Technology major Microsoft (News - Alert) announced that Underwriters Laboratories (UL), an independent safety science company, is deploying Microsoft Office 365, powered by Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online, to its 50 offices.

Microsoft Office 365 is expected to assist UL, a provider of solutions for safer products, processes and work environments for more than 66,000 customers, to help create stronger collaboration and communication worldwide.

“At UL, we are driven by the need to bring safer products to market faster,” said Christian Anschuetz, chief information officer of UL, in a statement. “With an increasingly complex global supply chain and the evolving nature of safety, our global staff needs to be accessible and collaborative 24/7.”

He added, “We have been able to on-board thousands of employees in a matter of weeks, and everyone from new workers to 20-year veteran engineers have quickly grasped how this new software changes the way they work, communicate and collaborate together -- across borders and even down the hallways from each other.”

As part of facilitating on-boarding new employees, UL upgraded computers to Windows 7, deployed Micros oft Office 2010 and deployed Exchange Online for business e-mail.

One of the objectives behind upgradation was to provide its employees with the best in productivity tools.

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync was added for providing employees with more choice in mobile work devices. UL deployed SharePoint Online through the Office 365 Rapid Deployment Program aimed at collaboration.

The cloud-hosted unified communications and collaborations systems enabled UL to reduce costs without compromising on capabilities. The cloud-based system is flexible, and allowed smaller deployments and more consolidation of hardware and software, according to a press release from Microsoft.

Recently, telecom giant BT (News - Alert) entered into a partnership with Microsoft to develop an enterprise-class platform to host dedicated Microsoft Lync Voice pilots in BT’s Irving, Texas Operations Center for US-centric customers.

To find out more about Microsoft, visit the company at ITEXPO East 2012. To be held Jan. 31- Feb. 3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Fla., ITEXPO (News - Alert) is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit Microsoft in booth # 806C. For more information on ITEXPO registration, click here.

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