REDMOND, Wash. — July 30, 2012 — EmployBridge, a national leader in staffing and workforce solutions with more than 155 locations throughout the U.S., has chosen Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to develop and implement an online solution that enables the company to fill “great jobs with great people.” This new solution supports the entire job-seeking process, from the candidate’s initial application to final matching of candidates to jobs.

With the help of Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Credera, EmployBridge developed what came to be known as the Online Applicant Entry (OAE), a specialty solution using the Dynamics CRM solution that is transparent to end users but supports the entire application process. The new OAE was further integrated with other applications used by EmployBridge for finding the best candidates for clients, including pre-employment screening, skills and personality profile testing. The time savings were tremendous — a process that could take weeks, according to EmployBridge CIO Chris Loope, dwindled to a few days.

“After initially reviewing customer relationship management (CRM) solutions from several providers, we determined that Microsoft Dynamics would be the best solution for our broad range of needs,” Loope said. “Better yet, it leveraged our existing investment in Microsoft technology with our applicant tracking system.”

Previously the process required applicants to visit their nearest branch location in person to fill out an application that consisted of several pages, which could take in excess of 20 minutes, followed by hours of time-consuming paperwork and processing by EmployBridge employees.

Since the implementation, applicants can now access the application process online at any time, from any computer with an Internet connection. Easy-to-understand instructions carefully guide them through each step, helping to ensure that forms are fully completed with the proper information. Applicants also can electronically “sign” and submit documents such as W-4 forms, which eliminates the need to fax, mail or hand deliver documents that require a signature. As a result of the OAE solution, EmployBridge processes four times as many applicants as it was processing previously, improving the organization’s ability to find the right person for the right job.

For EmployBridge managers, OAE has helped reduce tasks that could take hours to mere minutes. Managers can quickly review each application to determine the best candidates for specific job opportunities. Detailed qualification checks required by each client are conducted automatically, helping to increase the speed and accuracy of the qualification process.

“We can calculate a clear return on investment with our OAE solution, based on greater efficiencies and lower operating costs,” Loope said. “Equally important, this solution has helped us serve our applicants and clients even better ? and that’s always our goal at EmployBridge.”

Learn more about the creation of EmployBridge’s innovative business solution with Credera at http://blog.credera.com/type/videos/great-work-with-great-clients-employbridge.

More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available in the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

About EmployBridge

EmployBridge is the fastest-growing national provider of staffing and workforce solutions in the country. Created from the combination of several successful staffing organizations during the 1990s, EmployBridge provides staffing solutions for a specific number of work areas, including logistics staffing, transportation services, administrative and manufacturing support, accounting services, and medical staffing. The company now has 155 locations throughout the U.S. Learn more about the company at www.employbridge.com.

About Credera

Credera is a full-service management and technology consulting firm. Our clients range from Fortune 1,000 companies to emerging industry leaders. We provide expert, objective advice to help solve complex business and technology challenges. Our deep capabilities in strategy, organization, process, analytics and technology help our clients improve their performance. Clients depend on our ability to anticipate, recognize and address their specific needs. Credera’s consultants work with some of the world’s best known brands in a variety of industries, including Brinker, C Spire, EmployBridge, GameStop, Interstate Batteries, National Geographic, Neiman Marcus, Pep Boys, The Container Store and many more emerging industry leaders around the country. Founded in 1999, Credera is headquartered in Dallas, TX, and hosts offices and staffing locations around the country, including Houston, Austin and Denver. More information is available at www.credera.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.

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. — July 30, 2012 — For the past 30 years, Microsoft Corp. has introduced hardware that helps people interact better and more easily with Windows. Today, Microsoft Hardware continues the tradition with the introduction of new products that work beautifully with Windows 8.

Wedge Touch Mouse

Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse packs full functionality into an ultracompact frame that’s great for a mobile lifestyle. Small enough to fit in your pocket, the Wedge Touch Mouse is designed to complement your Windows experience in all its forms, providing four-way touch scrolling and navigation at your fingertips.

• Its artful and minimalist design also comes free of cables or USB transceivers — you simply turn it on and connect it to your Bluetooth-enabled laptop or tablet for a clutter-free experience.

• It features BlueTrack Technology so you can use it on virtually any surface, whether you’re in a conference room, a coffee shop or at home on your couch.*

• It includes Backpack Mode to power down and sleep along with the computer it’s paired to, extending battery life.

• Pricing: estimated retail price of US$69.95.

Wedge Mobile Keyboard

The new ultraslim Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard brings full-size keyboard comfort, efficiency and speed to a tablet. Designed specifically for tablet users, Wedge Mobile Keyboard includes some of the most commonly used features, such as Windows Hot Keys and built-in media keys.

• The lightweight design makes it easy to carry, and its full-sized keyset provides a comfortable experience that makes typing a breeze.

• Its durable cover not only helps protect your keyboard from scratches but also quickly converts into a tablet stand. When you’re done using it, simply snap the cover back on the keyboard to power it down before you stash it in your bag.

• Bluetooth technology lets you wirelessly connect to your tablet without a cable or transceiver.

• Pricing: estimated retail price of US$79.95.

Sculpt Touch Mouse

Designed to provide comfort matched with portability, the Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse is a great solution for smooth and easy navigation with a Windows 8-based PC.

• With a four-way touch scroll strip, you can breeze up and down, left and right, and through applications and documents with a simple finger swipe, making it great for navigating the Windows 8 Start screen.

• Sculpt Touch Mouse uses Bluetooth technology, so you can wirelessly connect to your tablet without a cable or transceiver.

• Pricing: estimated retail price of US$49.95.

Sculpt Mobile Keyboard

The Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard provides an ideal balance of mobility, comfort and productivity. A full-size keyboard with Microsoft’s Comfort Curve design and Bluetooth connectivity, the Sculpt Mobile Keyboard is built to be the ideal travel companion.

• At just more than one pound, the keyboard is perfect for on-the-go computing with high-quality construction built for travel.

• Its Comfort Curve design helps position the hands and wrists in a natural and comfortable resting position.

• Battery-saving technology powers the keyboard down into sleep mode after a period of inactivity. The keyboard wakes up and reconnects with the simple tap of a key.

• Pricing: estimated retail price of US$49.95.

Touch Mouse — Updated Gesture Settings for Windows 8

As promised, the Microsoft Touch Mouse will obtain updated functionality specifically designed for Windows 8 with new gesture settings to easily navigate the new UI.

• One-finger swipes allow customers to move naturally and intuitively side to side or up and down, shifting content on screen.

• Two-finger movements manage apps, switch through open apps and show app commands.

• Three fingers allow customers to zoom in and out.

• Thumb gestures navigate backward and forward within apps.

• Pricing: estimated retail price of US$79.95.

Beginning with the introduction of the Microsoft Mouse, the Microsoft Hardware Group has designed its hardware to specifically light up features in Windows. Optimized for Windows 8, Microsoft’s new lineup of mice and keyboards are loaded with features including Bluetooth connectivity, BlueTrack Technology for tracking on virtually any surface,* and specific functionality that gives customers a fast and fluid way to navigate in their world with Windows 8. The hardware is designed by Microsoft and optimized for Windows, desktop, laptop and tablet so users can have the best computing experience for any lifestyle.

“Our new mice and keyboards really light up Windows, providing fast and fluid navigation, increased productivity, and enhanced mobility packaged in sleek, stylish designs,” said Brett Kelleran, general manager, Microsoft Hardware. “Microsoft Hardware is designed by Microsoft, optimized for Windows.”

From desktop and notebook to ultrabook and tablet PCs, Microsoft’s newest accessories are the perfect companion for Windows.

Product Availability

All products will be available soon at the online Microsoft Store and through other retailers.

More information about these and other Microsoft Hardware products can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware.

About Microsoft Hardware

For 30 years, the Hardware Group has employed innovative engineering, cutting-edge industrial design and extensive usability testing to create products of exceptional quality and durability that enhance the software experience and strengthen the connection between customers and their PCs. Microsoft Hardware leads the industry in ergonomic engineering, industrial design and hardware/software compatibility, offering customers an easier, more convenient and more enjoyable computing experience. More information about Microsoft Hardware is available at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware and http://www.microsofthardwareblog.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.

* BlueTrack Technology does not work on clear glass or mirrored surfaces.

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 — July 26, 2012 — Microsoft Corp.’s Trustworthy Computing Group named Vasilis Pappas the winner of the company’s first-ever BlueHat Prize contest, a competition that awards the development of new, innovative computer security defense technologies. The company presented Pappas, currently a Ph.D. student at Columbia University in New York, with $200,000 at the Microsoft Researcher Appreciation Party.

“A year ago we posed a challenge to the researcher community and asked them to shift their focus from solely identifying and reporting individual vulnerabilities to investing in new lines of defensive research that could mitigate entire classes of attacks,” said Mike Reavey, senior director, Microsoft Security Response Center. “It’s with great pleasure that we congratulate the winner of our inaugural BlueHat Prize contest, Vasilis, for his submission of a novel defensive technology that advances the challenging issue of exploit mitigation of some of the most popular attack techniques we’re seeing today.”

kBouncer, the winning entry among 20 submissions, detects abnormal control transfers using the Last Branch Recording feature of Intel processors to mitigate Return Oriented Programming (ROP). ROP is an advanced technique that attackers use to combine short pieces of benign code, already present in a system, for a malicious purpose. By using supported hardware features, kBouncer can be implemented with lower cost to performance and development time. All three BlueHat Prize finalists designed technologies to mitigate attacks that leverage ROP, underscoring how prominent the exploitation technique is today. Microsoft awarded first runner-up, Ivan Fratric, $50,000 for his submission, called ROPGuard, and a surprise $10,000 cash reward was given to the second runner-up, Jared DeMott, for /ROP. In addition to the monetary prizes, the company gave all three winners subscriptions to the Microsoft Developer Network valued at $10,000 each.

“The Blue Hat prize is more than a competition; it’s the future of security defense, where the community comes together to collectively take on some of the toughest problems we face and make the computing ecosystem safer,” said Matt Thomlinson, general manager, Trustworthy Computing Group, Microsoft. “The result is that in under a year, we went from challenge to creation to integration of some of the BlueHat Prize finalists’ technologies into the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit 3.5 Technology Preview, to protect against known and unknown threats. We’ll continue to evaluate additional integration as appropriate.”

The BlueHat Prize competition was designed to challenge the security community to look beyond the norm of problems, such as vulnerabilities, and instead focus on developing innovative solutions to pressing security challenges. Microsoft accepted entries from Aug. 3, 2011, until April 1, 2012, and then a panel of Microsoft security engineers judged the submissions based on the following criteria: practicality and functionality (30 percent); robustness — how easy it would be to bypass the proposed solution (30 percent); and impact (40 percent). The official BlueHat Prize competition rules and guidelines are available at http://www.BlueHatPrize.com.

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.