Customer Spotlight: T-Mobile USA and Xerox Adopt the Windows Azure Platform in the Development of Key Applications

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. announced today that T-Mobile USA Inc. and Xerox Corp. have adopted the Windows Azure platform and are creating new services and gaining greater efficiencies through cloud computing. This announcement comes as Microsoft celebrates the one-year anniversary of Windows Azure Platform availability.

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"These companies are creating new solutions and businesses in record time that reinforce the new possibilities created by the cloud," said Doug Hauger, general manager, Windows Azure, Microsoft. "A company can quickly use the power of the Windows Azure platform to scale and meet the demands of any market. Success is no longer limited by computing capacity, capability or cost, it is now a matter of imagination and execution."

The Windows Azure platform has enabled T-Mobile and Xerox to address customer needs quickly with innovative solutions that are cost-effective and reliable.

T-Mobile USA

Wireless services provider T-Mobile was preparing to create Family Room, a new mobile software application that helps families share photos and coordinate activities, like a family movie night, across multiple devices. Working under a tight deadline, the developers chose Windows Azure and SQL Azure, along with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and Windows Phone 7, as the solution to fit their needs.

By using the Windows Azure cloud services and integrated development environment, T-Mobile was able to create and launch Family Room in just six weeks. Using a cloud-based computing environment has also cut down on management duties and freed up T-Mobile's developers to spend more time creating new features.

"I'm confident that as we move forward and implement richer feature sets, Windows Phone 7 and the Windows Azure platform will be able to scale and support a lot of capabilities," said Joshua Lipe, product manager of Devices, T-Mobile.

Xerox

As an industry leader in managed print services (MPS), Xerox expanded its MPS capabilities in 2010 by introducing Xerox Mobile Print, a solution that allows its workers to send documents to any printer in the company from a handheld device, such as their smartphone.

Xerox has since expanded on that concept to create Xerox Cloud Print, a cloud-based printing service that allows end users to route a printing job to any available public printer directly from their mobile devices. Now, when employees are traveling on business, they can do things like quickly print a presentation for tomorrow's client meeting without having to spend countless hours at a local hotel business center. By running Windows Azure and SQL Azure, developers were able to build Xerox Cloud Print in just four months.

"For a very small investment, we can try a new project and see if it works, close it down tomorrow, or ramp it up immediately," said Eugene Shustef, chief engineer of Global Document Outsources at Xerox. "The Windows Azure platform enables us to do that — cloud computing lowers the barrier to innovation."

More Information

The solutions that these customers have built reinforce the power and possibilities of cloud computing and show that the future is limitless. More information about which companies are deploying the Windows Azure platform can be found at the Windows Azure website.

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

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.