Microsoft is on a hiring spree at US business schools

Safiya Miller had her selection of job vacancies from large technology companies after obtaining an MBA from the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management in New York State.

In the end, she chose Microsoft, becoming an account executive at her Bay Area offices in 2015. Her decision was secured by the company's legacy and the long and varied experience of her colleagues. "If I had to move west, I wanted a team where I could learn and grow," says Ms. Miller, who had previously worked on the East Coast of the United States. UU And Brazil. "I wanted to learn together with [people] that not only have they been in the industry for years, but they were also experiencing this renewal and the rebirth of the company," he says.

Few technology companies have the staying power of Microsoft. Founded in 1975 before many of today's technology founders were born, the company is among the top five MBA students at leading business schools, such as Insead, the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.


It attracts graduates like Ms. Miller because it's good to reinvent yourself. It is no longer considered to be tied to the fate of the PC market, under Satya Nadella, its CEO since 2014, the company has focused on offering broader services, such as cloud platforms, business software and artificial intelligence.


That means a wider selection of jobs for business school graduates, says Chuck Edward, head of global talent acquisition at Microsoft. MBAs are usually ambitious, technologically competent and trained in data and analysis. They also tend to have some experience in working life, all valuable to the ever-changing Microsoft.

"With MBAs, we know what we're going to get," says Mr. Edward. "Our demand [for MBA talent] has increased significantly in the last two or three years."

The company says it hires several hundred MBAs per year from nearly 150 different schools in 40 countries. About two thirds are from the US UU And Canada. They are sent around the world to work in divisions from commercial development and finance to marketing and human resources.

The average starting salaries and signature bonuses for MBA graduates at Redmond, Washington headquarters are more than $ 160,000 for finance managers, product marketing managers and strategy managers and business programs, according to Transparent Career, a Emerging company that collects MBA graduates. - informed salary information.


The reinvention of Microsoft has also led to redundancies. This year, the company fired between 3,000 and 4,000 employees, mostly sales personnel outside the US. UU., According to the New York Times. This came after the loss of jobs three years earlier, following the acquisition by Microsoft of Nokia's mobile business. Then, Microsoft dismissed 18,000 employees, 14 percent of its workforce, the deepest cuts in the company's history.

Edward says the recent job losses do not affect the demand for MBA talent. This year, Microsoft hired approximately 30% more MBA than the previous one, and plans to hire more. Many will be recruited from their summer internship program. "Our goal is to convert," says Mr. Edward. "When we bring an intern, [we want him] to become a full-time employee."

Those who want to stand out in the interview should reflect Microsoft's leadership principles: create clarity, generate energy and achieve success, says Edward. That process begins with a telephone interview and those who do the next round are invited to the company's headquarters or to another of its large offices. They meet with current employees and have a full day of interviews.

The process usually lasts three to four weeks, according to Microsoft, although it can vary to meet the recruitment deadlines of business schools.

The company visits the campuses in the second year of students to recruit additional full-time employees, a move that not all big recruiters do, says Michelle Hopping, director of MBA career management at Wharton School. Ms. Hopping says that Microsoft not only searches for Wharton students at recruitment events, but also offers extracurricular activities, such as competitions and educational opportunities in the classroom.

Once MBA graduates have joined the company, most participate in the Microsoft Academy for college rentals. Ms. Miller was assigned two mentors through this program when she joined. In addition to two or three major training events per year, members and alumni of Mach MBA

Microsoft is working on AI chips across its different devices, top exec says

Microsoft is working on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chip for its next-generation HoloLens helmet.

And the American technology giant could take it to other products in its range of equipment, Panos Panay, vice president of devices at Microsoft, said on CNBC on Tuesday.

In July, Microsoft revealed that it was working on a processor for the second generation of HoloLens, a handset that allows users to interact and touch digital images superimposed in the real world. Microsoft calls this "mixed reality." The AI ​​chip will allow HoloLens to do things like recognizing objects in the line of sight.

It marks the first incursion of Microsoft in Artificial Intelligence chips because it seems to take rivals like Apple and Google.

The software giant is also looking to expand its offer. When CNBC asked if Microsoft would introduce AI chips into the entire device, Panay said "yes."

"We need to continue to find these pieces of silicon, those sets of chips that must be developed to give life to the sensors, to connect people with each other and with their products," Panay told CNBC in a television interview.

Microsoft now has a range of devices. It has expanded its range of Surface tablets, launched in 2012, to include a laptop and a desktop computer. It also has the Xbox game console and the HoloLens headphones.

There is an arms race in Artificial Intelligence tokens at this time. Huawei has introduced its own AI chip called Kirin 970 that has been included in the Mate 10 smartphone launched earlier this year. The new Apple iPhones also incorporate the company's A11 bionic chip.
Panos Panay, vice president of the unit at Microsoft, talks about the new Laptop Surface at a launch event on May 2, 2017 in New York.

The chips on the devices allow these devices to use "AI on the device". This means that devices do not need to communicate with the cloud to perform complex AI tasks, making them more efficient.

Mr. Panay said he was working with partners and doing internal developments to bring the chips to the market. Microsoft also has a number of hardware partners. For example, Huawei and Lenovo manufacture tablets and keyboards with Windows, Microsoft's operating system. Panay said the company will look to shoot its chips at partners.

"I think one of the most important things we do in Surface and in the development of our chips is the possibility of creating the technology within Surface and multiplying it with our partners to give everyone the opportunity to use it," Panay told CNBC.

Microsoft's Earnings Expectations

Introducation

Microsoft (MSFT) is a household name and one of the largest companies in terms of market capitalization in the world. The company is trading at a record high of $ 78.81 thanks to major successes such as Azure and the commercial model that has become the subscription services and recurring revenue we talked about in June. On Thursday, Microsoft will release its first quarter earnings report. Today, we will discuss what to look for in the results of results, future perspectives and we will provide an evaluation model that we can use to compare results after the announcement.

Overview

Microsoft develops, licenses, and supports software products, services, and peripherals around the world. The company is divided into three segments. Productivity and Business Processes offers Office 365 products and services for businesses and consumers, as well as LinkedIn's professional online network. Its Intelligent Cloud segment licenses server products and services in the cloud, such as Microsoft SQL Server, Windows Server and Azure, which now holds the second largest portion of the public cloud. The most personal computing segment of Windows includes OEM Windows, volume and other non-volume operating system Windows licenses, including Microsoft Surface and phones, as well as search advertising, including Bing and Bing Ads. This segment also provides gaming platforms, including the Xbox brand.

In its latest earnings report, Microsoft exceeded market expectations due to the extremely strong performance of Azure and the cloud. It achieved non-GAAP income of $ 24.7 billion and GAAP earnings per share of $ 0.83, exceeding expectations of $ 24.3 billion and $ 0.71, respectively.

The Amazing Ways Microsoft Uses AI To Drive Business Success

Microsoft plans AI

The adoption of AI in business and society is encouraged by technology giants with resources to design, build and deploy affordable services and simple enough for daily use. Microsoft is one of those in the vanguard. This year, the words "artificial intelligence" appear for the first time in a vision statement, reaffirming that intelligent and learning machines are considered essential in everything they do.

Although it's all about shouting, Microsoft has developed smart features in many of its products and services for quite some time. If you use Skype, Office 365, Cortana or Bing, you probably know it.

Machine learning - what most people hear at the moment, when using the term AI - helps to equalize research with useful results, and gives the Cortana Virtual Assistant the opportunity to improve and become more useful over time . Thanks to Skype, it allows chatbots to operate on their communication platform, where they can be used for customer services or access services such as weather information or travel information.

In its Office Enterprise Productivity Suite, as well as Cortana's support, Microsoft implemented interface-assisted functionality designed to provide assistance with daily tasks, such as live voice translation of recorded voice.

These are great examples of how specialized AI - designed to perform a single task and be more and more good - is already integrated into our lives. However, Microsoft has noted that its ambition goes further. Work towards the goal of generalized AI intelligent machines that can turn your talents into any task.

Harry Shum, executive vice president of his AI and research group, said: "Today's computers can perform specific tasks very well, but with regard to general tasks, AI can not compete with a human child."

The Research and AI group was founded in 2016 as the fourth engineering division of Microsoft, along with Office, Windows and Cloud teams. In less than a year, it has grown to 8,000 employees. It is safe to say that after losing the last seismic change in the technological landscape - the jump to the mobile - does not want to delay the output block.

Apart from the services it provides to end users, Microsoft's backbone services are available to organizations that want to create their own smart tools. The global framework is known as Microsoft's Platform AI, which includes a series of more specialized packages, such as Microsoft Cognitive Services, Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit and Microsoft Bot Framework. This work allows AI algorithms to be used on Azure's powerful and popular cloud computing platform, with users only paying for processing and storage as needed. Eliminating the need for organizations to host their own costly and rapidly aging infrastructure is key to CEO Satya Nadella's vision of "democratizing AI."

The technology giant is also interested in the development of stand-alone vehicle technology. This year, he announced that he is partnering with the leading Chinese search engine Baidu to develop a platform for self-driving cars. These vehicles rely heavily on artificial intelligence to interpret sensor data on board and respond appropriately to driving hazards.

More recently, Microsoft announced a new technology designed to accelerate real-time machine learning algorithms. Known as Project Brainwave, it uses programmable processors known as FPGAs to execute sophisticated and distorted algorithms. Essentially, it is software that can be programmed directly on a programmable chip, allowing the core hardware to function as specialized deep neuronal network processing units. Microsoft is able to capitalize on this because of the investment it has made in installing FPGA in its worldwide data centers over the past few years.

Microsoft also develops industry-specific AI applications. The company has just announced a new division of health based on artificial intelligence in order to develop predictive analytical tools that can alert people about medical problems, help diagnose diseases and recommend the right treatments and interventions.

These projects represent the culmination of a goal declared by the most famous figurehead of society, the founder Bill Gates, in 1991, when he said he believed that computers would see, hear, and learn one day like humans.

Bernard Marr is the best-selling author and keynote speaker on business, technology and large data. His new book is Data Strategy. To read his future publications, just join his network here.

Today, the level of available computing power has reached a threshold where intelligent and self-teaching machines are beginning to become a viable reality. If we imagine the task of creating the AI ​​as if we were Dr. Frankenstein in his lab, our creation might not be on his feet and walk around, but it opened his eyes, and we can see that the lights are on .

Advances such as those made by Microsoft put this kind of technology - and with it, the opportunity to build a better world - at the fingertips of millions of people every day. However, it is still early, and everything is to be gained. If Microsoft continues to leverage its strong technology infrastructure and extensive user base, it can prove to be the winner of the race to establish leaders in the AI ​​.

Microsoft Made A Custom, Light-Up Xbox One With The Chainsmokers

Microsoft and the DJ duo The Chainsmokers have teamed up for a special edition of Xbox One S coming. This is part of a larger initiative that will allow Microsoft to create custom Xbox One S consoles with "celebrities and brands".

As explained on Xbox Live, Xbox One S Chainmokers uses a small USB processor that turns sound into a changing light show. There are 60 pixels that light up that not only looks good, but also creates what Microsoft says is a 3D effect. You can view the custom console and drivers in the video below.

"We have been really pumped to work with Xbox on this project and help us improve our lives by combining it with the best gaming console in the world," Chain Chain said in a statement (via Rolling Stone). "We knew the team would do something incredible, but when we first saw the custom Xbox One S, we were thrilled by the quality of the design."

For its part, Xbox marketing director Aaron Greenberg said that this console is different from any custom console that Microsoft has done. He also called it "true art".

Microsoft distributes the console. You can try to win one by following The Chainsmokers on Twitter and responding to a message about why you like the design of the console. You can see the rules of the contest here.

As for the other custom Xbox One consoles made by Microsoft, they will be produced in collaboration with "the most important personalities of music, sports, television, fashion, art and Hollywood." At least some of them are expected to be announced later this year.

Although you can never get these consoles, Microsoft launches Xbox One X in November. It is described as the most powerful console ever made, and is also the smallest system Microsoft has ever produced. It will live next to Xbox One S, which costs less (about $ 250) compared to $ 500 for Xbox One X. The Xbox One games and the drivers you already own will work on Xbox One X.

Microsoft set to cut 'thousands' of jobs

Microsoft said it cut thousands of sales personnel while focusing on cloud computing.

The company reported a jolt in its traditional sales focus primarily on office software licenses, as it confirmed that notices of dismissal were sent.

However, he declined to say where they were carrying out most of the cuts.

It is understood that Microsoft has not denied that 3,000 employees have left - some were redistributed - especially outside the United States.

Microsoft employs several thousand people in the UK, its main activities in reading focuses on cloud services.

The company is conducting a race against rivals such as Amazon and Google to sell subscriptions to access software on multiple devices, especially for businesses.

Its cloud business, including its Azure platform are underway to generate annual revenues of 15 billion dollars (11 billion).

Kaspersky files antitrust complaints against Microsoft in Europe

Kaspersky Lab has filed antitrust complaints against Microsoft in Europe, accusing the company to make it more difficult to run Kaspersky antivirus on Windows 10 and Microsoft promote alternative.

Eugene Kaspersky, a co-founder of Russia's cyber security firm, announced Tuesday that the company had recently filed antitrust complaints with the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office. Kaspersky had raised the issue with Russia's antitrust regulator in November.

"We see clearly - and we are ready to demonstrate - that Microsoft uses its dominant position in the computer operating systems market to vigorously promote its own lower security software," Kaspersky said.

In many cases, according to Kaspersky, customers upgrade their operating system to Windows 10 from previous versions to find their Kaspersky antivirus tools have been deleted or disabled. The company also criticized Microsoft because it is impossible to remove Windows Defender, Microsoft's antivirus software, in some Windows editions.

In a statement, Microsoft said its goal was to protect Windows users and "we are convinced that the security features of Windows 10 comply with the competition laws."

Microsoft said it had expected Kaspersky a few months ago for a meeting among leaders to address concerns, but the rally did not take place.

Following the complaint by Kaspersky in Russia, regulators have held hearings on anti-virus policies from Microsoft in Windows 10. They have not come to a conclusion.

The latest complaints do not necessarily indicate that the European Union or the German regulatory authorities are conducting a study of Microsoft practices.

The EU was watching hard Microsoft over the years, which condemns the purchase of around 733 million in 2013 to break a promise to give Windows users a clear choice for the use of web browsers built by other companies.

This year one of the EU's data collection control body criticized what it said was a lack of transparency in Windows 10 data collection practices.