Imagine Communications

MELBOURNE, Fla. and NEW YORK, July 20, 2011 -- Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, and Microsoft have signed an agreement that enables Harris to develop an advanced advertising agency platform that meets the accounting needs of global marketing organizations.

The Harris agency platform, based on Microsoft Dynamics AX, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, will address the financial management requirements of large agencies and holding companies. Beta testing is scheduled throughout the first half of 2012, with general availability expected in the third quarter of 2012.

Harris will utilize Microsoft Dynamics AX to address business process and collaboration needs in the areas of finance and production. The new solutions will support integration to the Harris® Enterprise Agency Suite™ (EAS) for media management, as well as leading third-party media-buying platforms.

Building on Harris' extensive advertising supply chain expertise, the Harris agency platform will offer localized financial compliance to agencies and holding companies with multinational offices, easing global deployment and facilitating business management across multiple geographies.

Those migrating to the new Harris advertising software platform will also find tight interoperability with familiar Microsoft technologies. This includes Microsoft Office applications (Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint), plus Microsoft Project and Microsoft SharePoint for enhanced collaboration with colleagues, clients and suppliers.

"The ability for large agencies and global companies to embed all of this functionality into their enterprise applications will streamline and automate collaborative processes and information in a way that no other agency software solution can match," said Harris Morris, president, Harris Broadcast Communications. "Harris advertising software customers also will discover an open and cooperative solution that enables simple integration into any media platform found globally today

The Harris agency management solution will offer full finance functionality (accounting, time and employee expense management) and provide functions rarely found in competing platforms, including human resource and fixed asset management with integrated reporting.

"By working with Microsoft Dynamics AX, Harris can offer large organizations a single system that reduces implementation costs and enables best practices," said Fred Studer, general manager, Microsoft Dynamics ERP. "Harris customers familiar with Microsoft applications will also minimize internal IT costs associated with training, maintenance and support, due to the familiar look, feel and pervasive interoperability with Microsoft application platform technologies like Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Office."

To further reduce operating costs and enhance efficiencies for its agency partners, Harris also plans to offer back-office management services, such as vendor invoice processing and client billing, and assist agencies that transition to the Harris platform from other advertising software solutions. Harris offers an innovative service delivery model that bundles BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services with a platform layer, simplifying integration and customization, maintenance and hosting.