Microsoft and the NFL expand partnership to accelerate digital transformation across the League

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REDMOND, Washington, March 4, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Microsoft Corp. and the National Football League on Tuesday announced an expansion

of their deep technology partnership. The multiyear expansion aims to help the entire NFL,

including its coaches and players, be more efficient through enhanced communication and

collaboration via Microsoft Surface devices and Microsoft Teams, the hub for teamwork in

Office 365.

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"Since 2013, Microsoft has helped transform the NFL through technology around

our game," said Renie Anderson, chief revenue officer and executive vice president

of NFL Partnerships. "Microsoft Surface has quickly become an authentic tool to

the game of football and is vital during all NFL games for coaches, players and NFL Officials.

And now by working together to integrate Microsoft Teams across the League, together

we aim to improve on communications and collaboration in a modern way."

"We're inspired to continue to help the NFL accelerate its digital transformation," said

Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president, Modern Life, Search and Devices, Microsoft.

"We've worked together to innovate the way the game is played with Surface devices

to power Instant Replay and in-game play review for players and coaches on the sidelines.

And by combining Surface and Microsoft Teams deeper into the fast-paced workflow of

the League, we have an incredible opportunity to bring together the power of hardware

and software to help everyone be more productive."

As part of the partnership expansion, Microsoft and the NFL will now work together

on modern collaboration technology to further empower the League using the new

Microsoft Teams platform. Designed to work seamlessly across Windows, iOS and

Android devices, Microsoft Teams brings together chat, calling, meetings, files,

document collaboration and workflow into a single app. Rather than use separate

apps for those experiences, NFL teams and the entire organization can collaborate

and stay constantly and securely connected on Microsoft Teams.

Clubs across the NFL are already taking advantage of the Microsoft Teams platform.

The New York Jets use Microsoft Teams to ensure key messages such as the team's

draft selection are being transmitted accurately in real time. Super Bowl Champions,

the Kansas City Chiefs, use Microsoft Teams to coordinate travel schedules among

the club's on-the-road scouts. And the Miami Dolphins used Microsoft Teams to plan

Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium.

"The Miami Dolphins rely on Teams for all cross-functional strategic projects.

In Teams we can easily collaborate on files, manage shared calendars, host

meetings, and use existing integrations. Teams made cooperation with the NFL

possible throughout the regular season and with Super Bowl planning," said Kim

Rometo, vice president and chief information officer for the Miami Dolphins.

Microsoft continues to deliver exceptional performance to the NFL with the

Microsoft Surface Sideline Viewing System (SVS), bringing near-real-time images

and game data, such as down, distance and yard line information, to the players

and coaches on the sidelines and to the coaches in the coach's booth. In addition,

Microsoft Surface Instant Replay (MSIR) brings mobile instant replay to the officials

on the field, helping improve pace of play. With more than 2,000 Surface devices

and 170 Windows Servers deployed across 35 global stadiums, Microsoft technology

powers 333 events each year for the NFL on game day.

Beyond the sideline integration, Microsoft works with every NFL team and their

partners to develop unique business and consumer-facing integrations to deliver

real-world productivity solutions. Ranging from Surface devices serving as playbooks,

to film reviews being conducted on the Surface family of devices

(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2737184-1&h=558778193&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fmicrosoft-surface-hub%2F&a=Surface+family+of+devices ),

to in-stadium usage on gamedays, to business operations teams using Surface

devices in their front office, it is clear that NFL teams have embraced Microsoft

as a true technology partner.

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era

of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person

and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

SOURCE  Microsoft Corporation

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft,

please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links,

telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have

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Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at

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CONTACT: Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft,

+1 (425) 638-7777, rrt@we-worldwide.com; Alex Riethmiller, NFL, +1 (310) 840-4681,

alex.riethmiller@nfl.com