UL Embraces Microsoft Cloud Productivity Services to Drive Increased Global Collaboration

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- To help create a culture of stronger collaboration and communication worldwide, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) has begun deploying Microsoft Office 365, powered by Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online, to its 50 offices worldwide, Microsoft Corp. announced today. UL, a global independent safety science company, provides solutions for safer products, processes and work environments for more than 66,000 customers.

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With 117 years of experience, UL began to outgrow its business technology environment and recognized the need for a communications and collaboration solution that would require less IT administration support while allowing employees more connectivity and productivity. UL also needed a technology solution to facilitate on-boarding new employees that did not require additional hardware and IT staff costs. This need was highlighted by its strategic growth through numerous acquisitions, since UL has acquired 12 companies during the past three years, adding 2,300 employees to its international staff. Such growth will accelerate in the coming years.

Recognizing that users, developers and support staff were most familiar with Microsoft software, UL upgraded all company computers to Windows 7, deployed Microsoft Office 2010 to provide its employees with the best in productivity tools and deployed Exchange Online for business email requirements. UL then added Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to give employees more choice in mobile work devices. Finally, for collaboration, the company deployed SharePoint Online through the Office 365 Rapid Deployment Program.

"At UL, we are driven by the need to bring safer products to market faster. With an increasingly complex global supply chain and the evolving nature of safety, our global staff needs to be accessible and collaborative 24/7," said Christian Anschuetz, chief information officer of UL Inc. "We have been able to on-board thousands of employees in a matter of weeks, and everyone from new workers to 20-year veteran engineers have quickly grasped how this new software changes the way they work, communicate and collaborate together — across borders and even down the hallways from each other. At the end of the day, the company that makes the world a safer place runs safely on Microsoft collaboration tools."

With its cloud-hosted unified communications and collaborations systems linking more than 50 offices worldwide, UL has reduced costs without sacrificing capabilities. The cloud-based system is more flexible, allowing smaller deployments and more consolidation of hardware and software.

"Overall, UL has saved 50 percent on unified communications and collaboration costs, allowing the company to invest even more in growth and innovation," Anschuetz said. "Bringing new employees on board now requires less effort, less IT staff, less hardware and less infrastructure management."

More information about the Microsoft solution deployed by UL is available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/online-software.aspx#fbid=DUznSKHWYxG.

About UL (Underwriters Laboratories)

UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than 117 years of history. Employing more than 9,000 professionals and serving customers in over 96 countries, UL has five distinct business units — Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, University and Verification Services — to meet the expanding needs of our customers and to deliver on our public safety mission. Additional information about UL may be found at www.UL.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.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.