November 27, 2006 at 10:32 100 facts about the most important release of Microsoft products
- Transfer
Are “programs and services”, promises of enhanced security, customizable gadgets and a powerful graphics engine capable of making the company's extensive user base switch to Windows Vista?
Five long years have passed since the release of Windows XP - a lifetime for the software industry. During this time, Microsoft has invested nearly $ 9 billion in Windows Vista , which will replace XP, and in a set of office applications Office 2007.
And now the wait is over.
During this week's upcoming New York City presentations, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil the launch of Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007, an update to the market-leading email platform. The share of programs for personal computers and servers in the total annual revenue of Microsoft is 82%, which emphasizes the importance of launching three new products for Gates, Ballmer and the company.
Delays with the launch of key products, attacks of non-numbing competitors, imposing another wave of updates on users - Microsoft went through this more than once and always managed to maintain the growth of sold software licenses.
Can this company get together and perform a miracle again? Ballmer certainly believes so. In an interview given last week, he called the new Vista, Office, and Exchange “a giant leap forward.” To the skeptics, Ballmer replies: "Everyone who says the opposite is far from our consumers."
Microsoft does not forecast explosive revenue growth in fiscal 2007, most likely it will be in the range from 13% to 15%, to about $ 50 billion (for comparison, in 2006 the growth was 11%). Even such figures will be akin to a feat for the largest software company, especially at a time when its 30-year-old business model is crowded with competitors that provide online services ( software-as-a-service) and making money on contextual advertising in search results (search-ad-driven). Why overpay for personal computer programs when other, more interesting applications are available online?
Vista and Office 2007 may be ready, but Windows Live , Office Live and Office Online , Microsoft’s online service projects are far from complete. Office 2007 brings together 13 applications and none of them reside on Office Online or Office Live resources. Ballmer on this subject evasively: “We have what we have online. If you continue to be interested, perhaps tomorrow something new will appear there. ”
Microsoft needs to manage to demonstrate that desktop applications and online services can not only coexist, but also evolve together, creating better working conditions. Microsoft is increasingly using the concept of “software and services” to describe this collaborative development. Ballmer predicts the emergence of "a new generation of individual ways of working that combine the best of the Web with the rich capabilities of client computers" (see " Steve Ballmer's Own Top 10 List ").
But for Microsoft, this is a matter of the future. “We are trying our best,” says Ballmer. While users are starting to switch to online services, he claims that Microsoft is moving at the same pace with them, not behind.
Windows Vista with customizable gadgets ( Gadgets ), with a powerful graphics engine, advanced search tools, new features in the field of security and mobile devices and much more is a tangible step forward. It is important that the new format for storing the installation files of the operating system ( WIM ) greatly facilitates the implementation and updating of Windows Vista for corporate users and simplifies the process of distributing critical updates.
InterKnowlogy, using .NET tools, third-party components, and the Windows Presentation Foundation [former Avalon], recently completed an application for the Scrips Research Institute. The new application allows scientists to view three-dimensional images of cancer cells and leave comments on them. “Together with Vista, it's just super,” says Peter Kuhn, professor at the institute. "Incredible."
The scope of the upcoming release of Microsoft applications with hundreds of new features is too large to be able to try all the new products at once. We have selected 100 facts that all IT professionals should know.
Microsoft's Office system consists of 13 applications that are available in eight combinations, along with nine Office servers. The names are known to all. Here are some of them: Access, Communicator, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, and Word. Office SharePoint Server (formerly SharePoint Portal Server) is the heart of the Microsoft software environment. Excel spreadsheets, for example, can now be managed centrally, but you will need to use SharePoint's Excel Services to do this.
Exchange Server 2007 represents Microsoft's first major email system upgrade in more than three years. A key innovation is unified messaging, when faxes, voice and email are placed in a universal mailbox.
Mike Leeper, Columbia Sportswear Manageron Windows systems, he believes that a unified messaging system is useful for the company, especially in terms of sending voice mail outside the company. This opportunity is liked by workers who have to travel abroad, because they do not need to call the United States on a voice mail system to receive messages. “The end-user experience has become better,” says Liper. Also, with Exchange Server 2007 it is easier to implement uniform rules for using e-mail and to configure the storage of correspondence.
However, Columbia Sportswear has no plans to immediately upgrade to Windows Vista or Office 2007. Liper explains: “We had limited resources to try out preliminary versions, update the server side, and resolve multiple issues on client computers.
The path to upgrade
How will users upgrade? When? According to an InformationWeek Research survey conducted in October among 672 IT professionals, 10% will install Windows Vista on existing computers, 25% will install Vista on new computers, and 69% will do both. 39% plan to upgrade to Windows Vista within a year of its release.
As with previous versions of Windows, a massive corporate transition will take several years. At the same time, Ballmer expects companies to adopt Windows Vista "a little bit faster" than Windows XP, at least in order to protect themselves with the help of an improved security system.
Representative of rival company Ken Bisconti, vice president of product marketing at IBM Lotus, does not share this opinion: “I would like to look at at least one company that is going to upgrade Windows regardless of the standard process for updating hardware. For most companies, such an update is an event of 2008. ”
"Microsoft still uses the business model from the era preceding the advent of the Internet, which is based on the expectation of an imminent update to the paid operating system and paid applications." Bisconti's words summarize the skepticism that Microsoft is haunting every time a company confronts its users with a new software update cycle: “Do I really miss the extra features for editing documents? Business and technology innovations are independent of the specific operating system or version of Office. ”
However, many companies envy Microsoft’s vast user base. Will Ballmer get another rabbit out of his hat? Those who have seen this trick before will follow his every move.
Five long years have passed since the release of Windows XP - a lifetime for the software industry. During this time, Microsoft has invested nearly $ 9 billion in Windows Vista , which will replace XP, and in a set of office applications Office 2007.
And now the wait is over.
During this week's upcoming New York City presentations, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil the launch of Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007, an update to the market-leading email platform. The share of programs for personal computers and servers in the total annual revenue of Microsoft is 82%, which emphasizes the importance of launching three new products for Gates, Ballmer and the company.
Delays with the launch of key products, attacks of non-numbing competitors, imposing another wave of updates on users - Microsoft went through this more than once and always managed to maintain the growth of sold software licenses.
Can this company get together and perform a miracle again? Ballmer certainly believes so. In an interview given last week, he called the new Vista, Office, and Exchange “a giant leap forward.” To the skeptics, Ballmer replies: "Everyone who says the opposite is far from our consumers."
Microsoft does not forecast explosive revenue growth in fiscal 2007, most likely it will be in the range from 13% to 15%, to about $ 50 billion (for comparison, in 2006 the growth was 11%). Even such figures will be akin to a feat for the largest software company, especially at a time when its 30-year-old business model is crowded with competitors that provide online services ( software-as-a-service) and making money on contextual advertising in search results (search-ad-driven). Why overpay for personal computer programs when other, more interesting applications are available online?
Vista and Office 2007 may be ready, but Windows Live , Office Live and Office Online , Microsoft’s online service projects are far from complete. Office 2007 brings together 13 applications and none of them reside on Office Online or Office Live resources. Ballmer on this subject evasively: “We have what we have online. If you continue to be interested, perhaps tomorrow something new will appear there. ”
Microsoft needs to manage to demonstrate that desktop applications and online services can not only coexist, but also evolve together, creating better working conditions. Microsoft is increasingly using the concept of “software and services” to describe this collaborative development. Ballmer predicts the emergence of "a new generation of individual ways of working that combine the best of the Web with the rich capabilities of client computers" (see " Steve Ballmer's Own Top 10 List ").
But for Microsoft, this is a matter of the future. “We are trying our best,” says Ballmer. While users are starting to switch to online services, he claims that Microsoft is moving at the same pace with them, not behind.
Windows Vista with customizable gadgets ( Gadgets ), with a powerful graphics engine, advanced search tools, new features in the field of security and mobile devices and much more is a tangible step forward. It is important that the new format for storing the installation files of the operating system ( WIM ) greatly facilitates the implementation and updating of Windows Vista for corporate users and simplifies the process of distributing critical updates.
InterKnowlogy, using .NET tools, third-party components, and the Windows Presentation Foundation [former Avalon], recently completed an application for the Scrips Research Institute. The new application allows scientists to view three-dimensional images of cancer cells and leave comments on them. “Together with Vista, it's just super,” says Peter Kuhn, professor at the institute. "Incredible."
The scope of the upcoming release of Microsoft applications with hundreds of new features is too large to be able to try all the new products at once. We have selected 100 facts that all IT professionals should know.
Microsoft's Office system consists of 13 applications that are available in eight combinations, along with nine Office servers. The names are known to all. Here are some of them: Access, Communicator, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, and Word. Office SharePoint Server (formerly SharePoint Portal Server) is the heart of the Microsoft software environment. Excel spreadsheets, for example, can now be managed centrally, but you will need to use SharePoint's Excel Services to do this.
| 7% | companies plan to install Windows Vista immediately after release |
| 39% | companies will install Windows Vista in the first year |
| 34% | refer to the fact that an improved search system and organization capabilities are of great interest to them |
| 17% | companies will need to upgrade computers to run Windows Vista |
| 32% | want cheaper alternatives to Microsoft products available |
| 73% | mention PC-server integration as an important feature of Microsoft products |
| 5% | They say that Vista Gadgets and Sidebar are very interesting to them. |
| According to an InformationWeek Research survey in October 2006 | |
Exchange Server 2007 represents Microsoft's first major email system upgrade in more than three years. A key innovation is unified messaging, when faxes, voice and email are placed in a universal mailbox.
Mike Leeper, Columbia Sportswear Manageron Windows systems, he believes that a unified messaging system is useful for the company, especially in terms of sending voice mail outside the company. This opportunity is liked by workers who have to travel abroad, because they do not need to call the United States on a voice mail system to receive messages. “The end-user experience has become better,” says Liper. Also, with Exchange Server 2007 it is easier to implement uniform rules for using e-mail and to configure the storage of correspondence.
However, Columbia Sportswear has no plans to immediately upgrade to Windows Vista or Office 2007. Liper explains: “We had limited resources to try out preliminary versions, update the server side, and resolve multiple issues on client computers.
The path to upgrade
How will users upgrade? When? According to an InformationWeek Research survey conducted in October among 672 IT professionals, 10% will install Windows Vista on existing computers, 25% will install Vista on new computers, and 69% will do both. 39% plan to upgrade to Windows Vista within a year of its release.
As with previous versions of Windows, a massive corporate transition will take several years. At the same time, Ballmer expects companies to adopt Windows Vista "a little bit faster" than Windows XP, at least in order to protect themselves with the help of an improved security system.
Representative of rival company Ken Bisconti, vice president of product marketing at IBM Lotus, does not share this opinion: “I would like to look at at least one company that is going to upgrade Windows regardless of the standard process for updating hardware. For most companies, such an update is an event of 2008. ”
"Microsoft still uses the business model from the era preceding the advent of the Internet, which is based on the expectation of an imminent update to the paid operating system and paid applications." Bisconti's words summarize the skepticism that Microsoft is haunting every time a company confronts its users with a new software update cycle: “Do I really miss the extra features for editing documents? Business and technology innovations are independent of the specific operating system or version of Office. ”
However, many companies envy Microsoft’s vast user base. Will Ballmer get another rabbit out of his hat? Those who have seen this trick before will follow his every move.