Moving forward together: Our thoughts on the US election

- Brad Smith - President and Chief Legal Officer
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Like so many people across the country, we woke up in Redmond, Washington this morning thinking about yesterday’s election. And like so many Americans, regardless of who we supported through our vote, we strongly share the view that this is a time for the nation to come together. Every president-elect deserves our congratulations, best wishes and support for the country as a whole. The peaceful transition of power has been Read more »

With our latest energy deal, Microsoft’s Cheyenne datacenter will now be powered entirely by wind energy, keeping us on course to build a greener, more responsible cloud

- Brad Smith - President and Chief Legal Officer

Our lives, our cities and our world are rapidly transforming with the rise of cloud technology. And as the adoption of the cloud accelerates, so does the electrical consumption of the datacenters that fuel this new era. At Microsoft, we recognize that our responsibilities as a leading cloud services provider require that we transform the way we power the cloud. That’s why we are announcing our largest wind energy purchases Read more »

Microsoft’s revamped Law Firm Diversity Program brings significant gains in diverse leadership

- David Howard - Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Litigation, Competition Law and Compliance
law firm diversity

A year ago, Microsoft announced a significant change to our Law Firm Diversity Program (LFDP), which now focuses on increasing diversity among the partner and leadership ranks of the law firms in our premier provider network, and provides financial incentives to those firms who show improvement in these areas.  We are pleased to report significant progress by all our firms, and we especially want to recognize our top performers – Read more »

Online risks have real-world consequences, new Microsoft research shows

- Jacqueline Beauchere - Microsoft Chief Online Safety Officer

Most people have had at least one negative online experience that resulted in real-world consequences, including a loss of trust in others, increased stress or sleep deprivation, preliminary results of a new Microsoft survey show. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of those polled said they had fallen victim at some point to at least one of 17 different online risks. That figure grows to 78 percent when respondents also considered the Read more »

Microsoft women- and minority-owned law firm legal spending this decade tops $100 million: Additional progress towards a more diverse and inclusive legal profession

- Brad Smith - President and Chief Legal Officer
Rows of colorful chairs in Auditorium

Throughout this decade, an important element of Microsoft’s legal diversity efforts has involved work with law firms that are owned by women or minorities – or WMBE firms as they are often called. I’m pleased to share that we’ve reached an important milestone in this area. Since 2010, we’ve spent more than $100 million with women- and minority-owned law firms (WMBE). This spend not only represents the valuable contributions made Read more »

Why we support Schedule 451: A new approach to meeting our energy needs

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

By Michelle Patron, Director of Sustainability Policy, Microsoft, and Irene Plenefisch, director of government affairs Microsoft is proud to call Washington state home. We’ve been headquartered here since 1979, and we have grown from a small cluster of buildings to a 500-acre campus that now houses more than 40,000 employees and 15 million square feet of offices and labs. As we’ve grown, so too has our energy consumption. In recognition Read more »

How Microsoft supports global actions for climate change

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

Next month, when countries around the world meet in Morocco for the United Nations meeting on climate change, Microsoft will continue to support global actions to reduce carbon as part of the Paris Agreement. In the past month, countries have achieved three important global policy milestones: controlling aviation emissions, reducing hydrofluorocarbons and accelerating entry into force of the Paris Agreement. “At Microsoft, we are proud to support these efforts and Read more »

Tech support scams are a growing problem

- Courtney Gregoire - Senior Attorney, Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit
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Have you experienced a tech support scam over the phone or online? If not, you likely know someone who has. According to a new global survey we commissioned, two out of three consumers have been exposed to a tech support scam in the past year. The survey revealed other interesting results, including the latest ploys scammers are using to target consumers and the surprising groups of consumers that tend to Read more »

How closing the digital divide is saving lives in Botswana

- Paul Garnett - Director, Affordable Access Initiatives

In an increasingly globalized world, an internet connection has become an indispensable means of accessing knowledge and opportunity. Unfortunately, reliable and affordable internet access has yet to reach about half the planet’s population, meaning 4.2 billion people cannot read this blog post or any other online content. Poor internet connectivity also limits access to modern opportunities in education, commerce and healthcare. And in parts of the world where opportunities are Read more »

Microsoft and ISO help customers moving to the cloud with procurement guidance

- Alex Li - Microsoft Principal Standards Analyst

Today Microsoft is introducing the Cloud Services Due Diligence Checklist, developed to help customers make better cloud migration decisions. Organizations are becoming increasingly familiar with the benefits of cloud computing, but the process of migrating can be daunting, regardless of the company’s size, industry or sector. Even for companies that are already managing multiple, complex business processes in the cloud, the process of contracting with and managing multiple providers can Read more »

It’s October: Remember to STOP. THINK. CONNECT.

- Jacqueline Beauchere - Microsoft Chief Online Safety Officer

October kicks off National Cyber Security Awareness Month, 31 days focused on raising public awareness and educating individuals and families about staying safer and more secure online. This year marks six years since the launch of STOP. THINK. CONNECT., the month’s signature safety campaign – a simple, actionable message aimed at encouraging people to help safeguard their digital lifestyles. On Tuesday, the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department Read more »