.NET My Services

Microsoft .NET My Services brings new convenience and computing features to consumers by increasing the utility and value of devices, applications, and the Internet. Building upon the proven capabilities of Microsoft .NET Alerts and Microsoft .NET Passport, .NET My Services is a family of XML Web services that will allow users to store key personal information securely and control access to it. .NET My Services will allow businesses to increase customer satisfaction and build relationships by improving Web sites and Web services, offering operational efficiencies designed to cut costs and increase profits, and providing new business opportunities.

.NET My Services is a collection of XML Web services that are invoked over the Internet by means of industry-standard protocols including SOAP, XML, and Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI). .NET My Services authenticates users, provides the ability to send alerts, and stores personal information, including contacts, e-mail, calendar, profile, lists, electronic wallet, physical location, document stores, application settings, favorite Web sites, devices owned, and preferences for receiving alerts.

Businesses can use .NET My Services to offer customers easier site sign-in, better personalization, auto-filled forms, streamlined e-commerce from desktop or mobile devices, effective appointment coordination, and location-based products and services. In addition, with the explicit permission of the customer, businesses can send alerts to the customer about events, offers, and promotions. Because customer information can be made available, businesses can use .NET My Services to identify each customer consistently across all venues of customer contacts.

From a consumer's perspective, .NET My Services is a digital safe deposit box in which personal information is stored. By default, personal information is only accessible to the user. Once information is placed in .NET My Services Digital Safe Deposit Box, users have complete control in choosing how to share information with friends, family, groups, or businesses. Additionally, users can sign up to receive alerts on any of a number of desktop or mobile devices.

Users benefit because .NET My Services eliminates the barriers that make it difficult and time-consuming to take advantage of the Internet and Web-enabled devices. .NET My Services addresses common problems, including manually entering information, using multiple passwords, scheduling problems, sharing personal information, and so forth.

.NET My Services is being used, according to current reports, by more than 165 million people using .NET Passport and over 36 million are ready to receive .NET Alerts.

Microsoft .NET Passport is a suite of e-business services that makes using the Web and purchasing goods and services online easier, faster, and more secure for its members. .NET Passport provides its members with the Microsoft .NET Passport Single Sign-In and Microsoft .NET Passport Express Purchase service at participating sites. This reduces the amount of information that has to be remembered or retyped. .NET Passport protects the security of members' personal information and online transactions by using powerful encryption technologies and by requiring participating sites to adhere to comprehensive privacy policies that conform to accepted guidelines.

Microsoft .NET Alerts gives businesses a powerful new communication tool that allows them to reach customers in ways that are relevant and actionable. .NET Alerts provides a service in which users sign up to receive alerts from a specific provider, so that they can quickly be notified of important events and act on that information. For example, rather than simply sending a customer an e-mail message that could sit in an inbox for days, a .NET Alerts provider can send a simple XML message to .NET Alerts service. This service then intelligently routes that message to a user's desktop, cellular phone, mobile device, or e-mail address—all based on the user's preferences. The user can then click on that alert and be directed back to the provider's site for more information.

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