Faced with economic malaise, Europe needs to fully harness all of its natural resources. One vital and valuable resource that remains underused is TV-band and other spectrum.

It’s hard to believe that the well-known term ‘BRIC’ has now been in use for a decade, yet November 2011 marked the ten year anniversary since Goldman Sachs analyst Jim O'Neill established the phrase grouping Brazil, Russia, India and China together as ‘emerging markets to watch’. Aside from this anniversary reminding us all how fast a decade can pass, it’s remarkable to...

From time to time, this section features blogs by outside parties unrelated to Microsoft on digital policy issues.  We are pleased to be able to offer our readers these external contributions, and grateful to the contributors for their time and thoughts.  Their contents are purely the reflections of the author and do not necessarily reflect Microsoft policy positions.

The EU Cybersecurity and Digital Crimes Forum is a full day conference on cyber and internet security addressing European policy makers and national security and digital crime specialists. We invite you to discover or re-discover key Microsoft programmes & initiatives around this topic. FUTURES interview with ROBERT MADELIN, Director-general for Information Society and Media at the European...

In May 2010 the European Commission adopted its Digital Agenda, with “enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion” as a priority. “Improving digital literacy is crucial to Europe’s future,” Commissioners Neelie Kroes and Androulla Vassiliou announced. “We must invest in the e-skills of all EU citizens to make sure that no one is left behind as the economy goes...

There is a great sense of momentum right now in the digital inclusion community. From grass roots volunteers getting people online across Europe, to the highest level policymakers, everyone has noticed it. Everyone is feeling it. It was talked about when the ‘Gdansk Roadmap’ was launched and where Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission recently signaled that we should put...

How can we make our economies succeed, provide jobs and build for the future?  These are the big questions on government leaders’ minds this year – not to mention those of business and of people everywhere.

With economic recovery here in France, the technology sector is booming! Future engineers and IT professionals are increasingly coveted by companies. Many software and technology consulting companies have announced major hiring plans, encouraged by a forecast industry growth of 3.5% for 2011.

The Race Online 2012  campaign has been established to provide all UK citizens with the opportunity to experience and use the internet, safely, to improve their digital skills, communicate online and take advantage of the many financial savings that are only available online. In partnership, the Microsoft Get Online @ Home initiative which provides affordable reconditioned PCs is making a...

In July 2011, Romania’s first Digital Agenda conference highlighted the importance of getting every European citizen online and equipping them with the right digital skills. The conference identified key challenges to internet inclusion covering issues like broadband investment, open data, and e-government.

Governments across Europe increasingly recognize the benefits of making their non-sensitive and non-personal data open and reusable. For this reason, the topic was outlined in many discussions at the EU Digital Agenda Assembly that took place some weeks ago.In fact better access to public sector information based on open data can improve quality of life and facilitate interfacing with governments. The...

Several of the EU’s biggest tech and media companies join together to explore use of TV white spaces spectrum to help meet the fast rising demand for broadband and therefore meet Europe 2020 targets for broadband coverage.

If you have ever needed to be away from the office to look after your child at the last minute, run an important personal errand or even accept a midday delivery at your home – then you will appreciate the advantages that flexible working offers. In fact, there are multiple benefits for employers and for wider society too: greater employee satisfaction and retention, increased workforce...

“This is not a niche group!”, “ Let’s not still be having the same discussion in 20 years!”, “Let’s get the elephant out of the room!”  were just some of the impassioned rallying cries at the Employer Forum on Accessibility in the Workplace last week.

On 13th April, Microsoft is hosting a roundtable event to discuss recent developments in spectrum policy and their impact on the ICT industry.

Business is moving to the cloud. According to IDC* predictions for 2011, 80% of new software will be available as cloud services; by 2014, over one-third of software purchases will be delivered through the cloud. 

Efficiency and Opportunity: how the Cloud is powering Future Government This year, the Government Solutions Forum in Rome brought together partners, customers and international public sector experts. During the 2 days of the event, participants discussed ways to deliver more effective citizen services, showcasing a wide range of ideas and solutions.

On the topic of cloud computing, Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, put a stake in the ground recently at the World Economic Forum, saying that she wanted Europe not simply to be cloud-friendly but also to be cloud-active. I was pleased to see her emphasis on several legal, technical and commercial issues that are most relevant to a...

Get Online Week starts today across Europe, running from the 28th February – 5th March 2011. As the name suggests, the awareness week aims to get people using the Internet and gaining the skills needed to participate in the new information-based economy. Even in this age of smartphones, wi-fi hotspots and social media, 200 million people in Europe are still without the Internet.

Over the last couple of decades, computing and the array of human interactions it facilitates have played a massive role in changing the way we live. Wikileaks and the civilian revolution in Egypt are two globally visible examples, but computing, now interwoven with almost every aspect of our lives, also affects us on very private levels. Companies across the ICT sector are increasingly intermediary to our...

The protection of one’s personal information continues to garner attention as online services become increasing popular, whether it be social networking, communications via smartphone, or other aspects of cloud computing.

Office 365 for education will extend learning possibilities to students while helping them master technology they will use in their future careers.

The way we learn is changing. The voices of young people from across the globe are captured in this video, illustrating how they see the transition to a new culture of education empowered by technology.

The ‘European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion' is drawing to a close. This should make us wonder why we still see an unacceptably high number of Europeans enduring both poverty and social exclusion. Both are being heightened by the economic crisis, but the headlines often focus on the immediate casualties of the crisis – those whose jobs and benefits come first in the firing...

One of the Commission’s long-time dreams, according to the recent Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, has been an EU “single market” where people can trade without barriers between all of its Member States. The digital revolution that launched buying, selling and services online is helping this...

This week has seen the launch of several initiatives by the European Commission to improve e-Government services for European citizens, including an overall action plan and a new Framework to make these services work better.

In a Brussels speech on 3 December 2010 , Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda, said: “We are now living through a permanent digital revolution. This long and peaceful revolution is changing how we organize our lives. Powerful computing platforms are creating new markets and we are finding new ways to leverage user creativity.”

Microsoft’s announcement this week of new privacy-enhancing technologies in our upcoming Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) browser is our latest move towards giving users simple, clear options for controlling how their information is used on the internet.

Cloud computing may indeed become one of the backbones of our digital future”, stated Vice-President Kroes in a speech on "Cloud computing and data protection". While discussing the potential opportunity that cloud computing represents, and that “the free movement of personal data within the EU is another way to help to complete the Digital Single Market in Europe”, she emphasized...

Growth has been the watchword at the Government Leaders Forum (GLF) in London. It’s an event that brings together some of the region’s most influential public sector figures under one roof, in an effort to find new ways to drive sustainable economic growth in Europe.

The fusing of ICT with business economic delivery models is challenging the future of the IT profession.

I want to share my reflections on the recent announcement of the “Youth on The Move” initiative launched by the European Commission.  First of all, I was very pleased to see how much this initiative recognizes that opening doors to employability is at the heart of Europe’s success in 2020.  Microsoft is a partner in this journey.

What Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn released today should not be seen as business as usual to innovation in Europe, but exactly the opposite. The new flagship of the Europe 2020 strategy is a strong signal by the Commission to challenge the way research and development (R&D) is done  and an injection of new excitement to put us in Europe on the global and competitive stage.  

June 2010 saw the EU Council agree on a Draft Directive on cross-border care. While this is not the final step for full adoption the positive vote of the EU Council is opening a new perspective on cross-border care and on the use of eHealth as a tool to facilitate the mobility of EU citizens.   

How can small businesses succeed in a market as internally varied as Europe? Will current EU regulation further help the growth process for businesses?

Consumers are at the heart of the EU Digital Agenda, and for very good reason. It is the consumerization of ICT that plays an icreasing role in incentivizing innovation in the ICT sector. We will see measure and initiatives that aim at improving transparency of online rights and increasing trust over the next years. Technology can play an important part in supporting these goals.

Last week I joined John Vassallo, Microsoft’s VP for EU Legal and Corporate Affairs, for an interview with Teri Schulz of Deutsche Welle radio. In this short piece John discusses the economic opportunity of cloud computing and some of the associated issues that industry policy makers are currently looking into.

In May, our Vice President for European Affairs John Vassallo wrote about the newly announced EU Digital Agenda program, which followed on from the call in the EU Ministers’ their April “Granada Declaration” to use information and communication technology (ICT) more effectively to help address Europe’s priorities. The actions that the Commission will be pursuing in the Digital...

 It’s a type of Rorschach inkblot test: two people could look at the EC’s Communication on the Digital Agenda for Europe and see interesting variations.

Chances are you already have a reputation online, even if you don't want one. On Web sites across the Internet, people can find information about you.

Microsoft welcomes the “Digital Agenda for Europe” as a bold roadmap for action. We share the European Commission’s view that technology is an enabler for economic growth, job creation, sustainability and social inclusion. As a company, we are fully committed to working with the European Commission and governments to realize the potential of Europe's digital future.

Microsoft strongly supports the efforts of the European Commission and governments across Europe to build smart, sustainable and inclusive growth outlined in the Europe 2020 strategy.

Last week, Commissioner Reding re-stated her desire to reform and modernize the EU’s Data Protection Framework Directive (95/46/EC).

Yesterday I attended an MEP breakfast debate on e-skills, organized by Digital Europe.  It was an enriching debate which demonstrated the level of interest and activity that stakeholders are carrying forward to raise the profile of ICT as a key skill-set for the jobs of the future. Europe needs ICT-ready people to embrace the vision of the Digital Agenda. We need faster transition from “learning...

In the coming five years, only 10% of jobs will be left for those who have no ICT skills, a figure that is especially significant at a time of rising unemployment in Europe and worldwide.

What developing countries need is a stable, sustainable, robust and low-cost means of delivering services and information.

The internet can act as a platform for Europe’s innovation and imagination, but only if public confidence is maintained and cybercrime tackled effectively. We are helping to establish a trusted community across the internet, embracing people, data, software and hardware.  Also, partnering with other leading technology companies, we have founded the ‘Trust in Digital Life’ partnership...