The mis-predicted Mayan apocalypse behind us, 2013 has brought renewed hope to Europe. There is a sense that the worst is behind us, a near-death experience in the more than half a century old European project has been averted, just. The Euro is back as one of the world’s most favoured currencies and the European Union is marching forward on key strategic agenda issues like the game-changing,...

Europe’s Nordic region  has already gained its notoriety  as a cluster for innovation, talent, skills as well as for creating opportunities in the ICT industry. Microsoft has also been supporting the Nordic region by investing in high-potential companies, through open-innovation programmes for developers and start-ups, like AppCampus, as well as by supporting education programs for young...

Ireland has sometimes been seen in Europe as a land of writers and imagination. Irish writers such as Flann O’Brien have been known to use scientific and technological subject matters to fantasical and humourous effect or in the case of James Joyce’s work have inspired the names for previously unimagined sub-atomic particles. The advent of Ireland’s six month Presidency of the Council of...

Most students graduate facing the challenge of getting a job, but for Chai Botta, the CEO of GameIn this isn’t a problem.  He and his co-founders are already running their own successful start-up, with a fast-growing game in the Windows 8 store, even though some of them are still in full-time education, including Chai. 

Digital skills are in short supply at a time when Europe needs them most. According to European Commission estimates, Europe faces a shortfall of 700,000 digitally skilled workers by 2015, a gap that seriously threatens the region’s ability to compete. With youth unemployment in some countries as high as 50 per cent, the financial burden of supporting the young jobless is jeopardising future economic...

When looking at the current state of the European economy, it is hard to ignore the struggles of one group in particular – today’s youth. There is a generation of out-of-work, disengaged young Europeans that cost EU member states €153 billion every year, according to new findings by EU research agency Eurofound. 

Microsoft is happy to sponsor this year’s European Employment Forum 2012, which will take place in Brussels on the 27th & 28th of November.

When you think about the Nordic countries, a couple of images probably pop into your head: breathtaking landscapes, Northern Lights, and tall blonde women. But there is also another association that we ought to make with the Nordics: cutting edge IT, successful enterprises and people everywhere using advanced technology as part of their everyday lives – both professional and private. These countries...

Berlin’s Trifense, an EIT Entrepreneurship Award winner, takes a new approach to Internet security – and starts to gain traction in the market.

Victor Henning, co-founder of Mendeley, an online service that helps academic researchers organise and share the mounds of documents they collect, hardly looked up from his computer screen when Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008. He was immersed in the day-to-day routines of his start-up, including getting more users and securing the next round of venture capital.

Social stability, economic prosperity, and cultural richness all depend on educational excellence. Over the past thousand years, European universities have been at the forefront of shaping art, science and commerce.

As I’ve stated several times in the past, I believe that cloud and technology innovations can empower governments and public administrations. In order to come up with the best technology innovations, it is necessary to understand the challenges that governments face every day. We have had many discussions around this topic at the Worldwide Government Solutions Forum 2012 in London.

At Microsoft, one of my primary roles is leading our Local Software Economy initiative, which aims to accelerate the development of innovative software industries worldwide. The initiative—which is also a passion of mine—involves working closely with entrepreneurs to help them foster the skills, IT solutions, partnerships and, ultimately, businesses that will have a large impact on their local...

The decade of genomic revolution following the complete determination of the human DNA sequence, has produced significant medical advances, and yet again, revealed how complicated human biology is, and how much more remains to be understood. Biology is an extraordinary complicated puzzle; we may know some of its pieces but have no clue how they are assembled to orchestrate the symphony of life, which...

With over 16,000 innovative start-ups part of BizSpark in Europe, you’d expect the calibre of the top 15 chosen to pitch in the annual BizSpark European Summit to be pretty high.  On June 7th, we had the chance to hear about the future of apps, the business of cloud, and the evolution of tech talent.  More than that, we also witnessed to an impressive showcase of innovative technologies...

Where Europe succeeds, we succeed Europe matters to us. For the past thirty years, it’s been our aim to help fuel the European economy with the programs, partnerships, products and services we deliver, through ourselves and others. Our investment has reaped significant return for thousands of new and existing businesses across the continent. This year marks the 20th anniversary of one of...

With economic headwinds buffeting Europe, governments are confronted by many difficult challenges. But in these unpredictable times, one thing is certain – that Europe has to embrace change, to do things in a better, more efficient and innovative way.

Take your place among the leaders of Europe’s innovation community!

Holding this year’s European BizSpark Summit in London gives me a good chance to put the spotlight on why the UK’s capital city has become one of the best places for start-ups (and business in general).

Where Europe succeeds, we succeed Europe matters to us. For the past thirty years, it’s been our aim to help fuel the European economy with the programs, partnerships, products and services we deliver, through ourselves and others. Our investment has reaped significant return for thousands of new and existing businesses across the continent.

A year is a long time in the start-up world: in this fast-paced environment, a lot can change quickly.  So, I was delighted to catch up with Alessandro Rizzoli, founder and CEO of Mopapp, to hear just how far the company has evolved since winning the pitch competition at last year’s BizSpark European Summit. Mopapp aggregates information from all major app-stores, giving mobile application...

Where Europe succeeds, we succeed Europe matters to us. For the past thirty years, it’s been our aim to help fuel the European economy with the programs, partnerships, products and services we deliver, through ourselves and others. Our investment has reaped significant return for thousands of new and existing businesses across the continent.

Where Europe succeeds, we succeed Europe matters to us. For the past thirty years, it’s been our aim to help fuel the European economy with the programs, partnerships, products and services we deliver, through ourselves and others. Our investment has reaped significant return for thousands of new and existing businesses across the continent. My job takes me to interesting places all...

According to the European Commission, the 23 million SMEs in the EU represent 99% of businesses, and are a key driver for economic growth, innovation, employment and social integration. It is therefore crucial that EU institutions, governments and the private sector nurture new innovative companies, promote successful entrepreneurship and improve the business environment for SMEs and start-ups.  This...

In this case study, you can read about Global Business Register (GBR) and their cloud-based solution that aims to make the internet a safer place.

A start-up created by two British medics combines social networks and cloud computing to make hospital staffing more efficient.

Globally, SMEs are one of the world’s most powerful engines of growth and jobs. It is estimated that 85% of net new jobs in the EU between 2002 and 2010 were created by SMEs, so clearly this community is critical to the overall health of the European economy. It is a community that too often feels its voice isn’t loud or large enough to impact policy level discussions, however we believe that...

I believe that SMEs are key to Europe’s economic recovery and I have several reasons that support my thinking. The first reason is sheer volume: there are almost 21 million SMEs in the European Union and 90 % of these have fewer than ten employees. Imagine the potential if every SME could hire just one more person!

Where Europe succeeds, we succeed Europe matters to us. For the past thirty years, it’s been our aim to help fuel the European economy with the programs, partnerships, products and services we deliver, through ourselves and others. Our investment has reaped significant return for thousands of new and existing businesses across the continent. In an increasingly hyper-connected world,...

Most successful entrepreneurs are naturally enthusiastic and optimistic people.  They have to be, because they have to believe in their potential to turn dreams into reality.  And this positive attitude is pervasive, even in these tough economic times.  Why?  Because an increasing number of start-ups and other small businesses know that turbulent times create opportunities.

General theme: Innovative SMEs: the key to economic regeneration in Europe Time & Date: 09:15 – 13:00, Tuesday 27th March 2012 Venue: Renaissance Hotel, Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels

More protection for EU citizens, but organizational costs for enterprises, with sanctions determined at the EU level – that, in a nutshell, is the EU Commission’s proposal for General Data Protection Regulation.

The global financial crisis has challenged many businesses across the region, both large and small. In the fight to get Europe back to broader economic health, technology may not solve all of the problems but it does have a major role to play. By freeing up investments made to maintain technology infrastructure, businesses can instead focus on core operations and their talent. A new Microsoft-commissioned...

Following on from a previous event on  Natural Computing,  we recently hosted an event on Social Computing, and how innovative minds are developing different avenues for people to share and exchange information online. Speakers included David Osimo from Tech4i2 and Paul Steckler and David Raskino, both of Microsoft Research FUSE Labs.

Where Europe succeeds, we succeed Europe matters to us. For the past thirty years, it’s been our aim to help fuel the European economy with the programs, partnerships, products and services we deliver, through ourselves and others. Our investment has reaped significant return for thousands of new and existing businesses across the continent.

In this case study, you can read about Zartis, a company bringing job-hunting into the 21st century with cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about SkillPages, an Irish business that developed a platform to transform the way people with skills connect to the people who need them.

The Kingdom of Denmark: the Southernmost of the Nordic countries, bordered by Germany, Sweden and Norway.  Its governance comprises three countries: Denmark itself, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.  Original birthplace of the legendary Vikings, it also happens to home to a vibrant entrepreneur community. After working with startups in Denmark for many years, I can definitely say that despite...

The first Innovation Convention and the publication of Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation – last December were an essential part of the Innovation Union flagship initiative, as well as an important milestone in the development of the Europe 2020 strategy. The Innovation Convention brought new energy to the discussion of how Europe can become even more...

As always on our website, we try and bring you a wide variety of opinion pieces from specialist guest bloggers from both the private and public sector.

If doctors could use natural user interfaces, like gestures, surgery could be quicker and safer.

Look at the glass – what do you see?  Is it half full?  Is it half empty?  To a lot of start-ups, neither matter because they see a third way. Maybe they can do something totally different with the glass and on a big scale.  And it is this ‘out of the box’ thinking that is behind a whole new generation of start-ups, who if we give them a chance, could bring revenue into...

Today, citizens in developed countries look for increased engagement and efficient services; they want more responsiveness and collaboration with Public Sector entities similar to the experience they have as consumers with industry and businesses. Governments need to adapt to these needs while working hard to build economic growth and prosperity in their countries. There is a need to look for approaches to...

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...

2011 was a year dominated by discussions around the debt crisis, but from a technology point of view Europe saw its fair share of milestones and breakthroughs which can greatly contribute to the economy.  Among others, Vice-President Kroes, endorsed the adoption of cloud computing, a technology solution that gives everyone access to scalable computing power and resources, by promising to make Europe...

In just 15 years, Switzerland’s government and universities have worked to make the country a leader in entrepreneurship. It may be known for snow-covered mountains and cold-weather sports, but in terms of innovation, Switzerland is hot. The Alpine country with a population of 7.6 million is home to 61 technology parks, and its universities churn out dozens of science-based start-ups every year.

In this case study, you can read about how Aer Lingus scales up their operations with cloud computing and improves customer experience to drive revenue for the company.  

In this case study, you can read about Belgacom, a telecommunications company being able to focus on increasing competiveness after unifying its IT systems with cloud computing.  

Few would deny the transformative impact the digital economy has had on business and world affairs in the past fifteen years. In the mid-1990s, a majority of people had not heard of the internet; online streaming (let alone DVDs) were not yet invented; software was still distributed on 3.5 inch floppy disks that were neither floppy or round, while today, everything from content to operating systems is...

Video games are a worldwide boom industry and Europe is one of the strongest regions for potential growth. And much of that is being driven by small businesses and young entrepreneurs, who could turn their ideas into something big. Take Angry Birds from Rovio which started out as a small mobile games development studio in Finland. Now it’s a worldwide phenomenon.

In this case study, you can read about the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), a non-profit that has not only gained transparency with its operations through cloud computing, but has also helped protect music rights of musicians and producers who are an integral part of the SME economy in Ireland.

Online messaging hasn’t changed much since it was introduced more than a decade ago. But German start-up Cooee, based in Kaiserlautern, is seeking to liven up the chat experience with elements from computer gaming and social networking.

Wall Street Journal Tech Europe has become established as one of THE go-to places to find about the challenges and trends facing Europe’s ICT start-up community.  It’s also a great showcase for some of the brightest and best examples in the region.

The world is changing. We now have something called cloud computing!

More than ever now, the European Commission needs to focus on building and growing the high-performance computing (HPC) market. High-performance computing (HPC) uses supercomputers to solve advanced computation problems and is a key enabler of ground-breaking innovation that creates high wage jobs and allows Europe’s competitiveness to be maintained.

In 2001, when chartered accountant Jacob Wandt set out to create the e-conomic accounting software – an online cooperation platform for accountants and their customers – “the cloud” was not a yet common phrase in the software industry.

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.

In this case study, you can read about innovative entrepreneurs that opened the doors to Italian small business in helping ministries with commercial waste management.

In this case study, you can read about a partnership between Microsoft and the Spanish company, Telefónica in creating a solution for software developers to minimise their business risk by simplifying revenue collection.

SMEs form the fabric of the European economy; are they also the fabric of the European cloud?  This week, as a contribution to SME Week in Brussels, Microsoft hosted another of our Cloud Computing Policy Roundtables, this time on the topic ‘Building a European cloud by and for SMEs’.  The intent was to explore the opportunities that cloud computing has for European SMEs, and any...

I am coming back with another example of an innovative business that helps build the European cloud market, Cigler Software.

We had the great pleasure to chat with Julie Meyer, one of the leading champions for entrepreneurship in Europe, at this year’s Microsoft BizSpark Summit. Julie talked to us about the business ideas that get traction with investors, gave us some tips and tricks on successful entrepreneurship, and the role of cloud computing in driving business and economic growth in Europe. Julie introduced the...

As we mentioned several times before, cloud computing is an evolution in the technology industry that promises significant economic benefits in Europe – for both users and technology providers. SMEs are the engine of economic growth in Europe, and as users, SMEs will quickly take advantage of the cost reductions and productivity gains enabled by cloud computing.  Added to this, there are also...

10 capitals in just 20 days: this is the plan of Ben Rooney, editor of the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Europe, with the aim “to take the temperature of the continent and talk to the hottest start-ups in the coolest places.”  Starting on September 10th in Tel Aviv, the tour ends of 30 Sept in Dublin, fitting in Istanbul, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Tallinn, Moscow, Berlin and Barcelona...

The ICT sector is a very fluid and aggressive global market where technology is driving change, in fact it’s driving innovation across all sectors. There’s a huge amount of innovation coming from Russia and across the East. Look to Asia and you’ll see the Japanese ‘eBay’ coming our way which will undoubtedly put pressure on eBay. In the coming years we are going to see some...

Founded three years ago, Kobojo develops games for social media such as Facebook. Now it is developing a business model that transforms virtual currencies into hard euros.

It’s nearly impossible for companies to stay on top of the explosion of useful information about markets, competitors and customers that crops up daily on social media and other websites. But that’s also a business opportunity – and one seized by British start-up, Artesian, which seeks to transform the torrent of web-based information into a wellspring of business intelligence.

With this year’s edition of the European BizSpark Summit just behind us, we wanted to see what winning the competition meant for last years’ finalists.

Organisations of all types are adopting cloud computing technologies to gain flexibility and strategic advantage in their environments.

To paraphrase Fidelity Growth Partners Europe’s Simon Clark, one of the judges at this year's BizSpark European Summit: it’s pretty tough pitching your business to a panel of seasoned investors in five minutes, with over two hundred people watching – media, VC’s, and movers and shakers from the tech industry.

Educate, inspire, connect – three words that describe the unique summit taking place this year: the 61st annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.  It is an exceptional conference which illustrates just how meaningful and fascinating science is for society.

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...

I’m glad to see that alongside the topic of sustainable cloud computing, a central theme at this year’s BizSpark Summit will be on funding solutions for small and medium-size businesses (SMEs). It needs to be discussed.

In this case study, you can read about how TradeFacilitate, an Irish company successfully scales-up its operation to serve a larger market without proportionally adding more personnel and technology resources.

Cloud computing brings great benefits to Europe’s start-ups and SMEs in terms of cost benefits, ease to up-scale their businesses and efficient computing capabilities. Besides using the cloud power to operate their own business, SMEs also have the opportunity to widen their portfolio and innovate by building new applications and services on the cloud platforms.

Paving the way for new digital technologies such as the transition to the cloud requires a parallel investment in human capital.

Flexible working is the norm in many Microsoft subsidiaries across Europe. Employees are empowered to use our own technology – from Lync to Windows Phone to Sharepoint and Office – to communicate and collaborate, creating a culture of trust and transparency where people may work in a way that better suits work-life balance. These efforts have paid off, as today, the Great Place to Work Institute...

This week I had the pleasure of participating in the eHealth Conference as part of the CIEN (Crossroads for the Electronics and Digital Industry) in Paris. The event was very stimulating, having identified some key challenges in the adoption of eHealth in France as well as the rest of Europe. It brought together representatives from industry, academia, and government.

Now in its 7th year, the BizSpark European Summit brought together thought-leaders in the entrepreneurial community across Europe - investors, government representatives, start-ups, journalists and Microsoft’s network partners. The summit provided a unique platform to debate the issues facing tech entrepreneurs in Europe and see some of the best start-ups in Europe. The summit was brought to you...

What a great market Europe is for tech entrepreneurship and innovation. Hundreds of start-ups from across Europe were entered into this year’s BizSpark European Summit and I’m awed by the great ideas, business acumen and sheer commitment and energy of our region’s start-ups.

In January, Microsoft participated in the largest gathering of Ministers of Education in Europe and around the world at the Education World Forum.  At the forum, discussion of ensuring our students have the right skills to compete in this global economy was top of mind.  In partnership with Cisco and Intel, with the leadership of University of Melbourne we had the opportunity to participate in two...

For Irish entrepreneur John Dennehy, the arrival of cloud computing offered a powerful argument to launch a new company. Dennehy was convinced that many smaller businesses would shift to buying software and computer services delivered and managed over the Internet – the so-called cloud – because it would allow them to save money, grow faster and go global at a fraction of the cost.

Finland has set out to create a university that has innovation built into its foundations, merging three institutions into one along the way.  Is Aalto a model for universities in other countries?

“What could we get if we invested 4 billion Euros in digital infrastructure and skills instead of building a fixed link across the Femern Belt to Germany?“ Raising aspirations for the digital economy and providing challenging angles of thought leadership, an eSkills manifesto was recently launched during the conference Digital Skills for Growth and Welfare hosted by Microsoft in the Danish...

The IT industry’s constant evolution is what makes it so exciting.  Our annual BizSpark European Summit is a great demonstration of this: in its 7th year, this event seems to be reaching new heights and attracting an increasingly impressive list of speakers, judges and delegates from the entrepreneurial community.

Are our schools and universities teaching the right skills to enable a new generation of IT practitioners to drive forward innovation? The question has to be asked, since everyone accepts that IT has a critical part to play in an innovation-based economy. It’s not just about companies selling IT products and services, but about how industries wield information technology to innovate in...

I firmly believe that entrepreneurial initiatives are crucial to the growth of European economy. Startups should be able to operate in a supportive environment while pushing their innovative ideas.

Belgian IT engineer Didier Beka had a new idea: software that would enable people with hearing or speaking disabilities to communicate by telephone. Beka knew he had the technical expertise to develop the product but he lacked business experience to build a company around it. “I needed commercial advice,” he says.

Portugal has appeared in the news a lot in recent months due to its severe economic problems, but what is perhaps less well-known that Portugal has a high level of university education. In this recession we are seeing that many students are starting their own companies when they graduate, rather than trying fight for scarce employment vacancies.

A question on a lot on Irish people's minds at the moment is: where next for Ireland?  What areas do we need to focus on to restore competitiveness in the country?

Size doesn’t matter anymore, the over-riding lesson we are learning worldwide is that a business that gets ahead of the curve is a smart one, not necessarily a big one.

In this case study, you can read about how a French software development company is managing to stay competitive in the gaming industry by having an easily scalable IT cloud infrastructure that can meet demands of the unpredictable social, casual gaming market. Headquartered in Paris, France, Kobojo is a software development company that produces social, casual games that customers can access...

As mentioned in an earlier post, Ireland is one of Europe’s key hubs for innovation where entrepreneurial initiatives, crucial to the growth of European economy, should be able to operate in a supportive environment.

In this case study, you can read about how cloud computing has provided the Associated Press (AP) with new opportunities to open its revenue streams and find new customers for its content. The Associated Press (AP) provides up-to-the-minute news and information for newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Career Factor is the new online reality show based on the experiences of 9 IT personalities seeking to improve their careers by learning new skills, working towards certification and finding a new job. Each of our candidates have set a professional goal and over the course of the next 5 months they will share their every step along the way in real time.

Small and medium-sized enterprises – SMEs – will be the powerhouse of the Innovation Union that the EU must become if we are to enjoy sustainable prosperity in the face of ever stronger global competition.

Valentine’s Day isn’t the only day in the year to show someone you care! My colleague Claire Lee spoke with one of our partners, ParcelGenie, and learned how they make gift giving simple.

In this case study, you can read about an Irish company which is enabling SMEs in Europe by developing multi-featured and highly customisable HR management tools through cloud computing.

Skills are the link to the successful economies of Europe 2020. The way in which we forecast skills demands, provide access to relevant learning tools and engage Europeans more readily in ongoing workforce development will rapidly impact the job profiles and employment opportunities seen on the European market.

It’s a humbling experience talking with CEOs of European start-ups, particularly in the ICT sector.

Microsoft has recently launched Imagine Cup Solve This, a new program to provide inspiration for students looking to help solve the world’s toughest problems whilst giving them a platform to narrow their skills gap.

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...

In this case study, you can read about the new way a UK based company is engaging with its customers and building its software business due to the simplicity cloud computing is enabling the deployment of its services.

Andreas Klinger’s 18-month struggle to find money for a new company helps explain why Europe doesn’t produce more start-ups. Klinger pursued investors for his Internet-based fashion company across a continent, from the beer gardens of Munich to plush hotels in Moscow. “It was a crazy circus. We had to produce our business plan in several languages, accompanied by 15-sheet spreadsheets...

Many of the jobs in the next two decades simply do not exist today. Regardless of economic sector - retail, automotive, logistics, tourism, manufacturing or telecom- the transformation of industrial processes is upon us! However- are Europeans equipped and in the right skills ‘gear’ for a more digitally driven economy?

In this case study, you can read about a Catalonian centre which is helping Spanish businesses become more productive through collaboration with Microsoft in providing Microsoft Office 365, an enterprise-class, cloud-based solution.

See what Microsoft’s Blaise Vignon and Brigitte Baumann, President of EBAN, had to say on the event which provided opportunities for growth and highlighted the contribution of early-stage investors to the Europe 2020 strategy.

As we’ve highlighted in previous posts, one by the President of the SME Union and another on European Commission’s initiative: ACCESS-ICT 2010, great innovation needs to be partnered with access to capital and it remains one of the biggest challenges that the entrepreneurial community in Europe faces.

We had the chance to chat to Peter Jungen, the President of the SME Union and Chairman of Economic Policy council of EPP at the European Parliament. He shared with us his view on European innovation and entrepreneurship.

In this case study, you can read about how cloud computing helps a Nordic hotel chain save up to 3 million SEK on IT maintenance costs annually.

Did you know that 77 percent of jobs will require technology skills in the next five years as predicted by experts?  (Source: IDC)  That's one of the reasons Microsoft is working to help students get low-cost training and certifications that are crucial for today's job market and the next generation of young innovators.

In this latest video recorded at the European Summit earlier this year we ask: Is Europe prepared for cloud computing? 

When Steve Ballmer visited Microsoft’s French HQ in Paris a few weeks ago, he seemed pretty impressed with the entrepreneurial community here that puts France as one of Europe’s most competitive ICT markets, not least due to the Windows Phone 7 competition for developers.

Government grants are often so complex and costly to obtain that small companies never bother.

Joe Wilson, new Western European lead, speaks from the heart about what Microsoft is trying to do for start-ups in Europe.  As a veteran entrepreneur himself, Joe brings a very personal perspective and talks about his first exposure to the European Venture Capital (VC) community.  Expect to see more blogs from Joe and his team in the months to come.

Economic Challenges:  Last week the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) reported healthy signs in the Nordic investment market: €1,9 billion invested in 450 companies (25% more) in the first half of 2010, an increase of 23% compared to the second half of 2009. While we don’t see a detailed breakdown for ICT companies, we know that many start-ups in that...

While there are some great success stories for us to highlight, it’s important we don’t lose sight of the major hurdles that entrepreneurs still face in Europe. 

The recent announcement of “Youth on the Move” by the European Commission has highlighted the challenge we have in Europe to help our young people into work. This is a major issue in the UK with 950,000 unemployed young people, a 20% youth unemployment rate. Older workers have traded down to lower skilled jobs during the economic crisis, displacing young people with less experience.

In this case study, you can read about an Italian company that was able to quickly develop and deploy its software to new markets just by using a cloud computing platform.

Creativity is at the heart of stimulating innovation and fostering sustainable growth at European level.  When it is combined effectively with new digital technologies it can solve some of today’s greatest global challenges whilst at the same time generating new employment pathways in the region.

In our second video from this year's Microsoft BizSpark European Summit series, we hear from some of the region’s most promising start-ups.

In this case study, you can read about LoveCleanStreets, a cloud-based application that helps London authorities manage street care with the help of crowdsourcing – supported by an innovative SME bbits.

Bulgarian firm Fresh Up Label wanted to implement an electronic system to help manage an increasingly complex production process.  Funding secured with the help of EUGA met 65% of the technology investment costs.

Irish company InishTech Software specializes in helping Europe’s technology entrepreneurs adopt flexible licensing terms that help them be more competitive, while safeguarding their Intellectual Property (IP).

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

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.

The BizSpark European Summit in Paris proved to be a great platform to exchange ideas and best practices for start-ups in Europe.  In fact, we came away with so much good information to share that we decided to save some of it for after the summer break.

In the final video in our cloud computing interview series we have taken clips from a number of speakers like Geert Ferranti, Sale Director – Ferranti; Jean Michel Davault, Managing Director – Hommes & Process; Wolfram Borchers, CEO – ITA systemhaus.

In our latest video looking at cloud computing today, Henk Kok, Director of Perrit, explains how cloud computing is enabling a competitive European business environment.

This video looks at the experience of entrepreneurs using the Azure platform. Aidan Gallagher, CEO Inishtech & Conor O’Riordan, CEO Tradefacilitate give us a quick overview to why they chose to use Azure for their businesses and the benefits cloud computing brings.  

In this case study, you can read about the cloud solution developed by a French SME currently deployed to more than 3500 users in 300 offices around France.

In this case study, you can read about how MiniLiner, an air-cargo firm is managing chaos caused by scaling up and saving up to €50,000 annually by switching to a cloud-based communications solution for its employees.

In this case study, you can read about cloud provides a simplified communications solution for a Spanish company who went virtual, helping them boost competitiveness and reduce costs.

During the BizSpark Investor Summit in Paris last month our Chairman for Microsoft Europe, Jan Muehlfeit, was interviewed by CNBC to give his views on the opportunities for small and medium-sized companies to grow in today’s “gloomy” economic climate in Europe.  The fast-paced interview also touches on cloud computing, software for devices market and the growing problem of piracy in...

As part of the Emerging Business team at Microsoft, I have been working closely with start-ups and entrepreneurs across the world for quite a few years. In my first post I spoke about BizSpark, our programme for helping start-ups with software and support and in the second one, I mentioned the importance of cloud computing and the opportunities it has created for start-ups .

Go is a game so complex that raw computing power was never going to be enough to turn it into a competitive computer game. But two Cambridge researchers found a way – with a programming language used for analysing financial risks.

In the first of our 3 videos on the EUGA Irish launch in Dublin we hear from Nicky Martin, Managing Director - Affect Network, who explains the process that the start-ups go through to receive their European funding. Nicky Martin gives an interesting perspective on the EUGA process, his company supports the companies throughout the process of assessing suitability and grant applications. I think this is an...

What?   A one-day event in Paris on May 25th hosted by Microsoft and broadcast LIVE online. Bringing together key entrepreneurs in Europe for a start-up investment pitch. Followed by presentations and a debate on the scope and challenges of entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe as we together seek to reach the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy.   Who? Silicon Valley entrepreneurial...

 Have a look again at the first session of the BizSpark Summit that took place on May 25th in Paris and was hosted by Guy Kawasaki.  

The challenges faced today by a startup in Europe are clear: you have to be innovative, fast, and stay ahead of the competition.  

In this interview Nigel Gibbons, Executive Chariman – Unitech talks about the cloud and how it is changing the way we do business. 

Every year we bring together and discuss trending topics with business start-ups  and growing companies developing products and services on Microsoft platforms. This year we interviewed some of these developers about their views on  cloud computing.

The European Commission has recently released the results of a survey around public attitudes on various issues leading to entrepreneurship, such as risk-taking, start-ups, entrepreneurial education, and “Entrepreneurship in the EU and beyond”.

The 6th BizSpark Summit was a great success, with some dynamic speakers including Sillicon Valley entrepreneur and host of the summit, Guy Kawasaki. It was fantastic to see and experience the buzz from this event as starts-ups discussed with potential investors, as well as hundreds of people twittering their impressions throughout the day, either as they watched in person, or followed the live stream...

I’m trying hard to contain my pride right now as Microsoft recently won the award for the number one best place to work in Europe, for the third year in a row!  

In this case study, you can read about how Chronorace, a logistics company, handled huge demands for accessing multimedia on its Brussels Half-marathon website after the event with Windows Azure, the Microsoft cloud platform.

With UK unemployment reaching 2.5m and 77% of all jobs requiring digital skills, we launched Britain Works in September 2009 to help 500,000 people get jobs through IT skills training by 2012.   

Superbowl Sunday is big business in the US as people all over the nation tune in to watch the American football match of the year. Pizza deliveries soar on what is one of the highest days of food consumption in the US. This year Domino’s Pizza found a new way to cope with the sudden burst of demand on its computing resources: using “the cloud” for extra capacity.

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.

In this case study, you can read about YouSAAS, a software vendor who achieved an increase of over 20,000 users in six months due to cloud computing. Founded in 2006, YouSAAS is a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner that offers its reseller and independent software vendor partners a shared platform to sell hosted solutions.

The cloud is one of the most popular terms in IT today but perhaps also one of the least well defined. FUTURES guides you through the how and the why.

As part of the Emerging Business team at Microsoft, I have been working closely with start-ups and entrepreneurs right across the world for quite a few years.

In this case study, you can read about how the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) worked with Active Web Solutions (AWS) to develop a cost-efficient, cloud-based application to help them save more lives at sea. High numbers of deaths at sea is a major concern for anyone in the fishing industry, with an estimated 24,000 crew members drowning worldwide each year. To try and prevent these...

In this case study, you can read about how Aviva, a global organisation who unites its operations in 28 countries with cloud computing. Aviva is a global life and general insurance services company built around the needs of its customers. It has offices in 28 countries with 54,000 employees serving 50 million customers, and first started operating more than 300 years ago.

I recently read this article on BizSpark in Ireland on siliconrepublic.com (check out their website, there’s some great tech articles) and it draws upon interesting points relating to what we at Microsoft are doing with the BizSpark program.

Our guest blogger today is Riitta Raesmaa, partner and co-founder of Sopima, a Finnish SME and part of the Microsoft BizSpark programme!

Sweden’s public employment service has launched a project to help more people achieve long-term employment in the ICT sector, made possible by a grant of over one million Euros, secured through the European Union Grants Advisory (EUGA).

We’ve said it before but we’ll say it again: Ireland is one of the most exciting countries for tech entrepreneurs and one of the strongest for BizSpark   www.microsoft.com/BizSpark/, our programme to help early stage start-ups by providing them with software and support. 

In this case study, you can read about the Royal Mail Group has improved their efficiency by giving its employees reliable & simple ways to access information through the adoption of Microsoft’s cloud solution. In the United Kingdom the Royal Mail Group has expanded their IT services agreement with CSC to include Microsoft’s Business Productivity Suite from Microsoft Online...

With support from Microsoft, enabling Telecentre-Europe to meet and develop the bid, they have secured a €260,000 capacity-building grant from the EU Grundtvig Program. 

In Europe and elsewhere, computing is experiencing a powerful transformation. Driven by continuous innovations in software, hardware and the Internet, traditional models of computing are gradually shifting.   

What do HSBC and the BizSpark program have in common?  They are both focused on supporting innovative SMEs across the world.

It has been brought to our attention that we have not yet featured European Grants Advisor (EUGA) in our Growth & SMEs blog, which is a crying shame, given that it is a highly successful programme which we’re very proud of! 

Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman of Microsoft Europe, on unlocking human potential through inspiring creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship; and improving European competitiveness by re-aligning education programmess and providing support for start-up companies.

Ray Ozzie introduced the term Software plus Services about 3 years ago and since then it’s where I have focused all of my time at Microsoft.

I was asked to describe in 5 minutes how we can help to overcome the challenges facing Europe.

While competitions are great to win, they are also a great way for start-ups to network with investors and possible partners, hone their presentation skills and generate some visibility. That’s why we were pleased to sponsor the Eurecan European Venture Contest which drew to a close this month.

Recently, we were reminded that the Nordic region is a vibrant community for technology innovation and entrepreneurs. We took part in two events in recent weeks: firstly the EBAN Winter University in Stockholm and Finland’s Money Talks Forum.

This video captures snapshots of the thoughts, recommendations and commentary that were sparked during the November 30th dinner debate around 'Skills for Innovation'.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal were struggling to use funding opportunities provided by the government. The awarding bodies’ policies meant that it took businesses years to receive the approved grant money. Santander Totta, a banking institution and member of the European Union Grants Advisor (EUGA) in Portugal, offered zero per cent interest loans to SMEs to cover the amount of...

Last month, I posted an entry leading you to the MicrosoftStartupZone’s latest featured European start-up and promised that I’d keep you updated, so here goes. Over the last few weeks, two more European start-ups have been featured!

We were very proud to announce the grand opening of our Dublin data centre in September 2009.

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.

Big challenges can encourage big solutions, and at the end of last year there was no challenge bigger than Europe’s response to the economic turmoil caused by the global credit crisis.

Is a European Innovation Act what’s needed to make Europe more innovative and strengthen growth and competitiveness in the EU? Policymakers, analysts and businesses are currently debating that very question as the EU considers what to do post-Lisbon.

When the new Commission is appointed, it will find a raft of proposals waiting for it – all aimed at putting research, development and innovation at the heart of policy.

Who would start a business development for start-ups in a slump? That’s precisely when it has to be done, says Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Akhtar Badshah wants to be a disruptive influence

Heard of The Good Entrepreneur? It’s a TV show where entrepreneurs from across Europe compete for a hefty prize package of €250,000 by attempting to produce the most amazing, environmentally responsible business concepts imaginable. 

We recently wrote about the Get on the Bus tour of 12 European cities by the Microsoft Born to Learn team. 

Erich Andersen, VP and Deputy General Counsel of the Windows Business at Microsoft, speaking about Windows 7 as a potential driver of the European ICT economy.

Cliff Reeves – General Manager of the Emerging Business Team (which in non-Microsoft speak means he works with start-ups and investors to help them make the most of their relationship with Microsoft and grow into super-successful companies!) – recently travelled around Europe to meet with a number of start-ups and Network Partners in the BizSpark program. 

Microsoft's Vice President for EU affairs blogs via video on how ICT can stimulate Europe's growth

Almost exactly a year ago, Microsoft launched BizSpark, a global program designed to catalyze the success of entrepreneurs by making Microsoft’s end-to-end software solutions available to early-stage startups with no upfront costs. 

Interviews with stakeholders on e-skills in Europe. Filmed at the launch of the report - Post Crisis: e-skills are needed to drive Europe’s innovation society - by IDC at Microsoft in Brussels, November 2009

CITEVE and Microsoft join hands to support Portugals textile industry workers by providing them with IT training to update their skills and re-enter the workforce.

Please click below to view a short 1-minute interview with Erich Andersen, VP and Deputy General Counsel of the Windows Business at Microsoft, filmed on a recent visit to Europe.

As of last week the Microsoft Born to Learn team has been touring Europe on a bus and creating a lot of buzz... 

I just looked up the term Cloud computing on Google News and unless I’m doing something wrong, it appears that the term has turned up in as many news items in the last month as it has in the last year.

Microsoft BizSpark is a programme we’ve developed to help early stage startups by providing them with key resources - access to software, support and visibility - when they need it the most. Read more on the BizSpark site and see how to enrol (it’s dead easy). 

John Vassallo (Microsoft VP EU Affairs) outlines the crucial role small and medium enterprises active in the ICT industry play in strengthening the European Economy.

Garbage Information Gathering eases up the clean-up in Roskilde Festival using mobile technology

When Paris-based Pricing Partners SAS set itself the goal of becoming a global player in financial valuation software solutions, it enlisted support from Microsoft to expand its marketing and R&D capabilities.

To develop its world-leading 3D simulation technology, French startup SimplySim turned to Microsoft for advice and practical support. SimplySim gained access to technology, marketing networks and government funding for R&D.

Portugal’s national employment agency offers grants to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to train their new employees. The European Union Grants Advisor (EUGA) helps firms apply for these funds—it wanted to simplify the existing application process, which took months for approval. As a result of an agreement signed between Microsoft and the Portuguese government, SMEs have access to 500...

In Germany’s knowledge-rich economy, it is estimated that 75 percent of productivity growth is generated through the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the workplace, where one in two German employees uses a PC in their job.

Through the Students to Business (S2B) program, Microsoft collaborates with universities and businesses to provide students with specialized IT training and help them find jobs and internships at local companies.

Viviane Reding, European commissioner for all things hi-tech, is known for telling it like it is. A passionate advocate for new technologies, she has made a name for herself by confronting anything or anyone she thinks hinders European citizens from benefiting from what technologies have to offer.

In 1997, Microsoft opened its first big European lab – and it placed it in what was then Europe's only serious answer to Silicon Valley: Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.

Ali Tarabit has been a volunteer with the charity organization Aviation Sans Frontières (ASF) for almost three years. With his help, ASF has revolutionised its office operations, improving its efficiency and opening up new possibilities.