Microsoft Government Leaders Forum Begins in Prague

Microsoft Government Leaders Forum Begins in Prague

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, February 1/PRNewswire/ --

-Event Brings Together European Government Leaders to Discuss Progress
Towards the Goals of the Lisbon Agenda and Highlights Microsoft Public-Sector
Programmes



Microsoft Corp. along with the Honourable Stanislav Gross, Prime Minister
of the Czech Republic, today opened the second European Microsoft Government
Leaders Forum (GLF) in Prague. The two-day event, brings together top
government and businesses leaders from around the region with the goal of
driving discussion around how the private sector can work in cooperation with
local, regional and central governments to help develop e-government
solutions. The GLF will focus on the strategic aims of the Lisbon Agenda and
provide a platform for the private sector and government to explore the
partnerships necessary for success in achieving the EU's policy goals and
boosting economic growth.



(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )



Jean-Philippe Courtois, senior vice president and chief executive officer
of Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), opened the event today in
Prague. Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, and
Gerri Elliott, Microsoft corporate vice president for worldwide public
sector, will both present keynotes at the event that will underscore the
company's commitment to meeting the unique needs of governments worldwide and
to continuing expansion of innovative government programmes that support
economic opportunities.



"The goals of the Lisbon Agenda, to harness technology for social and
economic progress, are goals that Microsoft shares," Gates said before the
event. "We recognise our responsibilities as a corporate citizen, and through
initiatives such as the GLF, we are listening carefully to our government
partners and working hard to support their efforts with responsive
technologies and programmes. We are committed to continuing and furthering
these efforts."



In support of the Lisbon Agenda's goals to increase partnerships between
industry, government and customers, Courtois highlighted the broad
availability of the European Union Grants Advisor (EU Grants Advisor)
programme. Launched three years ago as a pilot programme, the EU Grants
Advisor is a collaborative effort led by Microsoft to help small and
medium-size enterprises (SMEs), as well as local and regional governments, to
better understand and use EU funding opportunities at the international,
national and regional level. The programme has been successful in helping
SMEs in Poland, Spain, and Hungary and just last week the programme was
expanded to France. The EU Grants Advisor reinforces Microsoft's commitment
to investing in Europe, encouraging economic growth, and helping businesses
to realise their potential through technology adoption.



"The majority of businesses in Europe are Small and Medium Enterprises
and these companies are the driving force behind the creation of new and
better jobs, as well as the force behind stimulating competitiveness and
innovation," said Courtois. "With the EU Grants Advisor programme, we aim to
stimulate the growth and progress of these important business owners in
Europe, a key way to help foster a thriving knowledge based economy."



Over 20 million SMEs currently conduct business in the 25 EU member
states, employing in excess of 122 million people. Averaged across the EU, no
more than 45 per cent of these small businesses are aware of the EU funds
available to them; only about 4 per cent of SMEs actually apply for grants;
and a mere 1 per cent are successful in their application (and a recent
report tells us that that number is decreasing). With this in mind, the EU
Grants Advisor has been developed to increase awareness and understanding of
financial support opportunities. Through a dedicated SME website, business
owners can find information about the various EU funds and can start to
better ascertain which funds they may be eligible for. In addition, the
initiative offers local independent and specialised consultancy regarding the
grants available for particular technology projects; helps business owners
define their technology needs and appropriate solutions; and provides a
service that helps with the formalities and steps for technology grant
applications.



"The training and the predefined templates provided by Microsoft
facilitated the identification of the most appropriate grant and reduced the
necessary administration of our clients connected to the EU funds
applications," said Robert Bobrovniczki, sales manager at VT-SOFT Ltd, a
Microsoft Certified Partner in Hungary. "That was a great help for our
clients (mainly Hungarian SMEs) to implement customised IT solutions."



Microsoft also announced the participation of Italy's Ministry of the
Interior to the Government Security Program (GSP) and expects to announce
another two GSP participants at the time of the GLF. Launched in January 2003
and with at least 60 countries eligible, the GSP is a no-cost initiative that
provides participating national governments and international organisations
with access to Windows and Office source code to conduct comprehensive
security reviews of Microsoft products. To date, 36 governments and
organisations around the world are participating in the programme.




Additional information of today's announcements is available on
Microsoft's EMEA Press Centre website at:
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre and at the virtual press room:
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/glfprague .



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 12,000 people in over 55 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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Source: Microsoft Corp.

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