ISTANBUL, Turkey, February 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- From 3 February to 15 April the workshops will take place across Europe, Middle East and Africa with the participation of leading partners and key industry speakers.

What: Empowering Excellence in Manufacturing Resources Through Innovation - EMEA Road Shows (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO) Join Microsoft Corp and key business partners at these workshops to learn how, in times of economic uncertainty, leading-edge technologies can help firms realise cost savings, increase efficiency, enable change and foster innovation. The sessions dedicated to IT and business decision-makers will highlight the state-of-the-art solutions empowered by Microsoft technologies: Manufacturing operations. How to help ensure operational excellence through flexible and integrated manufacturing operations with high quality, low cost and tools for securing regulatory compliance. Business insight and visibility. How to accelerate insight, increase transparency and manage risk at all levels to reduce time to decision and locate and analyse inefficiencies. Collaboration and communication. How to manage innovation and accelerate collaborative product development across global design teams to improve time to market and reduce costs. Consumer-centric approach. How to observe and serve consumers and customers globally with insight into their specific needs and drive profitable revenue growth Who: These speakers from Microsoft will be featured: -- Jon C Arnold, managing director, Worldwide Utilities, Microsoft -- Nick Barnett, EMEA Industry Solution manager, Manufacturing Operations, Microsoft -- Norbert Braendli, worldwide managing director, Automotive and Industrial Equipment, Microsoft -- Karel Crombach, industry market development manager EMEA, Worldwide Manufacturing and Resources Sector, Microsoft -- Ruediger Dorn, managing director, Worldwide Life Sciences Industry Group, Microsoft -- Albrecht Ferling, managing director, Worldwide Oil and Gas Industries, Microsoft -- Bill Gerould, senior director, Worldwide Marketing, Manufacturing Resources Sector, Microsoft -- Charles Johnson, worldwide general manager, Manufacturing and Resources Sector, Enterprise Partner Group, Microsoft -- Sanjay Ravi, managing director, Worldwide High Tech and Electronics Industry, Microsoft -- Gunter Rester, Worldwide Director PLM Solutions, Microsoft -- Don Richardson, director, Global Innovation and PLM Industry Strategy, Worldwide Solution Management, Microsoft Dates and Locations: 3 Feb 2009, Istanbul, Turkey 18 Feb 2009, Stockholm, Sweden 19 Feb 2009, Goteborg, Sweden 25 Feb 2009, Johannesburg, South Africa 5 March 2009, Barcelona, Spain 6 March 2009, Madrid, Spain 10 March 2009, Oslo, Norway 13 March 2009, Schiphol, Amsterdam, Netherlands 16 March 2009, Helsinki, Finland 17 March 2009, Paris, France 19 March 2009, Moscow, Russia 20 March 2009, Moscow, Russia 25 March 2009, Cologne, Germany 26 March 2009, Vienna, Austria 6 April 2009, Reading, UK 7 April 2009, Midlands, UK 8 April 2009, Vedbaek, Denmark 15 April 2009, Dubai, Gulf States

More Details: More information is available at https://microsoft.crgevents.com/empoweringworkshops/Content/Home.aspx

This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any special, direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting any kind of warranty.

Alfredo Cristoforetti of Microsoft, alfredoc@microsoft.com; or Simona Cotta Ramusino of Metia, +44-(0)20-3100-3603, simona.cotta-ramusino@metia.com, for Microsoft. NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/contactus.mspx. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft Corp, please visit the Microsoft web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO