Everything considered, this is probably a good thing for most Microsoft partners and customers. After all, anything that Microsoft can do to better serve the companies that invest in its technologies is a good thing, right?
Probably. But Microsoft's announcement this week that it would introduce a Premier Mission Critical Support level did raise some concern that Redmond might be moving in on partners' territory. The new support offering will give customers credits if they don't get a response from Microsoft to their support calls within 30 minutes -- and that's 24 hours a day.
Now, as the article linked notes, that might be a little bit of a problem for big vendors such as IBM or HP, which generate revenue from supporting Microsoft software. Redmond is predictably downplaying any direct competition with those partner-rivals, but this does represent Microsoft's second expansion of enterprise support in the last six months.
For the average partner that's not a global mega-vendor, though, the new support option seems mostly like a positive development. Those partners that actually generate revenue specifically from taking support calls might not like it too much, but for those VARs, consultants and other channel players that aren't offering 24-hour assistance, Microsoft's Mission Critical effort could serve as another selling point for Redmond's wares.
The cynic might note that Mission Critical Support is another step that Microsoft is taking toward having direct contact with customers, but with Redmond still generating the overwhelming majority of its revenues through the channel, we're not really worried about Microsoft abandoning its partners. No, we're looking at this as good news for most of the channel. And that's always welcome, right?
What's your take on Microsoft stepping up its support efforts? Send it to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/04/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Or maybe the better question is: Why would they? With Windows 7 due out some time within the next 12 months, it's hard to imagine why companies would buy into Vista rather than waiting for what looks like a better operating system. But a recent Forrester survey suggests that while Vista has tiny market share right now, almost half of companies responding were
planning to start Vista deployments by the end of this year.
Granted, it might be a big jump between XP and Windows 7, but it's hardly an impossible one to make. At this point, sticking Vista in between just seems like an odd move.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/04/2009 at 1:22 PM2 comments
Remember how there were about 435 different versions of Vista? Well, there are going to be
quite a few versions of Windows 7, too, but Microsoft won't focus quite so much on trying to push them all.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/04/2009 at 1:22 PM2 comments
Well, it's more laying off than firing, really, but it was interesting to read this week that Microsoft, which is so famously
laying off 5,000 workers over the next 18 months or so, will also be
hiring a couple thousand people during that time frame. We'll let the executives, accountants, lawyers and HR people sort all that out.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/03/2009 at 1:22 PM3 comments
The world "clickjack" makes us think of
Skipjack's, a small chain of seafood places here in the Boston area. And since we're writing this at just about dinnertime on Monday evening, we're going to just skip right to
the article, which talks more about what clickjacking actually is.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/03/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Windows 7 might just be a true rarity, a blue moon rising in the Pacific Northwest. Microsoft's next operating system could just be, if early returns are accurate, a highly anticipated product that actually lives up to its considerable hype.
Of course, following Vista is kind of like following one of those acts that gets chased off stage on Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater; it would take a considerable effort to actually look bad after something like that. So, Windows 7 has that going for it. Timing is everything, or at least very important.
But Windows 7 also has a wiser, more prudent Microsoft shepherding it along. We were encouraged to read this week that Microsoft will release the product not just when the final version is good and ready, but also when the partner "ecosystem" (we always envision a rainforest or something when we hear that word, perhaps not entirely inaccurately) is ready to support the new OS.
What dogged Vista probably more than anything else was application and driver incompatibility. (This was, of course, not entirely -- and maybe mostly not -- Microsoft's fault. But Microsoft bore the brunt of the lack of planning.) Well, there were those hardware requirements, too, and that user access control...but we digress. When printers, scanners and software wouldn't work in the new OS, word got around that Vista was pretty much useless.
And bad news not only travels fast; it also sticks around for a while. Long after Microsoft's partners had gotten their wares up to speed for Vista, users were still complaining about devices and applications that hadn't worked when the OS was launched -- among other things.
So this time, Microsoft is (hopefully) leaving nothing to chance. With some smart management, Windows 7 can have the sparkling debut we think it might just get. But this effort is not all about Microsoft. Partners will have to do their part, working with Redmond to get their apps and devices up to speed with the new OS.
You'd think that after all the years that Microsoft has been producing Windows and its big partners have been supporting the OS, the various beasts in the "ecosystem" would have this stuff figured out by now. Maybe not, if Vista is any indication. But, hey -- live and learn, right? Maybe 7 will prove to be a lucky number after all.
What are you doing to get ready for Windows 7? Let us know at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/03/2009 at 1:22 PM5 comments
You've probably heard about this by now, and maybe you experienced it, but we'd be remiss if we didn't note the comedy of Google
identifying every site on the Web as potentially malicious. Then again, isn't there some hidden truth in Google's snafu? Something to consider..
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/03/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
If you've taken a spin around the blogs this week, you've probably read that Google's rumored GDrive, which supposedly will give users access to all of the files on the computer via the Internet, is going to
KILL THE PC AS WE KNOW IT RUN FOR YOUR LIVES AAAAHHHH!!!!
Or maybe not. Hey, we're big believers in cloud computing, but Google's cloud efforts are going to raise the same security and privacy questions that everybody else's cloud plans have raised so far. And while Windows and the PC will need to get slimmer and cheaper to compete with netbooks (a good thing as we see it), we're not sure that consumers or companies will be ready to go all-cloud, all the time any time soon. Besides, it's not as if stuff like the GDrive doesn't exist already. And with the reviews coming in for Windows 7, Microsoft might just be poised for a huge post-Vista revival.
Posted by Lee Pender on 01/29/2009 at 1:22 PM2 comments
Just when Windows needs to be getting lighter, the pesky EU might force Microsoft to
include every browser under the sun in its operating system. Then again, it's Microsoft putting out this news, not the EU. So maybe there's some jockeying for position going on here. Once again, stay tuned...
Posted by Lee Pender on 01/29/2009 at 1:22 PM1 comments
As any partner knows, Microsoft doesn't operate in a vacuum. So when Redmond
decides to cut costs, all sorts of organizations feel the pinch. Kelly wrote last week, the day Microsoft announced layoffs, to tell us that she was feeling it already:
"We were just informed today that our highly valued (and highly paid) MCS consultant was off our company project because as of today he is no longer employed with Microsoft. I don't have all the details, but it happened without any warning and right at the beginning of our Vista deployment."
Ouch. We don't know which is worse, Kelly, the fact that you lost your consultant suddenly or the fact that you're deploying Vista. Just kidding. Well, mostly. It certainly is awful timing for you, and we hope you can find a workaround.
We suggested this week that if Microsoft has to cut costs, it might be time for the company to get back to basics and scrap some of its more, shall we say, peripheral projects. We specifically mentioned the Zune as an effort that might be up for the chop. Well, that inspired Brian to deliver this impassioned defense of the uncool iPod:
"You made many good points. I have to tell you, though, ending the Zune is a really bad one. I know the market share is low, but they keep getting better and there is nowhere you can get so much for so little. Forget the cost and 'coolness' of a device -- it's the music that matters. Zune's Zune PASS feature is the way to go. I can't imagine paying for every song I want. With Zune, my $15/month gets me all the music I could ever hope for. If it's not available (which is fairly rare), then I can purchase it from them for less than iTunes charges. So, other than no options years ago, I can see no reason Apple has such a market share besides a whole bunch of Gen-Yers and Gen-Y wannabes trying to play the 'be cool in front of others' and 'me too' games. I have always been a cool guy, so I guess I don't see the need to supplant my true self and fall for the gimmicky gunk Apple is using to get 'be part of the crowd' somehow a cool thing to be. Nope -- Zune is way better!"
Gosh, Brian, we feel a little humbled here. Your editor is the owner of an old, original iPod that actually pre-dates the Zune. But we've always heard good things -- seriously -- about the Zune, and one of the guys who edits this newsletter simply loves his. It's not so much that we're anti-Zune, Brian, more that we're pro-enterprise technology and pro-stuff that makes partners money. But if Microsoft can continue to produce the Zune and still focus on the core stuff, we're all for that.
Thanks to Kelly and Brian for their contributions. To make a contribution of your own, fire off a message to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 01/29/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments