Microsoft's $1.4m charity gift

Microsoft chief financial officer, New Zealander Chris Liddell, has announced a $1.4 million donation of software to Barnardos New Zealand.

Mr Liddell yesterday gave the keynote address at the Microsoft Tech Ed 2009 conference in Auckland.

Microsoft NZ has donated more than $5.5 million in software and funding to 288 non-profit organisations in the country in the past 12 months.

Mr Liddell said the donation was emblematic of Microsoft's wider philanthropic focus.

"Bill Gates himself impressed upon our company the value of giving back to the communities we serve," he said.

Earlier at Tech Ed, Mr Liddell outlined a five-point strategy for growth.

He said companies could expect the next five to 10 years to be vastly different to the last decade but that software would continue to drive productivity and innovation.

Scott Wylie, director of developer and platform strategy for Microsoft NZ, said Microsoft Tech Ed 2009 offered attendees the opportunity to learn strategies for maximising the business and technical value of information technology, from some of the world's foremost experts.

"We live in an increasingly knowledge-based and connected global economy, and New Zealand businesses need to improve productivity and economic performance," he said. "A key to achieving these outcomes will be the use of technology to overcome the barriers of size and distance."

- NZPA