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Microsoft Licensing Adds to Awards with Reno/Tahoe Best Place to Work Announcement

Reno, Nev. (April 28, 2008) – Microsoft Licensing, GP continues its string of successful milestones and awards with the recent announcement of being awarded the Best Place to Work in the Greater Reno/Tahoe Area. The Reno-based Microsoft subsidiary has also celebrated its ten-year anniversary and received the 2007 Governor’s Distinguished Business Award in recent months.

Microsoft Licensing can credit stellar employee survey results for their success as it was announced as the large-company winner in the inaugural “Greater Reno-Tahoe Best Places to Work” awards on April 24 by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) at their annual luncheon. The basis for the award was determined solely on overall scores from employee satisfaction surveys. An anonymous employee survey focused on ten criteria of a satisfying working environment including: team effectiveness, trust with coworkers, manager effectiveness, feeling valued and people practices, among others. Quantum Market Research, a contracted specialist in measuring workplace satisfaction, administered the “Best Places to Work” awards program through the use of their proprietary survey methodology and software.

“What makes the ‘Best Places to Work’ award unique is that winners are determined strictly based on the collective feedback of employees – not the subjective opinion of a group of experts,” said Greg Harris, president, Quantum Market Research. Fittingly, Microsoft had also provided the keynote speaker for EDAWN’s annual luncheon; Chris Weber, Microsoft US West Region Vice President, spoke to more than 1,000 area business leaders on the topics of how Microsoft has created its culture and utilized innovation in making it annually recognized as one of the “Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune.

“This award is a true representation of our teamwork,” said Mary Ellen Smith, general manager of Americas’ Operations Center and site-leader of Microsoft Licensing. “We are thrilled to be presented with this award, and it’s validation that Microsoft continues to earn its reputation as a great company and a great employer.”

In recent months, Microsoft Licensing has also had other milestones to celebrate. In September, 2007, the company celebrated its ten-year anniversary of doing business based in Reno. What started with just a handful of employees in 1997 has become a significant presence in the Reno-Tahoe area, with more than 250 full-time Microsoft employees and more than 500 total employees site-wide.

Additionally, in November, 2007, Microsoft Licensing was recognized by Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons with the Distinguished Business Award of 2007. The Distinguished Business of the Year award recognizes companies that have been in business locally for more than five years, demonstrate strong corporate citizenship and contribute to the regional economy. In addition to its business impact in the region, Microsoft Licensing was also recognized for its corporate citizenship leadership, which in 2007 included sponsoring five scholarships to local colleges for students from diverse backgrounds, contributing more than 2,000 hours of employee-donated time to local charitable organizations, and - for the third year – sponsoring the Run For Education, which has collected more than $500,000 since its inception that goes directly to schools in the Washoe County (Nev.) School District.

Microsoft Licensing, GP, a Microsoft Company, has been located in Reno since 1997 and manages product licensing agreements for Microsoft worldwide.

About EDAWN: EDAWN is a private, non-profit corporation founded by community leaders in 1982. EDAWN works to recruit and expand quality companies that have a positive impact on the quality of life in Greater Reno-Tahoe.

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