Microsoft Honored for the Most Significant Swiss Technology Investment

Zürich, Switzerland / Washington, DC, September 19, 2007 – On September 20, 2007, the Greater Zurich Area’s Microsoft (Schweiz) AG will be presented with a Tell Award for most significant Swiss technology investment in 2006.

Ambassador Urs Ziswiler will award the prize to Microsoft (Schweiz) AG during the Swiss Embassy’s 6th Annual Alumni Garden Party in Washington DC, a mark of recognition to the Redmond, Washington based company for opening its Microsoft Developer Center for Collaboration Technologies in Zürich.

Essential components of Microsoft’s new Unified Communications product suite, especially its Voice over IP technologies, are developed in Zürich. Voice, Video, Instant Messaging and presence functions for corporate customers are seamlessly integrated in Microsoft Office. The Microsoft Developer Center has been launched after the acquisition of the Zürich-based company media-streams.com.

“It is no coincidence that Microsoft has chosen the Greater Zurich Area for its Developer Center”, says Willi Meier, CEO of the Greater Zurich Area AG. With its universities, corporate research centers and its excellent ICT infrastructure, the region is a multilingual hub that attracts the brightest talent in technology. “And thanks to the best quality of life in the world, many international researchers decide to actually stay in Zürich,” says Meier.

“Microsoft is greatly honored to be awarded this prize by the Swiss Ambassador in Washington. The Tell Award is a great validation of our decision to invest in the Greater Zurich Area making sure that users worldwide can enjoy the benefits of ‘Software made in Switzerland’ in the future“, says Erich Gebhardt, Director Industry Engagement of the Microsoft Developer Center in Zürich.

In addition to Zürich-based Microsoft (Schweiz) AG, this year’s winners of the Tell Awards include Cemex, Electronic Arts, and Kyphon. Named after the national hero Wilhelm Tell, they are an annual celebration of Switzerland’s most significant inward investment projects by North American firms.

According to Swiss foreign investment agency Location:Switzerland, Switzerland was the 4th most important destination for foreign direct investments from the U.S. in 2006.

Holger Rungwerth, PR Manager, Microsoft Switzerland Ltd Liab. Co, Wallisellen/Zürich
Phone: +41 78 844 60 83, holgerru@microsoft.com

Marc Neumann, Media Relations, Greater Zurich Area, New York
Phone: +1 917 330 947

About Microsoft Developer Center
The Microsoft Developer Center for Collaboration Technologies in Zürich resides in the Unified Communication Group (UCG) of Microsoft's Business Division. This division delivers software, servers and software-based services that maximize the impact that an organization's key assets, their people, have on both structured and unstructured business activities, thereby amplifying business success. Microsoft established the UCG in January 2006 by merging the Real-Time Collaboration and Exchange Group. www.microsoft.com/uc

About the Greater Zurich Area AG
The Greater Zurich Area AG, a nonprofit organization, is the marketing association for the Greater Zurich Area business region. It recruits international companies abroad and assists them with setting up companies and making investments in the Greater Zurich Area. Its sponsor is the “Stiftung Greater Zurich Area Standortmarketing,” a public-private partnership that was established in November 1998. Since that time, its membership has grown to include the cantons of Aargau, Glarus, Graubünden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn and Zürich, the cities of Zürich and Winterthur, and several businesses.
www.greaterzuricharea.ch

This release was published on openPR.