Comcast and Microsoft Launch Businesses Services
Comcast Corporation , the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, and Microsoft Corp. , the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions, have launched a new Internet-based communications product for small and medium- sized businesses (SMBs), giving SMBs access to services that have traditionally only been available to larger companies with IT staffs. Comcast’s SMB customers will be the first in the country to receive Microsoft Communication Services from Comcast, which will provide them with corporate- class e-mail, calendaring and document sharing. This product is Internet- based, so SMBs do not need additional server capacity and is backed by 24×7 Business Class customer support from Comcast, which will serve as an SMB’s “help desk.”
Comcast is the only major U.S. Internet service provider to make this product available at no additional cost with its broadband services. Microsoft Communication Services lets small-business owners focus on running their businesses rather than worrying about IT issues by:
- Enabling SMB teams to share documents and access calendars, track
tasks, and use e-mail efficiently and effectively through corporate-
class productivity and collaboration solutions based on Microsoft
Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and Microsoft
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 - Removing barriers of up-front costs, help desk support and ongoing
system maintenance, which often prevent SMBs from experiencing the
benefits of corporate-grade IT services - Extending the boundaries of the “office” to anywhere there’s Internet
access - Improving communication by letting SMBs extend access to these
collaboration tools, such as document sharing, to important business
partners or suppliers - Providing full integration with Comcast’s network and around-the-clock
support
Microsoft Communication Services is the first major product to be launched in conjunction with Comcast’s introduction of high-speed Internet, phone and video services for small businesses across the country. Comcast is providing SMBs with the first real alternative to the local phone company for these services.
“Working with Microsoft to enhance our Comcast Business Class Internet demonstrates our commitment to bringing simple, time-saving tools to small businesses,” said Bill Stemper, president of Comcast Business Services. “Many of our small-business customers use stand-alone Microsoft products on their own PCs, which benefits individual employees. Now, as part of their Comcast high-speed Internet service, they can quickly schedule meetings, share a common address book, or easily share or review important documents, which benefits the entire business.”
Added Michael O’Hara, general manager for the Communications Sector at Microsoft, “The alliance announced today is particularly exciting because it serves to deliver new levels of productivity and flexibility to small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. We can now offer SMBs the business- building communication and collaboration tools they need, and Comcast is helping remove the traditional barriers that have kept SMBs from adopting these tools in a meaningful way.”
“Small businesses present a significant opportunity for service providers offering integrated service packages. Despite advances in network infrastructure over the past decade that have improved reliability and decreased costs, businesses that don’t have an extensive IT capability lack many of the tools utilized by corporate-class establishments,” said Matt Davis, director of Consumer & Business Multiplay Services at IDC. “Service provider offerings that provide compelling applications along with affordable pricing as part of a bundled broadband and voice solution are well positioned to garner share in the marketplace.”
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
About Comcast
Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.
Comcast’s content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast’s Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.
Comcast
Comcast was founded in 1963 by Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron, and Julian A. Brodsky based on a recommendation from Warren “Pete” Musser, of Harrisburg, who brought the deal to Ralph Roberts to buy his first cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi. The company was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1969, under the name Comcast Corporation from American Cable Systems, though a former insider says that “Comcast” is a derivation of the name “Communications and Broadcasting”. Moving into the area of programming content, Comcast became majority owner of Comcast-Spectacor, Comcast SportsNet (in Chicago, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington DC/Baltimore, MD, metro Sacramento, Detroit, and Houston ), E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, G4, The Golf Channel and Versus (formerly known as Outdoor Life Network) over a period of years. In 2006, Comcast started a new sports channel in cooperation with Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, SportsNet New York in the greater New York City region.
Comcast also has a variety network known as CN8, or the Comcast Network, available exclusively to Comcast and Cablevision subscribers. The channel shows news, sports, and entertainment and places emphasis in Philadelphia, New England, and the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. areas, though the channel is also available in New York, Pittsburgh, and Richmond. In August 2004, Comcast started a channel called CET (Comcast Entertainment Television). It is only available to Colorado Comcast subscribers. It focuses on Life in Colorado. It also carries some NHL & NBA Games when Altitude Sports & Entertainment is carrying the NBA or NHL. In January 2006, CET became the primary channel for Colorado’s Emergency Alert System in the Denver Metro Area.
The UK division was sold to NTL in 1998. After the sale of their cellular division to SBC Communications of San Antonio and the acquisition of Greater Philadelphia Cablevision in 1999, Comcast and MediaOne announced a $60 billion merger which did not occur until three years later (as AT&T Broadband).
In 2002, Comcast paid the University of Maryland $25 million for naming rights to the new basketball arena built on the College Park campus, named Comcast Center.
On January 3, 2005, Comcast announced that it would become the anchor tenant in a new skyscraper in downtown Philadelphia, to be named the Comcast Center, not to be confused with the Maryland arena mentioned above. The 975 ft skyscraper, while still under construction, has topped off and is officially the tallest building in Pennsylvania.
In December 2005, Comcast announced the creation of Comcast Interactive Media (CIM), a new division focused on online media.
Presently, Comcast serves a total of 24.1 million cable customers, 14.1 million digital cable customers, 12.4 million high-speed internet customers, and 3.5 million voice customers. The company employs over 90,000 people. Comcast is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and also has corporate offices in Houston, Detroit, and Denver.
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