Microsoft Highlights New Solutions for 'Connected Experiences' in the Retail and Hospitality Industry at National Retail Federation Annual Convention & EXPO

Microsoft and its community of partners will showcase how they are delivering exceptional business value in enabling retail customers to deploy and manage mission-critical solutions on the Windows platform.

REDMOND, Washington, January 6, 2011 - (Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

    Where:  National Retail Federation (NRF) Annual Convention & EXPO
            Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
            655 W. 34th St.
            New York, NY 10001

    When:   Jan. 9-12, 2011

    What:   At NRF 2011, Microsoft Corp. and its community of partners will
            showcase how they are delivering exceptional business value in
            enabling customers to deploy and manage mission-critical
            solutions on the Windows platform. Microsoft is unique in
            bringing together a breadth of consumer and enterprise cloud
            capabilities in conjunction with a familiar technology and
            productivity platform and a broad developer ecosystem to provide
            retail enterprises with the IT flexibility and choice they need
            to run their businesses and compete in today's global economy.

Microsoft Booth No. 836 will feature the following:

    -- Connecting customers. Microsoft and its partners continue to help
       retail companies succeed in today's competitive global marketplace
       by meeting the demand for a highly personalized and connected shopper
       experience. Demonstrations will showcase how retailers can engage and
       serve their customers at an individual, demographic and local level -
       critical elements to attract and retain customers in an increasingly
       connected and mobile world.
    -- Connecting stores. Microsoft will demonstrate advanced technologies to
       help retailers build a modern store architecture that can make their
       staff and resources more effective through automating systems
       administration, improving sales productivity and improving stock
       management.
    -- Connecting operations. Retailers can help increase productivity and
       improve operational efficiencies in the back office with technologies
       that are designed to support tighter store-to-headquarters
       collaboration and enterprise business intelligence. Demonstrations
       will showcase how retailers can build an efficient retail operation,
       fueled by an integrated back office with real-time store data feeds,
       integrated retail management and enterprise resource planning,
       multichannel capability, and ubiquitous business insight.
    -- Innovation. Microsoft, through its product and engineering teams,
       incubation labs, core Microsoft Research organization and university
       partnerships, is deeply involved in supporting and advancing the state
       of the art in ways that fundamentally transform people's lives and
       society as a whole. New product offerings such as Kinect for Xbox 360,
       speech recognition features in Windows Phone 7 and touch capabilities
       in Windows 7 are evidence of Microsoft's leadership in natural
       computing and Natural User Interface that is taking the retail user
       experience beyond today's mouse and keyboard and offering a much
       richer natural interaction.

Microsoft and Partner News and Highlights:

    -- Microsoft Dynamics will have a major presence at NRF 2011 to show the
       progress that has been made with Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, and
       to highlight customer centricity solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics
       CRM.
         -- Connected operations. Demonstrations will showcase key
            capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, as well as
            complementary solutions from partners, including Aldata Solution.
         -- Connected customers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM will be central to
            the customer-centric solutions demonstrated by partners Avanade,
            HCL Technologies and Retaligent Solutions Inc.
    -- Windows Embedded will showcase its platforms and technologies
       tailored for the retail and hospitality markets, including Windows
       Embedded POSReady (www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/
       products/readyproducts/posready/default.mspx), Windows Embedded
       Handheld (www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/products/
       handheld/overview.mspx) and next-generation digital signage products.
    -- Microsoft partner Retalix Ltd., a leading provider of software and
       professional services to retailers and distributors worldwide, will
       announce a new store system utilizing advanced Microsoft technologies
       to help ensure scalability and resilience, and support an innovative
       architecture design.
    -- Microsoft partner Lokad will announce Salescast, a Web application for
       sales forecasting hosted on Windows Azure
       (www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/windowsazure/), for the retail
       industry.
    -- The Consumer Goods Forum, together with Capgemini, HP and Microsoft,
       will publish a new report on the "2020 Future Value Chain: Building
       Strategies for the New Decade."

Other News:

Microsoft and partner executives will participate in NRF's BIG !deas and
Super Sessions:

    -- Tuesday, Jan. 11, 8:30-9:30 a.m.: Super Session: Making the Retail
       Business Dynamic

       Speaker: Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president, Microsoft
       Business Solutions, and featured guest Bill Fields, chairman, China
       Horizon

    -- Monday, Jan. 10, 11:30 a.m.-noon: Translate Customer Understanding
       Into Differentiated Strategies

       Speaker: Randy Misener, retail solutions director, Avanade 

    -- Monday, Jan. 10, 3-3:30 p.m.: Connecting Your Business to Devices and
       Customers with Windows Embedded

       Speaker: Barb Edson, senior director of marketing, Windows Embedded,
       Microsoft

    -- Monday, Jan. 10, 4:45-5:15 p.m.: Aligning the Agendas of the CMO and
       CIO

       Speakers: Tom Kersten, national retail director, Microsoft, and Jeong
       Woo, retail specialist, Microsoft

    -- Tuesday, Jan. 11, 11:30 a.m.-noon: Winning in Retail Today and
       Tomorrow

       Speakers: Dilip Popat, global retail industry director, Microsoft
       Dynamics, and Michael Griffiths, global retail group product director,
       Microsoft Dynamics

    -- Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1:45-2:15 p.m.: Connected Customer Centricity:
       Customer Relationship Management in the Digital Age

       Speakers: Bill Patterson, director, product management, Microsoft
       Dynamics CRM Online, and Javed Sikander, global retail technology
       strategist, Microsoft

Who:

    -- Bill Gonzalez, general manager, Worldwide Distribution and Services
       Sector, Microsoft
    -- Brendan O'Meara, managing director, Worldwide Retail Industry,
       Microsoft
    -- Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president, Microsoft Business
       Solutions
    -- David Gruehn, retail industry solutions director, U.S. Distribution &
       Services, Microsoft
    -- Dilip Popat, global retail industry director, Microsoft Dynamics
    -- Barb Edson, senior director of marketing, Windows Embedded, Microsoft
    -- David Wurster, senior product manager, Windows Embedded, Microsoft
    -- John Doyle, group product manager, Windows Embedded Systems and
       Services, Microsoft

More Details:

    -- More information is available at
       www.microsoft.com/industry/retail/events/nrf.
    -- NRF announcements from Windows Embedded and its partners are available
       at the Windows Embedded News Center
       (www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/embedded/).
    -- For the latest NRF news, links and photos follow @MSFTWEB on Twitter.

Wendy Grover of Microsoft, +1-425-705-7609, wegrover at microsoft.com; or Chris McManus of NarratePR, +1-718-832-9154, v-chmc at microsoft.com, for Microsoft. NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at 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 www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.