Dutch merchandiser Noviplast employs more than 15 mobile staffers who were using paper-based processes to track in-store inventory and take orders. The company deployed Samsung ATIV Tab 7 tablets running Windows 8 Pro and their own custom-built Windows Store app to automate these tasks and improve customer service. Now orders are sent in email to the head office for daily invoice processing, expediting payment by two weeks and improving inventory tracking.

Seeking a way to connect their 350 field-based sales professionals to all their information resources, Vianex, a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in Greece, turned to Microsoft Exchange Online. With the sales force projected to grow, Vianex expects the cloud-based email solution to bring additional benefits when growing company market share as well as leading to lower operational costs at the same time.

With help from Mobile Access, the Karel de Grote-Hogeschool switched to Unified Communications with Microsoft Lync, thereby enhancing efficiency and flexibility for users. For the college, the project means introducing the “New Way to Study” in the world of education and reconfirms the institution’s progressive nature. After the pilot group, internal staff, faculty and students were gradually granted access to Lync, thereby enabling the faculty and staff to communicate and cooperate with greater efficiency and flexibility, including remotely. Students will work with Lync via the cloud, after the migration from Live@edu to Office 365 in the course of the 2012-2013 academic year, and will thus be able to get feedback from their teachers much easier. Mobile Access established a redundant infrastructure so that users can count on optimal availability.

Aviva, a leading provider of financial services worldwide, wanted to help customers save money by basing auto insurance quotes on the behavior of individual drivers instead of statistics. To better understand potential customers, Aviva needed to collect telematics data from moving vehicles, but deploying on-premises infrastructure was too costly and complex. That changed when it implemented a hybrid-cloud solution based on Windows Azure. The solution uses smartphones to collect telematics data that it stores in the cloud on Windows Azure SQL Database. It also integrates with an on-premises quote system and social media such as Facebook and Twitter. With this highly scalable, extensible and secure cloud platform, Aviva can bring innovative solutions to the marketplace with a rapid lifecycle, help customers save up to 20 percent, and reach customers through the devices they use every day.

Digimarc Corporation, a provider of digital watermarking solutions, is using the Windows Azure platform to deliver its innovative services on a global scale. By integrating its Digimarc Discover app with Windows Azure, the company can quickly deliver media content to users worldwide. Running on mobile devices, the app detects digital watermarks embedded in print media and returns relevant information to the reader. With Windows Azure, Digimarc can quickly develop and deliver new solutions that help users connect the things they see in their daily lives with the vast array of information available online.

Emotive, a provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, realized that people were using mobile devices more often than conventional desktops to interact with business applications. To help companies develop and deploy mobile apps more easily, Emotive created an SaaS platform that runs in the cloud on Windows Azure. By taking advantage of Emotive and Windows Azure, businesses can create cloud-based apps that integrate with on-premises data centers and run on multiple mobile devices. As a result, employees can access business applications and data from virtually any location worldwide, which helps them save time and stay productive. Emotive benefits as well—the company can focus on designing and enhancing its own solutions instead of managing IT infrastructure.

Skyline Technologies, a provider of IT solutions and services, teamed with Appleton Group to create clearTREND, an investment research tool based on the Windows Azure platform. The company wanted to deliver clearTREND, which provides real-time data on stock market trends, to users in more than 37 countries quickly and efficiently. The solution includes a Windows 8 app that can be downloaded and installed from the Windows Azure Marketplace, giving Skyline the potential to attract millions of subscribers. And by using Windows Azure, the company can easily handle an influx of users, as well as an increase in the number of securities it tracks. With Windows 8 and Windows Azure, the company can deliver solutions that help people worldwide improve their financial security.

Singapore firm SATS, a leading provider of gateway services and food solutions, wanted to move its mission-critical SAP ERP environment to a more cost-effective and easily scalable environment. The company implemented a solution based on a Microsoft platform that includes Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise. As a result, the company cut operating costs by approximately 20 percent while increasing scalability about 30 percent. SATS can now expand its enterprise resource planning (ERP) capabilities more easily and affordably, provide remote real-time access to line-of-business software and cloud-based office programs, and streamline its IT environment and business processes.

Inspired by a family who understood the challenges of finding pediatric services, blueballoon Health Services takes a unique approach to healthcare delivery. “Our business model involves running multiple centers in multiple communities,” says CEO and co-founder Stephen MacEwen. “We want to be in our families’ communities, rather than having them travel long distances.” Thanks to the comprehensive package of cloud-based software that comes with Office 365, blueballoon’s therapists can work nearly anywhere. The company chose Office 365 over Google Apps for its easy-to-manage access to email, calendar sharing, chat, and other collaboration tools. Now, therapists can quickly share information and expert advice with each other. And it’s all simple enough that no IT support is needed for remote workers. MacEwen says that today, Office 365 is core to the way blueballoon works.

As members of a newly-established company, employees at Element Shipmanagement needed to have access to their email, calendar, and contacts across multiple devices without spending time, effort, and budget on building and maintaining a local IT infrastructure. By implementing a cloud-based solution using Exchange Online, the company was able to meet its business needs on time and within budget.