Unleashing the potential of a data-driven economy will require policies that enable data to flow and be exchanged freely across geopolitical boundaries, while minimizing risks and harms to enterprises and individuals globally. This is a difficult balance that requires local, national, and regional governments to agree on which data can be shared, how they can be used, who should have access, and which...

In recent years, cloud computing has captured much of policy makers’ attention. With its massive datacenters, the Internet cloud delivers virtually infinite resources, providing the storage capacity to orchestrate massive flow of information and, most importantly, providing an elasticity of computing resources that cuts costs  for businesses and government alike. 

In recent years, cloud computing has evolved from an amazing innovation with lots of potential into an asset that we can increasingly no longer live without, both on a business and a personal basis,  catalyst of innovation and of economic growth.

As online meanness and cruelty continue to garner global attention, parents, educators, and school officials grow hungrier for new information and guidance.  All are looking to formulate and implement strategies and policies that will help protect young people both online and off.  A recent report from more than a dozen leading academics from 11 countries offers additional considerations...

On December 3, 2012 the European Commission (EC) announced a proposed directive on web accessibility.  Just 3 days later, Microsoft joined with the European Disability Forum (EDF) to co-host a discussion in Brussels about how industry, government, and civil society can collectively start making real progress towards a more accessible web.

It’s no surprise that kids today are growing up online.  They use mobile devices to do their homework, play games, connect with friends, and access the wealth of information available on the Web.  Technology gives children access to a host of positive, educational and growth experiences; yet, parents face challenges when they look to monitor what children see online, the people they meet and...

Landing at Zaventem airport during a snow storm last week, I suddenly felt as though the Euro crisis had taken physical form. Europe seemed stuck in a permanent winter since 2008 with no warmth in sight. Worse still, it seemed as though some of the EU’s politicians were busy perfecting ice-maker policies rather than helping to fix the central heating. 

The children of today are citizens of a digital era. Children now have the opportunity to learn in both fun and interactive ways. They can explore and develop their passions in a manner that not long ago would have been either unaffordable or simply unavailable.

October 15-21 marks SME Week in the European Union!  This is a time for the EU to recognise, promote and help small and medium-sized businesses, which are so important for Europe’s innovation, competitiveness, jobs and overall welfare.

As always on our website, we try and bring you a wide variety of opinion pieces from external specialists on our key topics . One such topic is Intellectual Property (IP) protection, which we consider as a very important driver of innovation and growth in the digital economy.

On 25 January 2012, the European Commission unveiled a comprehensive proposal to modernize its 17-year-old data protection regime. Given the vast technological and societal changes that have occurred since Directive 95/46 went into effect, this is a vitally important effort, and the stakes are high.

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.

Looking back at his three-year term as chairman of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), Martin Schuurmans has mixed feelings.

Earlier this year, the European Commission adopted a wide-ranging strategy on IPRs. This strategy sets out a blueprint for a number of initiatives the Commission intends to launch between now and 2012 in various areas, including patents, trade marks, geographical indications, copyright licensing and digital libraries.

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.

Governments across Europe increasingly recognize the benefits of making their non-sensitive and non-personal data open and reusable. The topic was outlined in many discussions at the EU Digital Agenda Assembly a few weeks ago. Indeed better access to public sector information based on open data can improve quality of life and facilitate interfacing with governments.

Continuing my cloud conversation with Microsoft International’s president Jean-Philippe Courtois, we now talk about the ongoing availability of cloud technologies for citizens.

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.

You might imagine that counterfeiting and piracy were a thing of the past, particularly in the EU, but sadly this is not the case for most industries, including the technology and software sectors.  For business software alone, the software piracy rate in western Europe stands at about 34%, one in three copies of business software in use in Europe is counterfeit or pirated. 

As you may know, the EU is reviewing its data protection laws, and recently I participated in a hearing hosted by the European Parliament’s EPP group on one of the many important questions being looked at: “Who pays for Data Protection?”

Microsoft is filing a formal complaint with the European Commission as part of the Commission’s ongoing investigation into whether Google has violated European competition law. We thought it important to be transparent and provide some information on what we’re doing and why.

New technologies become interwoven with our everyday lives and our relationship with gadgets is constantly evolving. Do the current terms and concepts of consumer protection remain valid in the digital age? What are the new vulnerabilities and do we need to re-learn consumer protection?

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...

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel and Senior Vice President, yesterday gave an interesting speech at the French Assemblée Nationale in Paris. Brad talked about the trends and possibilities of cloud computing, and what needs to be done in the way of better laws and improved industry and government cooperation to get ready for this technological shift. Microsoft also released...

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Legal & Corporate Affairs, talks to France’s Assemblée Nationale about the opportunities that cloud computing represents for the European Union.

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...

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.

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.

For some, the talk of cloud computing produces more haze than light, and there is no doubt: we all need to see the deeper analysis of the economics of the cloud in order to make decisions about information technology strategies.  I work with public administrations across Europe, and see that the interest level in cloud computing is high, but there is also widespread desire for better understanding of...

I have a job within Microsoft that focuses on interoperability, working with other companies to make sure our products work well together. This is part of the company’s commitment to customers, and we understand that enabling choices creates more opportunities for our customers, partners and developers, and that also will make us more successful as a company in the future.   

The fact is, the world has changed. People are using more and more digital technologies, and the devices and software they use come from a wide variety of sources.

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.  

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.

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.

One aspect of government we thoroughly dislike here in the UK is useless and inefficient bureaucracy. 

Hear me talking about the Eye on Earth online tool. This website shows data from thousands of air and water quality stations from across Europe in real-time. (By the way, I say 60,000 stations in the video but I was told I got a little ahead of myself - it's actually 6,000!).

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.   

Erich Andersen, VP and Deputy General Counsel of the Windows Business at Microsoft, speaking about the prevalence of interoperability in Windows 7.

On June 20th 2012, in the presence of Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, sustainability legend Gro Harlem Brundtland, IPCC Chair Rajendra K. Pachauri, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard and 150 VIP guests at Rio+20, Eye on Earth has been chosen for the prestigious SUSTAINIA 100 list of solutions. For more information, you can visit:...

Interoperability and eHealth might at first glance appear as very different concepts – but the actual relationship between the two is extremely important. 

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.

As the global financial turmoil continues to cast its shadow, government leaders are gathering in Brussels to discuss collaboration.

“The creation of a single European Research Area (ERA) - to mirror the single market with the four freedoms of goods, services, people and capital that have done so much to boost competitiveness in Europe - is one of my central objectives.” - Janez Potocnik

The much vaunted globalisation of business and politics has not by-passed the world of R&D.

Cluster Stew: the European Commission is formulating an all-embracing strategy on cluster development to boost innovation and maximise returns from structural funds and related budgets. But what is the right policy recipe for a perfectly formed cluster?

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.

The Science|Business Innovation Board says Europe's innovation policies need to change, to encourage high-growth entrepreneurs.