REDMOND, Wash. — June 12, 2012 — MegaFon, the second-largest mobile and broadband operator in Russia and neighboring countries, has recently implemented a large-scale project, installing Windows 7 Enterprise on all its computers in the head office and eight branches, as well as in OJSC “MegaFon Retail.” As a result of its migration to Windows 7, MegaFon has noted better and faster employee performance, a reduced number of calls to the service center, and improved fault-tolerance and security of all systems. The newly adopted operating system is also expected to save the company money on IT infrastructure support, maintenance costs and even on energy consumption.

“The first tests indicated that Windows 7 is exactly what our company needs. It provides better opportunities in terms of access to information, ease of use for both users and administrators, improved software reliability and security, and overall reduced costs for computer fleet operation and administration,” said Konstantin Yunov, IT director of MegaFon.

Because of the improved fault-tolerance of Windows 7, the service center receives 40 percent fewer calls concerning operating system issues. At the same time, in case any problems arise, specialists in the service center can solve them using special tools to access a remote Windows desktop, which eliminates the need for the physical presence of specialists and shortens troubleshooting time.

“Today the project implemented by MegaFon is one of the most large-scale Windows 7 adoptions in Russia,” said Maria Melkova, head of the Department of Microsoft operating systems promotion in Russia. “And we are pleased to receive such positive feedback from specialists of the company.”

The migration to Windows 7 for the head office took three months, and the branches required 11 months. The new operating system was installed by MegaFon internal specialists.

More about the possibilities Windows 7 opens for businesses is available here. More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

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. — June 12, 2012 — M.G. Bryan Equipment Co., a leading heavy equipment and machinery OEM for the oil and gas industry, is using cloud computing for remote asset management of high-tech fracturing equipment. Designed and integrated with Rockwell Automation, M.G. Bryan’s new equipment’s control and information system leverages Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Azure cloud-computing platform to help provide secure remote access to real-time information, automated maintenance alerts, and service and parts delivery requests. With Rockwell Automation, M.G. Bryan designed a simple, user-friendly system using the cloud to improve productivity and business intelligence.

Hydraulic fracturing releases petroleum or natural gas from reservoir rock for extraction. “In the oil and gas industry, production has to follow the resources and never takes a break,” said Matt Bryan, president, M.G. Bryan. “Fracturing vehicles operate in extreme, isolated environments. They typically require new oil filters every 200 hours and complete engine rebuilds after 4,000 to 5,000 hours of service. Leveraging the cloud, we can cost-effectively keep tabs on our equipment and help customers maximize asset uptime, dramatically improving their return on investment.”

Rockwell Automation upgraded M.G. Bryan’s fracturing equipment with a tightly integrated control and information system that brings together disparate information sources, including historical, relational and transactional data. To fully leverage this rich data without requiring M.G. Bryan or its customers to build and manage their own datacenters, Rockwell Automation turned to cloud computing. Using mobile technology and the seamless transfer of business information over the cloud, M.G. Bryan has access to a higher degree of connected intelligence, enabling new levels of customer service in this industry.

“Our alliance with Microsoft explores industrial uses for the cloud to open the door for our customers’ innovations,” said Sujeet Chand, chief technology officer, Rockwell Automation. “For M.G. Bryan, the cloud offers a highly scalable, cost-efficient method for storing and remotely accessing real-time information that will help extend equipment lifecycles and optimize productivity. Focusing on building solutions that consider productivity, user-friendliness and connected intelligence in a scalable platform is how we leverage the pillars of Microsoft’s Discrete Industry Reference Architecture. We see this as an attractive solution for many other equipment builders and end users around the world.”

With the new system, data can be pulled from the cloud via mobile devices and Web browsers to produce reports and dashboards on the condition of individual vehicles’ drivetrains and on hydraulic fracturing performance, as well as process performance and maintenance trends related to entire fleets. The flexibility and scalability of cloud computing will help M.G. Bryan offer holistic operations management to its rapidly expanding fleet of vehicles.

“M.G. Bryan is differentiating itself in this market through transforming its business model using an innovative cloud approach that helps reduce project risk and cost of ownership while improving time-to-value,” said Caglayan Arkan, general manager, Worldwide Manufacturing & Resources Sector, Microsoft. “Microsoft provided a framework that helped Rockwell Automation take advantage of Windows Azure for high-efficiency operations management in remote production environments. This platform can improve business performance and dramatically reduce system cost and complexity for M.G. Bryan.”

More information on the Microsoft Discrete Industry Reference Architecture can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/dira. More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available in the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

About M.G. Bryan

M.G. Bryan Equipment Company supplies engines, generators, industrial pump units, oil field service equipment, and hazardous area power packs to companies across the world. For the last 25 years, M.G. Bryan Equipment Company has provided customers with products and diesel engine power packages that are reliable, durable, and environmentally safe. M.G. Bryan Equipment Company also provides parts and service for all represented engine lines. The Company is located in Grand Prairie, Texas.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs over 21,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.

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.

ORLANDO, Fla. — June 12, 2012 — Today at TechEd North America, Microsoft Corp. detailed the value Windows 8 brings to businesses through enhanced fundamentals, new enterprise features and strong application compatibility. The company also announced updates to several Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) products to help organizations manage, secure and enhance the Windows experience.

“Windows 8 is enterprise-ready by design,” said Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president for Windows Web Services at Microsoft. “Adding features that bring new possibilities in mobility, productivity and security, Windows 8 will delight developers, IT professionals and the employees they support.”

Now available for download are updates to several MDOP products, which enable organizations to virtualize, manage and restore data, applications and users’ experiences on Windows:

• The beta for Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) 2.0 makes it easier for enterprises to protect data with BitLocker and BitLocker To Go by using Windows 8 support to simplify the provisioning process, monitoring and enforcing compliance for improved security, and reducing the cost of managing an encrypted environment by integrating with existing managements systems, while empowering users to support themselves with a self-service recovery portal. A download of the beta is available at http://www.microsoft.com/getMBAM.

• Both the Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) 4.0 Service Pack 1 beta and release candidate for the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 8 are available today, providing support for Windows 8 Release Preview. The download of AGPM beta is available here, and the download of the DaRT 8 release candidate is available here.

• The second beta for User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) also will be available by the end of the month. UE-V is designed to give individuals the ability to change their device and keep their experience without reconfiguring applications or settings in Windows 7 or Windows 8. New features in the second beta include roaming system settings between Windows 7 and Windows 8; support for additional operating system settings, like Start menu, Taskbar and folder options; Group Policy support to ensure agent configuration consistency; and the roaming and sync of settings between Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10.

Those wanting to download Windows 8 Release Preview and test it in the business environment should visit http://preview.windows.com. More information on Windows 8 for businesses can be found on the Windows for your Business Blog at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business or at the Windows 8 Enterprise site at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/products-and-technologies/windows-8/default.aspx.

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

Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it is commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

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.