Microsoft CEO Drops In for Lunch
Microsoft CEO Drops In for Lunch
May 25, 2007: In a whirlwind Australian tour, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has spent the last two days talking strategy with the Australian business community and reaffirming a healthy relationship with the Australian Department of Defence.
However Ballmer’s tracks have been kept relatively secret with media access to the Microsoft heavyweight limited. Journalists were not invited to Ballmer’s speech at a luncheon for the American Chamber of Commerce today. Instead, media were offered an edited video to watch online after the event.
At the luncheon today, Ballmer used his time to urge Government and business leaders to embrace technology and innovation for competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
“Today the right technology can enable businesses to unleash the full creativity and productivity of their most important asset: their people,” he said. “Technology that is powerful, integrated and easy to use – these are the keys to making a business truly people ready.”
From the outset, Ballmer appears to have offered similar tips to Singapore earlier this week where he delivered a speech to the IDA’s Distinguished Speaker Series about using innovation to stay competitive.
Ballmer will leave the country tonight, barely 24 hours after arriving. Although there was little time to check out Sydney, Ballmer appears to have packed in a variety of meetings with banking executives, government CIOs and Government ministers. The PM John Howard and opposition leader Kevin Rudd were also given their own Microsoft fix.
Ballmer used the Australian visit to sign an agreement with Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence, Peter Lindsay MP. According to Microsoft, it’s a deal that represents a long standing partnership and continued joint efforts in the future.
“By continuing to deploy Microsoft technologies, Defence will be able to simplify its operating environment, reduce integration risks, efforts and costs into the future,” said Ballmer.
It’s a relationship that kicked off with an Enterprise License Agreement signed in 2000, evolved further with signatures on the Security Cooperation Program, and will now evolve even further. “These agreements show that our relationship is not just about software, we are partnering with the Department of Defence to help protect Australia’s critical communication infrastructure, and free them to focus on its primary directive to protect the country,” he said.