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Open government initiatives are currently going on all over the world. As I look around to see all the data that is publicly available, it amazes me of how far our governments have come along to promote transparency, connect and engage with citizens, and to realise the full potential of mobile, social...

If you’re like me, the thought of being away from your smartphone, even for a day, creates a sense of anxiety. These days, I’m checking email, paying bills, managing schedules, and navigating on road trips — all from my smart phone. It’s become indispensable. As smartphones become...

ALL teachers, ALL schools and any parents can use the Get Online @ Home offer so EVERY student can have a PC at home and do better in school and in life! So here’s the evidence that students do better if they have a PC at home: The final evaluation of the Government’s “Home...

The Government’s new CloudStore went live on 20th February 2012 - a huge achievement both for the Government’s G-Cloud team and the Microsoft partner that built the store from scratch in just six weeks Solidsoft. Solidsoft CEO, Garth Pickup, says that his company relished the challenge whilst...

Day two of the Worldwide Government Solutions Forum got off to a fantastic start, despite attendees battling the horrific weather to arrive at the venue. The morning consensus was very excitable with a full day ahead of us and a fabulous gala dinner to look forward to in the evening. Opening the talks...

The sixth year of the Worldwide Government Solutions Forum saw the turn of London, featuring speakers from 26 different countries. After sampling a few international cuisines we sat down to gain a range of views from around the world on how the Government and Public Sector can incorporate cloud computing...

You can help your team to be more productive than ever before with Office 365. While getting users up and running on Office 365 is simple and straightforward, these resources below are available to help. Sign in to Office 365 at any time and double-check your custom deployment plan to make sure you have...

This weekend in Manchester, the Blue Light Camp unconference took place and was reported to have been very a unique and refreshing day. The emergency services event was the brain child of Sasha Taylor , Paul Coxon and David White and provided a fantastic networking opportunity for those interested in...

It's less than a month to go now until the huge Worldwide Government Solutions Forum in London (24th-25th April). We thought we'd share the latest agenda with you - it's packed full fantastic speakers and chances to do some great networking. Just see for yourself below... More soon - don't forget, you...

The demands that governments are facing from their citizens and workers are changing and it has become crucial for governments to look for new technologies as a catalyst to help them overcome these hurdles with fewer resources. Turning to Cloud computing services can make it dramatically easier and...

Worldwide Government Solutions Forum, 24 th -25 th April 2012, Cardinal Place (Microsoft), London. It’s just under two months until the Worldwide Government Solutions Forum (GSF) rolls in to London. It’s theme this year is ‘efficiency and opportunity: how cloud and technology innovations...

Microsoft has today been appointed to the Government Procurement Services’ ‘G-Cloud’ Framework following the completion of the formal bid process. The business has been successfully appointed on all four Lots: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS as well as cloud consulting services. In addition, a number...

The forecast for Open Data content is looking extremely bright following a decision by the government to release Met Office UK weather information to the public. We at Microsoft are supporting the initiative with our Windows Azure platform via Marketplace. This effectively unlocks daily and hourly...

Happy Safe Internet Day! It's a subject we take very seriously and it forms a central element to our business best practises. As well as it being a core responsibility for our company, many of us are parents and care deeply about online safety for our children. The tools Microsoft produce provide excellent...

We’ve been attending UK GovCamp , an ‘unconference’ that aims to bring together public sector professionals to discuss best practice use of technology. The event lasts 2 days, read our day one wrap-up post to see what happened yesterday. As with yesterday and in the true ‘unconferencing’...

With just over a week to go until Govcamp2012, we’re taking a quick look at what we can look forward to on 20 th and 21 st January! UKGovcamp is all about people making the time to talk, listen and think about how digital changes the way the UK government works. Conversations around this...

Recently, at the ITU Telecom World 2011 in Geneva, Microsoft, along with several partners including Neul , the University of Strathclyde , Steepest Ascent , and Inveneo , demonstrated innovative new wireless technology. Described as “Super Wi-Fi” by some, it shows how unused TV and other...

This year celebrating its 25 th anniversary, SOCITM comes to the NEC for a gathering of the UK’s brightest in the world of IT in the public sector. CIOs and CTOs were joined by partners, suppliers, media and analysts. The two day event kicked off today with Glyn Evans, President of SOCITM, opening...

As a leader in public sector IT, London Borough of Newham wants to improve its service delivery and digital engagement with citizens, while reducing costs. By sharing services with the neighbouring local authority of Havering , Newham is pioneering a transformation in both councils with an online portal...

Chorley Council in north-west England is one of three local authorities that have embarked on a radical project to transform service delivery to residents and businesses. Chorley is replacing its existing customer services management software with the Asidua Customer Contact Platform (CCP), which is...

Cloud computing offers a number of ways for public sector organisations to reduce costs, improve efficiency and communicate better. Citizens want more involvement in how public information is used and the cloud can give them that. The innovative use of cloud computing to connect providers of public services...

The Department of Social Protection (DSP) provides the citizens of Ireland with a spectrum of social services and delivers payments to nearly 950,000 people a week. DSP oversees annual expenditures of over €20 billion, and it makes payments to nearly 950,000 people each week, with more than 1.5...

In 2010, Microsoft launched the concept of the Hybrid Organisation . Working with experts from the fields of social change, workplace design, economics, technology and public sector development, Microsoft identified several characteristics of businesses and organisations that are best placed to thrive...

Local government and government agencies are being urged to think differently about the way they engage with citizens and businesses to meet their needs. The Connected Government Framework (CGF) is Microsoft's strategy to help governments reduce cost and be more efficient and responsive to citizens....

Technology advances have opened up new possibilities and raised expectation about governments’ role and how governments should serve communities. These factors include: Cloud computing as a viable ICT provisioning model and a way to reduce costs and deliver new services. Social media to...