REDMOND, Wash. — April 18, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. and “Angel’s Gate,” a groundbreaking Asian reality television series that debuted Feb. 6 on Channel NewsAsia, today announced that Microsoft will offer its Office 365 cloud productivity service for free to entrepreneurs from across Asia who have been shortlisted to participate in the “Angel’s Gate” television series.

The premise of “Angel’s Gate” is to provide viewers with an inside look into the highly competitive nature of venture capital and angel investor funding. To get a chance at being awarded funding to kick-start their businesses, entrepreneurs submit their business ideas online, and, if contestants obtain approval from the judge on their business pitches, they will then have the opportunity to pitch their ideas in a final round for funding.

“Office 365 is an essential tool for aspiring entrepreneurs and businesses today,” said Ash Singh, founder and CEO, Angel Gate Foundation. “In the creation of ‘Angel’s Gate,’ my PowerPoint presentation powered by Office 365 allowed me the flexibility to evolve my pitches quickly to achieve my business goals.”

Startups across Asia are quickly realizing the opportunities that cloud computing offers. Whether it is the ability to leverage IT capabilities more cost-effectively, create new ways to serve new customers or even operate a business without limitations of IT, cloud technology plays an important role in the success of startups.

“Office 365 will empower Asian entrepreneurs with the tools and solutions to transform their businesses through better communication and collaboration,” said Simon Mouyal, regional director of Small and Medium Business and Cloud Marketing for Microsoft Asia Pacific. “Entrepreneurs now have the power to think big and be small, to be big and act fast, because Office 365 is a powerful business enabler.”

With Office 365 for small businesses, customers can be up and running with Office Web Apps, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lync Online and an external website in minutes, for $6 (U.S.) per user, per month. These tools put enterprise-grade email, shared documents, instant messaging, videoconferencing, webconferencing, portals and more at everyone’s fingertips.

The “Angel’s Gate” series can be viewed worldwide through its website, and participation is open to contestants across Asia. “Angel’s Gate” is already open to participation for season two.

Additional information about how “Angel’s Gate” uses Office 365 can be found 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.

REDMOND, Wash. — April 17, 2012 — The countdown has begun for the landmark entertainment event millions of fans worldwide have been anticipating for more than four years. “Halo 4,” the hotly anticipated sequel to the iconic franchise that has shaped entertainment history, will launch worldwide on Nov. 6, 2012.

“Halo 4” marks the return of legendary hero Master Chief, named by Fast Company as “one of the most popular characters in gaming history,”1 and aims to set a new standard for blockbuster interactive entertainment with the launch. Set four years after the events in “Halo 3,” Master Chief returns to confront his destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Developed by 343 Industries, “Halo 4” marks a new beginning for the landmark entertainment franchise that has sold more than 40 million games worldwide and inspired multiple New York Times best-selling novels, live-action shorts, comic books, action figures and apparel.

“We are beginning a new saga with ‘Halo 4’ and embarking on a journey that will encompass the next decade of ‘Halo’ games and experiences,” said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios. “Millions of fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to step back into the boots of Master Chief, and, with ‘Halo 4’ leading the charge, we’re confident 2012 will be the most successful year in Xbox history.”

“Halo 3,” the biggest consumer product launch of all time when it released in 2007,2 concluded the original game trilogy, but left many unanswered questions around the fates of the series’ beloved hero, the Master Chief, and his artificial intelligence companion, Cortana. On Nov. 6, fans will experience the next chapter of the iconic franchise.

Tonight, Conan O’Brien will help celebrate this fall’s launch of “Halo 4” with a special segment on “CONAN” on TBS at 11 p.m. PDT/10 p.m. CDT. Those interested should tune in and check out http://www.teamcoco.com or follow @TeamCoco on Twitter for updates and more details.

About 343 Industries

343 Industries is the publisher and developer of the blockbuster “Halo” series of videogames and, as part of Microsoft Studios, oversees the “Halo” franchise, including novels, comics, licensed collectibles, apparel and more. 343 Industries is home to world-class developers working on the “Halo” “Reclaimer Saga,” which commences with the arrival of “Halo 4” on Nov. 7, 2012, exclusively on Xbox 360. The studio has been shaping the creative direction of the franchise since “Halo 3: ODST” in 2009.

About Xbox 360

Xbox 360 is a premier home entertainment and video game system. Thanks to the addition of Kinect, Xbox 360 will forever transform social gaming and entertainment with a whole new way to play — no controller required. Xbox 360 is also home to the best and broadest games as well as one of the world’s largest on-demand libraries of music, standard- and high-definition movies, TV shows and digital games, all in one place. The entertainment center of the living room, Xbox 360 blends unbeatable content with a leading social entertainment network of 40 million Xbox LIVE members to create a limitless entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. More information about Xbox 360 can be found online at http://www.xbox.com.

About Microsoft

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

1 Source: Fast Company: Why It Feels Good To Get Inside Master Chief's Helmet 2 “Halo 3” generated $170 million in 24 hours in the U.S., surpassing the $125 million day-one record set by “Halo 2” (2004). 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.

LAS VEGAS — April 17, 2012 — Today at the sold-out Microsoft Management Summit, Corporate Vice President Brad Anderson spoke to nearly 5,000 IT professionals about their opportunity to deliver fast, reliable services with cloud computing. His keynote speech highlighted how customers around the world are already using Microsoft System Center 2012, available today for evaluation and purchase, to create private clouds. Anderson also discussed how IT professionals can evolve their roles with cloud computing to help their businesses be more competitive.

“Cloud computing gives IT professionals an opportunity to increase their strategic value to their businesses while building new skills,” Anderson said. “Microsoft’s private cloud solutions help IT professionals become cloud innovators for their companies, managing and delivering the applications people need to be productive across private, hybrid and public clouds.”

In addition, Anderson provided a preview of how Microsoft’s private cloud will become even more powerful with Windows Server “8” and announced that the operating system will officially be named Windows Server 2012. The new “cloud-optimized OS” is due out later this year.

Management Makes the Difference for Customers

IT organizations that use System Center 2012 and Windows Server with Hyper-V for cloud computing are helping their companies move faster, save money and compete better. For example, EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services, a luxury car service headquartered in New Jersey, has used a Microsoft private cloud to reduce datacenter costs by 50 percent amid 30 percent company growth during the past 18 months. With more than 1,000 employees, EmpireCLS relies on the Microsoft private cloud to deliver a reliable reservation system to customers in more than 700 cities around the world. Using System Center 2012, EmpireCLS also used its cloud environment to create a new business with its BeTransported software as a service offering. The application is now in use broadly within the car service industry.

Similarly, The Walsh Group, a construction firm based in Chicago, switched to a Microsoft private cloud to automate delivery of virtualized servers and applications for 5,000 employees. In addition to business efficiencies, the company has been able to reduce hardware and energy costs by 20 percent.

“With Microsoft, we are moving beyond virtualization to cloud computing, so we can automate and manage our IT environment as a whole,” said Patrick Wirtz, manager of Technology Innovation at The Walsh Group. “It’s all about giving our engineers, tradespeople and software developers the computing resources they need to build roadways, bridges and high-rises.”

In another case, Apartments.com, a national online apartment search service in Chicago, needed a more dynamic and responsive IT infrastructure to stay competitive in the market and deliver faster service to its 6 million site visitors each month. With Microsoft’s private cloud, the company realized 50 percent faster server provisioning for new services and 75 percent lower licensing costs.

More From MMS 2012

Anderson published a blog post today that further details the opportunities for IT professionals to accelerate their careers in the era of continuous services and connected devices. Tomorrow, April 18, he will again take the stage at MMS and address the “World of Connected Devices.” The keynote broadcast will start at 8:30 a.m. PDT.

More information about System Center 2012 and Microsoft private cloud is available here, including the live and on-demand keynote broadcasts, links to evaluation software, and more. The STB News Bytes blog has further details on the news discussed at the event. The conversation on Twitter can be followed at #MMS2012.

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.