PR Newswire's Business Technology Round-up, 19th October 2012

LONDON, October 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Microsoft commemorates 30th Employee Giving Day, Solavei launches revolutionary mobile offering and M2M market set to explode

Microsoft has commemorated its 30th "Employee Giving Day" this week, which has seen more than $1billion donated to 31,000 different charities since 1983. The program, first launched by founder Bill Gates 30 years ago, sees all charitable donations by employees matched by the company up to $12,000 each, as well as a contribution towards voluntary work.

More than 60% of the total workforce takes part, with efforts expected to generate an impressive $100million this year alone. CEO Steve Ballmer expressed his pride in the achievements of the program, adding that the efforts of Microsoft employees have "impacted and improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people".

Solavei, a popular social network and commercial platform, has announced the launch of its first mobile network in Puerto Rico, as part of its efforts to revolutionise the mobile phone industry.

Customers will be able to sign up to the contract-free network for around $49, whilst also having the chance to earn substantial sums of cash back, simply by recommending other people to the network.

The new service hopes to take advantage of a recent study in Puerto Rico, which found that 63% of all people are concerned about the quality and cost of their existing providers. Solavei is hoping to tempt customers away with the offer of a new top-of-the-range smartphone on top of a low-cost call plan. According to CEO Ryan Wuerch, the company is hoping to create a network that is "profitable for our members".

Global Information, a market leading online research company, has released a new study this week, showing that the lucrative "Mobile to Mobile" (M2M) market is set to reach an astounding $1.2trillion by the year 2020.

The breadth of the market includes new forms of "intelligent buildings", wireless technology and telecommunications, with the former expected to grow in value from $52billion this year, to an unprecedented $214billion over the next 18 years. Digital security services are also expected to grow rapidly, coming to account for 60% of total revenue by 2020.

This will be led by heavy demand for new CCTV technology, including the newly established high resolution models. The rapid growth is expected to have a knock-on effect, pushing growth forward in telecoms and the public sector.

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