First, Best and Secure - taking security seriously

As CIO for Microsoft UK, Annemarie Duffy, not only has to kit out over three and a half thousand workers with the technology to be able to work anywhere, anytime, but also ensure that vital corporate systems are secured - always, and without exception.

As one of "the most attempted hack" companies in the world, Microsoft takes security seriously. Duffy acknowledges that the consumerisation of IT and the trend to 'bring your own device' to work poses a new generation of security problems, but says that these can be safely - and effectively - managed by enabling only devices that have a TPM chip to access corporate systems plus mandating the use of security features inherent in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Microsoft has a policy of being the 'First and Best' customer for its own products - also known as 'dog fooding'! As Duffy explains, this not only helps the company to "find out any problems before a customer does" but also enables Microsoft to share its own learnings from adopting a new technology. The global roll out of Lync, Microsoft's unified collaboration solution, for example has delivered more than $90m in savings over the last three years and significantly reduced carbon footprint. This learning, along with an internal 'Work Smart' programme to help staff get the most from new releases, is available to customers to see how they can leverage the company's technology to improve their organisation's operational efficiency. Find the Work Smart productivity guides here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb687781.aspx.