When you think of “Microsoft”, you likely think of a group of brains on sticks marching around a campus in Redmond, WA. What you might not know, is that Microsoft has a very significant presence in the Chicago area. For one thing, Microsoft has more than 500 employees that live and work in the area. These are people who work with our customers and our partners, who create online advertising solutions, who help support the vast ecosystem of ISV and IHV partners, and some that even develop software. I am celebrating my 20th year with this company, and I have spent that entire time in my hometown of Chicago.
Chicago is also home to a few key assets to Microsoft. One is the Microsoft Technology Center Chicago (MTC). Located at the Aon Center downtown, the MTC is a beautiful, collaborative environment that provides access to innovative technologies and world-class expertise, enabling our customers and partners to envision, design, and deploy solutions to exactly meet their business needs. Stop by sometime, and I’ll give you a tour.
Another key asset is our massive Global Foundation Services Datacenterby O’Hare. At least at the time it was built a couple of years ago, it was the biggest capital expense in our company's history. And it’s big. Really bit. As big as 16 football fields (720,000 square feet). It can contain about 300,000 servers (infinite computing power). Building something of this scale brought numerous jobs into the project, impacting the construction and electrical worker job markets in particular.
And then, there is the impact we have on our local economy. We have over 1,100 business partners in Illinois. These are folks who are providing Microsoft-based IT services to large, medium, and small business in the area. That means companies that build technology tools and deliver services on the Microsoft platform are creating jobs and revenue in the Chicago area.
Finally, there is the impact that Microsoft makes on the Chicago community itself. Through cash grants, software, technology solutions, curriculum donations, and most importantly, employee volunteer hours, Microsoft supports numerous projects and organizations to expand opportunities through technology. In fact, if you just look Microsoft’s contribution matching alone, In Illinois, Microsoft has matched employee gifts of more than $13.2 million in cash, software and time benefitting local nonprofits.
So when you think of Microsoft, think of Microsoft helping you realize your potential in your back yard.
~cp~
