M+E Daily

First launched in 2009, Microsoft Garage’s name came about as a simple play on words, something those in the tech sector would appreciate: so many tech company tales revolve around starting up in garages (just see stories surrounding company founder Bill Gates), so why not have fun naming a new division that lets employees pitch and develop new ideas?

But, fun moniker or not, in the years since it launched, Microsoft’s Garage project has seen serious results: employees have used Garage to produce thousands of real-world software applications, covering Android, iOS, Windows, Xbox and more.

At the June 14 Transforming Home Entertainment (THE) Summit in Los Angeles, Anne Legato, chief communicator for Microsoft Garage, will share how the Microsoft Garage project and its results can serve as a template for how the home entertainment industry can mine its talent for new ideas. 

Her keynote — “Inside The Garage: a Conduit for Culture Change and Innovation at Microsoft” — will look at how Garage grew from a small idea to a giant source of innovation inside the world’s largest software company. And Legato will offer her thoughts on what media and entertainment companies can take from Microsoft and its experience with the “garage.”

The Microsoft presentation will be one of several at THE Summit that offers up possible answers to complex questions for the home entertainment industry, with presenters sharing new business models, workflows and tech innovations that help drive efficiencies (and revenues) in home entertainment. Also on tap:

• Jeff DeGraff, professor of management and organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, will offer insights into how executives can make organizational changes that results in new innovations.

• Juan Reyes, chief innovation officer for My Eye Media, will show attendees new ways to develop a digital entertainment supply chain, taking especial advantage of new retail opportunities.

• Michael Jeffrey, VP of market solutions for Rovi, will share how content localization is one of the key drivers to global revenue growth for today’s digitally driven content companies.

The 2016 THE Summit is produced by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) and the Smart Content Council, and will be sponsored by My Eye Media and Rovi Corp. To register, click here.