware.  TASERWhen its staff quadrupled in two years, TASER International needed more efficient ways to collaborate than face-to-face meetings and lengthy e-mail strings. TASER also wanted to empower its information workers to manage intranet content without IT assistance. TASER deployed Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 and engaged Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Avanade to develop an intranet based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. The integration between Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the programs in Office Professional Plus 2007 makes it easy for TASER employees to access real-time business process information that helps them make better decisions, increase agility, and shorten time-to-market. The built-in workflow and search functionality and business intelligence tools in the 2007 Microsoft Office system helped cut development time for the project by more than half.  TDK-LambdaJapan-based, high-tech manufacturer TDK-Lambda designs, manufactures, and distributes power-supply components. The custom Web interface for the company's business intelligence application was slow and confusing for many employees, which resulted in poor usage. TDK-Lambda developed a revolutionary, new interface by using Microsoft Silverlight, a cross-platform, cross-browser plug-in, that enables line-of-business (LOB) Web applications to perform like desktop applications. Today, the Silverlight-based LOB application provides more than 90 charts that meet the company's reporting needs for manufacturing, inventory, financial management, and sales, providing an experience that is radically different from a traditional LOB application. The new Silverlight-based interface has helped improve usage rates and has become a catalyst for the creation of a new business culture.  TellabsFor more than 30 years, Illinois-based Tellabs has been a major player in the world of telecommunications, with products currently installed at 41 of the top 50 global telecom service providers. Because Tellabs is similarly dedicated to helping its own employees communicate and collaborate effectively, the company recently rebuilt its intranet using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Now, Tellabs is providing employees with a single, central place to get information, with content targeted to readers based on geographical, functional, and departmental criteria. As a result, the company is reducing wasteful and redundant e-mail messages and phone calls, while providing more timely information to everyone and reinforcing its brand, vision, and strategy. It also is saving U.S.$50,000 annually in IT costs and positioning itself for the development of future strategic applications.  ThomsonThomson, based in Boulogne-Billancourt in France, has about 27,000 employees working in 30 different countries. The group currently consists of three divisions: services, systems, and technology. These divisions work together to provide a service for content creators and content distributors. Because digital technologies require considerable effort in terms of research, Thomson has organised its teams around projects of variable size and importance. While some projects are very large, there are also a lot of smaller ones led by researchers or engineers. Thomson needed a simple, user-friendly project management tool to avoid increasing the workload of these valuable employees. The company chose the Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management (EPM) server solution to pool company resources in a single database.  Tower Semiconductor"Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a central point of access for all our information. We can monitor our global prospects, more accurately predict revenue, and pass our business forecasts on to customers."Koby Mizrahy, Director of IT, Tower Semiconductor  Trimble Navigation"All in all, I’d say that Visual Studio Team System has helped us increase developer productivity and team output by at least 30 percent."Tim Bassett, Lead Software Architect, Trimble Mobile Resource Management  Xerox"Windows Server has proven itself to be reliable, scalable, and cost-effective."Tom Karafonda, Shared Services Development Manager, Xerox Global Services
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