NICE, France, May 20, 2008 (PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX) ----Participation in TM Forum Catalyst Projects reinforces Microsoft's commitment to accelerating deployment of services based on industry standards.

This week at TM Forum Management World 2008, Microsoft Corp will demonstrate continued innovation and the strength of its partner model in delivering exciting new services to consumers and businesses. In its exhibit presence and through participation in the Management World conference programme, Microsoft will underscore its vision for Telco 2.0, highlighting its portfolio of screens, services and service delivery capabilities that make the converged lifestyle a reality. Also, Microsoft is showcasing the results of its collaboration with a wide range of industry leaders, including Accenture, Amdocs, AT&T, China Unicom Ltd, Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd and Telefonica SA, as a key player in four TM Forum Catalyst Projects.

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"Service delivery is fundamental to Microsoft's vision of Telco 2.0, where operators will be able to provide any type of content across any network to any screen," said Michael O'Hara, general manager of the Communications Sector at Microsoft. "By combining Microsoft's expertise in software and services with the assets of telecom industry leaders, we believe we can help service providers deliver an unmatched portfolio of offerings to their consumer and business customers. Here, the Catalyst Projects exemplify how the industry as a whole is taking a more open, collaborative approach to service delivery, and sharing expertise will enable real innovation."

"Microsoft is a very active and valued member of the TM Forum," said Martin Creaner, president and chief technical officer of TM Forum. "Our goal is to look critically at how to deliver and manage new services profitably using best practices, and Microsoft's support is key to our efforts. This is the first year a non-telecoms company has been able to sponsor a Catalyst Project, underlining Microsoft's unique role in this industry."

The TM Forum Catalyst Projects bring together operators and vendors to help solve business problems faced by operators through implementation of existing, proven technologies. Along with other participants, Microsoft will be demonstrating the following initiatives:

* Building Marketplaces with
   Managed Services Syndication is a project co-sponsored by Microsoft and Telefonica that aims to create a marketplace for the
   next generation of services based on web 2.0 principles. This Catalyst Project demonstrates a consistent, flexible and cost-effective
   way to mass-commercialise new products and services, driving accelerated use and adoption. The demonstration combines Microsoft's
   Live Meeting service with Telefonica Mobile's own Agenda meeting organiser service and web portal and video streaming services
   provided by Accenture. The entire scenario is provisioned by Tribold and NetCracker technologies with service assurance from
   CA and Iptivia Inc. Uniquely, this project is being used as a reference for the TM Forum's Service Delivery Framework standardisation
   process. "Our cooperation with Microsoft on the Catalyst Project is based on our strong mutual desire to deliver the best
   in services," said Sagrario Aleman Perez, technological expert on systems evolution and new channels at Telefonica. "There's
   a whole universe of services that should be made readily available to customers, and Microsoft's involvement in the Catalyst
   Project will accelerate the speed at which these can be delivered to market." * Content Encounter (Phase II) showcases the
   latest technologies and emerging best practices for content owners and aggregators to work with communication service providers
   to distribute content. Amdocs, BT, Call Genie Inc, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, eBIZ.mobility Ltd, Subex Ltd and Telcordia
   Technologies Inc are the new commercial participants joining the Phase I participants, which include Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T,
   BEA, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, IBM Corp, Microsoft, Motorola Inc and Westwood One Inc. * Seamless OSS/BSS for IMS
   Services (Phase II) provides seven typical IMS services over fixed and mobile IMS terminals, and delivers end- to-end convergent
   billing with an online charging system and an offline billing system. China Unicom is sponsoring the project with support
   from Amdocs, Microsoft and ZTE Corp. "OSS and BSS are often the ignored areas of IMS research, which is why this particular
   project is so important to us," said Zhijiang Zhang, general manager of technology at China Unicom. "Microsoft's involvement
   in Phase II of this project will provide a more feasible and integrated reference model of an 'OSS/BSS for IMS' solution."
   * One-Stop Fixed Mobile Convergence Service is helping Chunghwa Telecom to deliver fixed-mobile converged services, demonstrating
   next-generation network technologies integrated with current OSS/BSS architectures and laying the groundwork for the development
   of new-generation OSS/BSS architectures. The goal is to deliver ubiquitous services over any device. Participants include
   Amdocs, Microsoft, Nokia Siemens Networks Taiwan, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd and TELUS Corp. "This
   project promises to accelerate Chunghwa Telecom's new service offerings to customers," said Lu Shyue-Ching, president of Chunghwa
   Telecom. "It will also allow us to reduce service delivery costs, provide a one-stop shop for FMC services and be a world-leading
   telecom carrier, opening up new and emerging markets." 

Along with its involvement in the Catalyst Projects, Microsoft is taking an active role in the education programme at the Management World conference with speakers taking part in the following sessions on Wednesday, May 21:

Module: Collaborative Business Partnership Models Session Title: Successfully Monetizing
   the Service Ecosystem: Service Provider Initiatives to Avoid the Dumb Pipe Syndrome Speaker: Michel Burger, services architect,
   Server and Tools, Microsoft Time and Location: 11am-12.30pm CEST in Clio conference room Module: Advertising & Monetizing
   TeleMedia Services 1 Session Title: Creating Win-Win Business Models for All Players Speaker: Roger Pitton, programme director,
   TV Business, Microsoft Time and Location: 11am-12.30pm CEST in Thalie conference room Module: Using SDF/SDP for Rapid Service
   Deployment Session Title: SDF and the Lego World of Business: Creating New Value for Customers by Composing and Managing Islands
   of Services from Collaborative Providers Speaker: Eric Troup, platform strategy advisor, Communications Sector, Microsoft
   Time and Location: 2-3.30pm CEST in Hermes conference room Module: Using SDF/SDP for Rapid Service Deployment Session Title:
   Leveraging Service Delivery Frameworks for Services Syndication Speaker: Michel Burger, services architect, Server and Tools,
   Microsoft Time and Location: 4-5.30pm CEST in Hermes conference room Module: Advertising & Monetizing TeleMedia Services
   2 Session Title: The New Monetization Paradigm: Content Advertising and Markets of One Speaker: Jon Curnow, emerging media
   manager, Microsoft Advertiser and Publishing Solutions Time and Location: 4-5.30pm CEST in Thalie conference room 

Microsoft at Management World

More information will be available at the Microsoft booth in Hall 2, booth No 92.

About Microsoft

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

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

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Web site: http://www.microsoft.com

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