ZURICH & REDMOND, Wash. - Wednesday, October 5th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ABB and Microsoft Corp. today announced a strategic partnership to help industrial customers create new value with digital solutions. Customers will benefit from the unique combination of the Microsoft Azure intelligent cloud and ABB’s deep domain knowledge and extensive portfolio of industrial solutions.

The two partners are committed to empowering digital transformation in customer segments such as robotics, marine and ports, electric vehicles and renewable energy. By selecting Microsoft Azure as the cloud for its integrated connectivity platform, ABB’s customers will now have access to an enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure that benefits from billions of dollars of ongoing investment.

“Together with ABB, we are providing industrial customers with the digital technology and cloud platform to empower every person, team and business system within an organization to glean new insights and drive faster decision making to seize new growth and opportunities,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft.

“This partnership will provide unique benefits to our customers in utilities, industry, transport and infrastructure, building on the combined strength of Microsoft and ABB,” said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. “Building on our installed base of more than 70 million connected devices and more than 70,000 digital control systems, the next step is to develop one of the world’s largest industrial cloud platforms.”

The ABB Ability offering, announced today, combines ABB’s portfolio of digital solutions and services across all customer segments, cementing ABB’s leadership in the energy and fourth industrial revolution. ABB’s new integrated cloud platform will be a key enabler for ABB Ability and is expected to create a large, open, digital industrial ecosystem for customers, partners, suppliers and developers.

Together, ABB and Microsoft will accelerate digital solutions that improve customers’ productivity by increasing uptime, speed and yield. As ABB standardizes its platform on Azure, and expands its leadership in energy and the fourth industrial revolution, the company will take full advantage of Azure services such as Azure IoT Suite and Cortana Intelligence Suite to capitalize on insights gathered at every level from device, to system, to enterprise, to cloud.

ABB and Microsoft have a long history of successful collaboration, and have delivered transformational end-to-end solutions across several industries including Robotics, Smart Grids, Marine and Ports, and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure.

About ABB

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. For more than four decades, ABB is writing the future of industrial digitalization. With more than 70 million devices connected through its installed base of more than 70,000 control systems across all customer segments, ABB is ideally positioned to benefit from the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolution. With a heritage of more than 130 years, ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees. www.abb.com

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies.

Important notice about forward-looking information

This press release includes forward-looking information and statements. These expectations, estimates and projections are generally identifiable by statements containing words such as “expects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “targets,” “plans,” “is likely”, “intends” or similar expressions. However, there are many risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information and statements made in this press release and which could affect our ability to achieve any or all of our stated targets. Although ABB Ltd believes that its expectations reflected in any such forward-looking statement are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that those expectations will be achieved.     

Contacts

ABB

Media Relations

Saswato Das

Antonio Ligi

Domenico Truncellito

Sandra Wiesner

+41 43 317 65 68

media.relations@ch.abb.com

or

Microsoft

Media Relations

WE Communications for Microsoft

425-638-7777

rrt@we-worldwide.com

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