LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 5, 2025--
Reply, [EXM, STAR: REY] thanks to the expertise of WM Reply and Valorem Reply, has been promoted to the Prioritised Tier of the Copilot Jumpstart Partner Program, the highest level of Microsoft recognition for Copilot-related expertise. This recognition reflects the ability of Reply’s Microsoft-focused companies in driving the group’s Copilot practice and delivering cutting-edge solutions based on Microsoft’s latest AI technologies.
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Reply is a key partner within the Microsoft ecosystem, with proven expertise across Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and the Power Platform. As a Prioritised Tier Partner, WM Reply and Valorem Reply are now positioned to deliver even greater value to clients through a validated Copilot offering. This includes enhanced support, early access to new Microsoft innovations, and tailored solutions that address specific business needs, while deepening the collaboration with Microsoft.
Reply has already begun implementing Copilot projects across various sectors, including strategic initiatives with clients, including Valorem Reply playing a key role in the successful deployment of Microsoft Copilot solutions for Lumen Technologies, a leading telecommunications provider in the United States, and WM Reply in the UK delivering Vodafone's rollout of Copilot to over 68,000 users. Leveraging their deep expertise in AI and cloud technologies, Reply supports organisations integrating Copilot to enhance operational efficiency and accelerate digital transformation.
In support of broader Copilot adoption, the Reply’s company also created the Copilot AI-scape Room, a gamified learning experience designed to accelerate internal understanding and uptake of Microsoft Copilot within organisations. The latest edition, titled “ App to the Future ”, is an interactive, time-travel adventure where players use Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI to solve puzzles, uncover clues, and rescue missing agents scattered throughout history—ultimately restoring the timeline to complete their mission. Developed by WM Reply and Valorem Reply, the experience is available at the Reply offices in Seattle, Milan, and London.
“Achieving Prioritised Tier Partner status demonstrates our commitment to innovation and excellence in delivering AI-powered solutions. We are honoured to be among the first partners to attain this level of recognition from Microsoft and look forward to continuing to provide cutting-edge Copilot solutions to our clients,” commented Filippo Rizzante, CTO of Reply.
With this recognition, Reply and its Microsoft-focused companies – WM Reply and Valorem Reply – further strengthen their role as a key partner for Microsoft, supporting the adoption of artificial intelligence in a concrete and responsible way, through technologies and solutions designed to deliver immediate value for their clients.
Reply
Reply [EXM, STAR: REY, ISIN: IT0005282865] specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. Reply is a network of highly specialised companies supporting major industrial groups operating in telecom, media, industry, services, banking, insurance, and public administration sectors in defining and developing business models enabled by big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital media and the Internet of Things. www.reply.com
This achievement further strengthens Reply and its Microsoft-focused companies; WM Reply and Valorem Reply, as strategic partners within the Microsoft ecosystem, highlighting their leadership in integrating human creativity with artificial intelligence to drive business transformation.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows that has led to some water rescues and evacuation orders.
Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides. Areas scorched by January’s wildfires were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said the previous day that they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes.
San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in their cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many were rescued.
Firefighters also went door to door to check on residents, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains, was under evacuation orders in the afternoon as rains continued to pummel the area.
Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes.
The storm stranded Dillan Brown with his wife and 14-month-old daughter at a rented cabin in Wrightwood with almost no food and only enough diapers for about another day. By the morning, roads leading off the mountain and to a grocery store were blocked by rocks and debris, Brown said.
“I came across (a road) where there was a car sucked away by the water and realized we were trapped here,” he said.
A resident learned of his situation and posted a call for help in a Facebook group, and in less than an hour, neighbors showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm, including bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes.
“I think we’re a little sad and upset that we’re not going to be home with our families,” Brown said, but the “kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feeling.”
Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the mountain town for 45 years, said a wildfire in 2024 left much of the terrain without tree coverage and “all this rain is bringing down a lot of debris and a lot of mud from the mountain area.”
Residents around the burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate.
Areas along the coast including Malibu were under flood warnings until the evening, and much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were also under wind and flood advisories.
Several roadways including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport were closed due to flooding.
Conditions could worsen with multiple atmospheric rivers during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
The rain began tapering off in the evening in Los Angeles, but another storm system was on the horizon with showers and possible thunderstorms Christmas Day.
James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old resident of Altadena, said his family and neighbor helped place sandbags in his backyard earlier this week. A flash flood warning was issued for the neighborhood, but he wasn't too worried because his house is on a hill.
He and his wife, Stephanie, planned to remain there and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren.
“We’re just going to stay put, and everybody will have to come to us,” Dangerfield said. “We’re not going to go anywhere.”
Mike Burdick, who takes care of his parents in Altadena near burn scars from the Eaton Fire, ran out to buy more sandbags in the morning when he saw that the pool was overflowing.
“I literally woke up to just downpour,” he said.
The family was prepared to evacuate with a week’s worth of essentials including for their dog and cat.
Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 centimeters) of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.
Forecasters said heavy snow and gusts were expected to create “near white-out conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make travel “nearly impossible” through mountain passes. There was also a “considerable” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center.
The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning would be in effect for the greater Tahoe region until Friday morning.
Power was knocked out to more than 125,000 due to a damaged power pole, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility.
The California Highway Patrol was investigating a seemingly weather-related crash south of Sacramento in which Sacramento Sheriff Deputy James Caravallo died. Caravallo was apparently traveling at an unsafe speed, lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole, CHP Officer Michael Harper said via email.
Caravallo was with the sheriff’s office for 19 years, the agency said in a post on social media.
“Our hearts are with Deputy Caravallo’s family, and we ask the public to keep Deputy Caravallo’s loved ones and our Sheriff’s Office family in their thoughts and prayers,” it said.
A flash flood warning was issued for portions of Sacramento in the evening as more severe weather developed offshore and began moving inland.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response.
The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.
Atmospheric rivers transport moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean.
Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Sacramento and Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed.
Damage is seen to a closed California State Route 138 after flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, outside of Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
A California Highway Patrol officer drives along California State Route 138 through mud Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, near Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Part of California State Route 138 washes away from flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, outside of Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
A tourist from China battles the rain on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
People look toward traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge from the Golden Gate Overlook in San Francisco, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A pedestrian carries an umbrella while walking on a path at Alamo Square Park, in San Francisco, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
