Microsoft Helps UK Retailer With Online Technology Makeover to Drive More Rapid Growth

Shop Direct Group improves employee efficiency, reduces costs with Windows 7 operating system upgrade.

REDMOND, Washington, March 2, 2010 - Microsoft Corp today announced that the Shop Direct Group has embraced
the Windows 7 operating system to support its ambitious online growth plans
for 2011. As the leader in store systems, business intelligence and digital
marketing IT solutions for retail, Microsoft helps companies such as Shop
Direct build their competitive position in today's challenging economic
environment.

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Shop Direct Group is one of the largest online and shop-at-home retail
companies in the United Kingdom, operating under 11 well-known brands such as
Littlewoods, Very, Woolworths, Marshall Ward, Kays and Great Universal. The
company has 10,000 employees and is based in Liverpool, England, with
warehouses and contact centres throughout the UK.

Primarily an online shop-at-home business, Shop Direct Group plans to
increase online trading to more than 70 per cent by 2011. The company
recognises that increasing its business online will require a technology
makeover. To be successful, it must offer up-to-date applications to its
employees on an up-to-date operating system. Also driving the decision to
upgrade was the need to improve remote access for mobile workers -
approximately 10 per cent of the company's employees.

"Shop Direct can't expect users to connect on an older, unreliable VPN
connection," said Leslie Hand, research director at IDC Retail Insights.
"This enables colleagues to work wherever they are located, giving employees
easy access to the information they need when they need it. This allows them
to work smarter and is a critical step for Shop Direct to evolve the
business."

"The Shop Direct Group provides an excellent example of how innovative
retailers can implement advanced information technology today to gain
competitive advantage tomorrow," said Brendan O'Meara, managing director,
worldwide retail industry, Microsoft. "Consumers are driven by value and
convenience. Through delivery of better connected shopping experiences,
online retailers such as the Shop Direct Group can add tangible value while
enhancing their brand and cementing customer loyalty through these
challenging economic times."

To help drive rapid growth, Shop Direct Group decided to upgrade its
10,000 computers to Windows 7 and Windows Internet Explorer 8 internet
browser, based on a successful pilot deployment of over 100 computers in the
company's lab environment. It also implemented Microsoft System Center
Configuration Manager 2007 R2 for centralised deployment and management. The
company is also planning to upgrade its 350 servers from the Windows Server
2003 operating system to Windows Server 2008 R2.

To address its virtual private network (VPN) challenges, Shop Direct
Group evaluated DirectAccess, a feature of Windows 7 that, when combined with
Windows Server 2008 R2, enables employees to connect to the corporate network
from virtually any internet connection. The company's IT staff can also
manage computers connected to the corporate network via DirectAccess as if
they were locally connected - helping ensure configurations are up to date
and secure.

And, Shop Direct Group wanted to enhance its IT security, particularly
with encryption, in an effort to not only protect sensitive company
information but to also comply with government security regulations. As part
of the upgrade, the company is implementing security enhancements to help
strengthen compliance regulations. The company evaluated several encryption
products but chose BitLocker drive encryption and BitLocker To Go, built-in
features of Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise, as the solutions that would
help best meet security standards and save costs. With its up-to-date IT
infrastructure, including System Center Configuration Manager, Intel vPro
technology, Forefront Client Security, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7,
and features such as DirectAccess, Shop Direct Group is able to manage IT
more efficiently and reduce management costs.

Shop Direct Group now can perform IT management tasks, such as pushing
software updates and provisioning new computers, from a central location. It
will be able to service remote computers and those at other locations more
quickly and without using third-party, onsite IT resources, and is expected
to save valuable IT budget.

About Microsoft in Retail

Microsoft is the leading provider of global retail information technology
solutions. Microsoft is No. 1 in store systems, in terms of retail
point-of-service operating systems. Microsoft also is the leader in business
intelligence with the vast majority of retailers using Excel as a decision
support tool. Microsoft also leads in digital marketing with the most
comprehensive end-to-end solutions. Its digital marketing solutions range
from the stack (Windows, Windows Server, SQL Server, .NET, Visual Studio) to
online (Commerce Server) to mobile (Windows Mobile), and from digital
advertising (Bing, adCenter) to entertainment (Xbox, Xbox LIVE, Zune,
Silverlight). Microsoft delivers connected experiences for stores, commerce
and the enterprise via the "three screens" (PC, browser, mobile) for easy
access across your digital world.

Microsoft's Retail Group provides software that helps retailers thrive in
today's competitive global marketplace by meeting the demand for a highly
personalised and connected shopper experience. Microsoft helps retailers
deliver a consistent shopping experience through seamless multi-channel
integration and via innovative technologies and mobile and new social
networking channels. Through a combination of Microsoft- and partner-based
solutions, retailers can turn data into insight, ideas into action and change
into opportunity. More information about Microsoft's Retail Group can be
found at www.microsoft.com/retail.

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.

This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp
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for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any
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contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the
use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting any kind of warranty.

Wendy Grover of Microsoft Corp, +1-425-705-7609, wegrover at microsoft.com; NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the appropriate contacts listed at www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/contactus.mspx. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft Corp, please visit the Microsoft News Center at www.microsoft.com/news on Microsoft's corporate information pages.