Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has selected Microsoft cloud solutions, Microsoft announced today at the start of the company's annual Financial Analyst Meeting.
"The Microsoft cloud services ecosystem creates new opportunities for our customers," Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said. "It opens up new markets for businesses, improves operational efficiency and productivity, and transforms what IT can deliver to advance business goals."
With this announcement, Hyatt joins a roster of more than 40 million users of Microsoft Online Services and more than 500 government entities. Customers include 13 of the top 20 global telecom firms, 15 of the top 20 global banks, and 16 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies. In addition, more than 10,000 customers in more than 40 countries have chosen the Windows Azure platform in just nine months. More than 10,000 schools in more than 130 countries have enrolled in Microsoft's Live@edu cloud-based service, serving more than 11 million students, staffers and educators worldwide.
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts purchased Microsoft's cloud-based Business Productivity Online Suite for approximately 17,000 individuals working at Hyatt's corporate office and Hyatt properties in traditional information-worker roles. In addition, Hyatt purchased licenses for 40,000 "deskless" associates who work in the hotel chain's U.S., Canada and Caribbean locations without access to a PC full-time.
"Many people working in our hotels aren't available full-time at their desks, but still need access to the same e-mail, instant messaging and other collaboration tools as the rest of our employees," said Mike Blake, CIO at Hyatt Hotels & Resorts Corp. "The flexibility of Microsoft's cloud services allows us to maximize our productivity, helping us focus on those activities that are most critical, such as strengthening guest relationships, generating new revenue streams and improving operations."
In addition to enterprise cloud offerings, Microsoft runs some of the world's largest consumer cloud services, with more than 600 million unique users on MSN, more than 500 million active Windows Live IDs, 23 million users of the rapidly growing Xbox Live gaming service, and handles over 4 billion Bing search queries monthly.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
