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Microsoft’s Big 2012

by on December 21, 2011 in Lync, Microsoft, Wave 15, Windows 8

Next year is a big year for Microsoft with new releases slated for Windows ( Desktop, Slate and Phone) and Office. There are also  announcements due for the next Xbox and how they aim to grow Skype but these are far outweighed by the need for Microsoft to get their Windows and Office release right.

The major issue that Microsoft must face and halt is the erosion of  the Windows Platform dominance which amongst all else is posing a major challenge to the Office franchise. The Office team are constantly being told within Redmond that they have to be ‘first and best with Windows’ but their customers are giving them a very different message. Customers are saying; we still rely on your Office software but we want it to be available on all major devices and operating systems ie Apple and Android.

This problem will not go away in 2012, even if Windows has the most successful launch.  Due to the general lag of the IT industry Android and Apple growth will only increase within the Enterprise in 2012. The calls from enterprise customers are only going to grow louder. How Microsoft respond will be fascinating – do they attempt to stall and give a ‘Wait for 8′ message or do they allow the Office team to invest further in iOS and Andoird?

Microsoft represent the best elements of consumer and Enterprise IT and they are in position to help Enterprise drive into consumerisation of IT but they can not let the dominance of Windows ‘best and first on Windows’ philosophy win out.  Ultimately if the non Windows franchise have to wait and stunt their non-Windows development Microsoft may find that the entire market has moved on without them.

I find Microsoft a fascinating company to observe.   They are so large and such an integral part of consumer and Enterprise IT you see different contradictions and tensions within the same organisation you tend not to see in other technology companies.  There is nothing more interesting than seeing the tension between products that are OS agnostic who wish to exploit the new devices and the Windows machine that attempts to squash this by insisting on the ‘best and first on Windows’.

Ultimately HTML5 may be the answer, it seems to be the one standard that  Apple, Google and Microsoft all broadly agree on.  Perhaps Microsoft developing a rich set of Office applications that work on all HMTL5 browsers and devices could be the big story of 2012.

 

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Fitting Tablets into IT

by on April 3, 2011 in Apple, Lync, Microsoft, Office 365, Sharepoint, Wave 15, Windows 8

Over the past couple of weeks Dell and Micosoft executives have questioned the longevity of the tablet.  Is this wishful thinking on behalf of two large IT organsations that have been obliterated by Apple’s tablet dominance or a valid point?

Such a question is a great spur for debate within an IT organization and has led me to think through how I would respond in the broadest possible sense.  Should IT start to base their strategy and services on multiple devices which includes a tablet or concentrate on desktop/laptop alone?

In my view IT has to focus on a strategy that supports a dual operating system for Desktop and Mobile.   With tablets able to fit into either category.  I could envisage a need within a large enterprise for tablets with different operating systems.

If I’m in a large enterprise today I would base my dual operating strategy around a Windows provision for my information workers who are content creators and then an Apple based provision for my mobile workers and content consumers.

I would not restrict my business utilizing other operating systems such as Android, Phone 7, OSX.  I would want my information worker applications to operate on these platforms.  Users would be free to use but they would have to self support.

For standard information worker applications I’d plan around an evergreen Microsoft strategy of Exchange, Sharepoint, Lync and Office.  I would have the necessary Microsoft infrastructure to support native external support without the need for middle ware such as Citrix.

Why so much Microsoft?  Quite simply Microsoft has the most comprehensive offer for information workers with the most effective delivery mechanism via their cloud and on premise solution.  When applications are reviewed separately Microsoft may not be market leading but as a complete whole that can be managed and utilsied by end users they are far ahead of the competition.

MS Licenses are expensive but this cost is off set by a reduced need for staff numbers required to manage a mixed estate.  Their Office 365 offer continues to mature and I would review Office 365 as a delivery mechanism and use MS’s pricing as a benchmark for an internal on premise provision.

Given the simplified Microsoft estate I would review the number of technical staff required within internal IT.  I would also review the existing contractual arrangements with system integrators.  System integrators often have to manage complex estates and within a simplified Microsoft estate I’m not sure what value they can add to the IT provision.

Couple of comments on the above. I don’t mention the version numbers as I would institute a policy that would maintain the latest version of software. Secure-id would only be used for sensitive application data such as finance etc.

Applications should be built on industry standards of HTML however I recognize there will be industry specific applications.  These should be placed within the remit of business IS rather than Infrastructure IS with the costs borne directly by the business.  I would have concerns about building bespoke applications within Microsoft office applications.  Such applications can prove beneficial however the support of the application would have to include the ability to upgrade as we move through the Microsoft 2-3 year upgrade cycle.

One open question is whether by default all my workers would automatically receive a desktop option with a mobile as a secondary option or would I allow my business to choose a mobile device as a primary device and a desktop device as an optional secondary.

Google OS will also be in the mix and is especially relevant for small to medium enterprise today but for large enterprise today I would move forward with a dual Windows/Apple strategy.

 

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3D Avatars and Kinect

by on March 15, 2011 in Kinect, Microsoft, Wave 15

It’s clear that Microsoft would like to implement their Kinect technology into the enterprise and here is another research project that is developing technology to inject live speech within an interactive 3D avatar. I’m sure a company like Proton Media (who already work closely with Microsoft) would be interested in implementing this type of technology within their 3D worlds.

I’m convinced that Microsoft’s Wave 15 will start to incorporate many elements of the Kinect and Research projects and if they do manage to execute correctly it could bring an entirely new dimension (forgive the pun) to their Office, Desktop and Collaboration value proposition.

Take a look at the avatar project here

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