The future of productivity - Roadmap announcements BPOS

Wave 14 to The Cloud

This year Microsoft is releasing the last new versions of their Wave 14 program. Lot's of their major server and client products have been updated with new functionality. More important ALL of them have been redesigned and developed with The Cloud in mind.

With the launch of Exchange, SharePoint and Office 2010 earlier this year, Microsoft began to work to update BPOS* with the new capabilities that these products deliver. Microsoft started with their biggest customers. They have dedicated cloud deployments and now are fully deployed on the 2010 wave products.

In the next update, Microsoft will bring decades of on-premise innovation to the cloud for the multitennant SKU as well. Functionalality will get very close to parity with our server solutions.

WPC10 announcements

During the last Microsoft World Partner Conference in Washington DC a few announcements were made about the Online Roadmap. Microsoft did not provide exact dates for these releases. Buzz is that a preview of the new BPOS offering before the end of this calendar year. I wonder if that will happen...
More accurate and a bit more likely is the estimated timeframe of the delivery of the updates to each of the managed services and new online platform capabilities within this fisical year (Jul '10 - Jun '11).

Microsofts call for action to partners and cutomers is to get ready for this wave and the 'online tranistion', to focus on Business Model transformation and getting customers ready and deployed.

What functionality to expect?

A Lot of sessions at the WPC covered cloud services and next wave BPOS (codename 'Union'). These slides from the slidedeck of session 'CLD09 The Future of BPOS: Next Generation of Microsoft Online Services' provide insight in the updates to come.

SharePoint Online
The functionalities in this slide give insight in what to expect, check the original deck for the detail slide or drop me a note.

Office Communications Server '14' Online
OCS on-premise will be released this fall. Most functionality will move to the online services during 2011. Do not expect to be released in the first update.

Exchange Online

These are three of the most important server products that will add a lot of functionality to the Microsoft Online offering and great opportunities to extend the business solutions that support productivity. Mind that all this functionality is delivered in a total productivity suite and combined with the office 2010 client software provide a great experience in a familiar environment for the end user. Office 2010 (Web Apps) is also part of the Online offering.

* BPOS (Business Productivity Online Services) or Microsoft Online Services is a proposition of Microsoft; Enterprise class software delivered via subscription services hosted by Microsoft and sold with partners

First Recap Microsoft World Partner Conference #wpcdc #mspartner

Sitting on the couch I try to kill my jetlag and recap the 2010 Microsoft World Partner Conference in Washington DC of last week. At this moment not all content is online jet and in my opinion we lack the keynote video of Kevin Turner COO of microsoft the most. I will cover that part later. For those who want to take a peek, read the transcription.

 

Last year WPC09

The wpcdc was usefull but not as spectacular as the one last year in New Orleans (WPC09). Every event is produced different arround a theme. The theme of last year, in the middle of the worldwide crisis was about change. Kevin Turner and Steve Balmer talked about the worldwide reset. - chack out the last year videos of these keynotes.

 

It was not only the change resulting the crisis that hit us all, but it was the enormous opportunity and the energy how it was brought to the stage last year. Kevin Turner had a five point game plan back then.

1. Be realistic about the causes of our challenges - environment vs strategy
2. Prepare for an unknown length and depth of downturn
3. Deepen and strenghten our customer and partner relationships
4. Grow our marketshare and compete to win
5. Response with a sense of urgency

Also last year there were a lot of realy changing new products to announce by Microsoft. Wave 14 is implemented since the 2009 WPC. This means that the most important products of Microsoft like Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft server 2008, SQL server 2008R2 and of course the new release of SharePoint 2010. Just a few products from the wave 14 have to be released in the next few months.

 

Last but not least the new partner program was announced at the last WPC in New Orleans, 12 months ago now. So just 6 months to go.

 

What happened last year?

The Wave 14 product released are a big succes for Microsoft, no doubt. Never experienced such a big demand in the market with a new server product like SharePoint 2010 so soon after it's release. Clearly the market picked up the possibility's this new version delivered to the market. Never met such a confidence in a new release from the perspective of the market as we experience now with SharePoint 2010.

 

The change in the partner program is implemented in a few fases. I mention two with impact for us Microsoft Partners:

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
• Competences

 Measurement of the customer satisfaction is now obligated to meet the partner competence requirements. when reenrollment is necessary this customer survey must be carried out. The competences itself are changed recently. Other names, other requirements, some competences are new. In this fase this will have just a limited impact on the partner status.

 

Most obviouse result is that the Partner status will change in the new Microsoft Partner Network. Microsoft Gold partner will change.

 

The biggest Buzz last year and still very hot is the cloud. Microsoft is ALL IN.

 

Does Microsoft meet the expectations this WPC10?

About 13.000 attended this event. That is a lot!

 

This year Kevin Turner presented his game plan. 4 this time.

 

1. Leading with the cloud
2. Driving Windows 7
3. and Office 2010
4. Growing share by competing to win

The wave 14 products are released, just as expected and doing very well. The announcements of the release of a few products left in the wave 14 are confirmed nothing more. Not spectacular, but most products are released just a few months ago. We all knew there wouldn't be to much new in this corner. Take a look at the points of Kevin Turner. Ofcourse the opportunity of software renewall of Windows and Office is HUGE and betting BIG on cloud can be found on the first place... Still not spectacular. 

 

In the partner program some things changed. The titel on the Microsoft partner badge is changed from Microsoft Partner Network to just Microsoft Partner. Well, partners are partners, not a network. Most spectacular was the announcement a very little while before the start of the event that Allison Watson will be succeeded by Jon Roskill as corporate VP worldwide partner group. She was still all over the program. Well her name was and the name of Jon not... Check out the transcription of her latest speech at the WPC10.

The change to Jon Roskill was downright disappointing. He will be great I guess, but till now I did not see that. Everyone I spoke, felt the same I am afraid. He lacks the energy of Allison, looks like he has no confidence and is not able to fascinate the audience. At the beginning of his carreer he looks upon a huge challenge. The challenge to lead Microsoft and it's Partner Network to the next and last fase.

 

The last thing happend this year is the cloud. We are all in is what Steve Balmer, Kevin Turner and all other excecutives shouted. Betting big on Cloud. Well I believe that BUT, it is very disapointing that we heard nothing about the renewall of BPOS the current name of the current online business productivity proposition of Microsoft. I expected the BETA release would be announced at this event. It looks like this will not happen till Q1 2011.

Ofcourse Microsoft announced the Azure Appliance, but that's about all folks. A small ray of hope is the fact that this means that Microsoft CRM Online will be in the same release pace as the new BPOS wave...

New Way Of Work (NWOW), more than teleworking?

With the title

Het nieuwe werken, méér dan telewerken (New Way Of Work, more than teleworking)

an article(*) in Drive a magazine of LeasePlan about mobile technologie in new ways of work is opened.

In the first paragraph, the words at the heart of the goal, but also directly the biggest obstacle of the thinking behind the new work stresses: the total flexibility of the old and rusty 9 to 5-culture.

Culture

Culture often is defined as:

• An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
• The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group

Cultural change

Cultures are subject to change and internally effected by both forces encouraging change and forces resisting change. Cultural change refers to the dynamic process whereby cultures are changing and adapting to external or internal forces (globalization, advances in communication, transport and infrastructure improvements, etc).
Technology can be a driving force of change. In a bigger picture medical technology has contributed to demographic changes. Technology can contribute to changes in globalization and the way information is transported for instance.
Technology however is not the only driving factor of cultural change, as the definitions of culture make clear the human factor (knowledge, attitude, belief and values) is the one most important.

This human factor is influenced by the global surroundings and can by guided by the organisation that embrasses the New Way Of Work. Providing the technology, taking away some seat and reducing the capacity of the parkinglot will not lead to the desired changes.

The roll of employer

The employer has to change his goals, the way these goals are translated to measurable results and the way employees are rewarded. When I read the conclusion of the article(*) that states that espacially the employees object to teleworking I ask myself. Is it the objection to the new way of work,or has the employer some work to do in his implementation of the concept?

In the case of 38% of the employees who are afraid to take the necessary responsibility and feel that being seen on the job (30%). In my opinion this has to be solved by having a very transparant way how this vision of teleworking is implemented.
Missing the interaction and collaboration with collegues (42%) and the contact with colleques (27%) can actually be supported with technology, but well organised and supported minimal fysical contact by the management can help to make this figure much better.

The role of the organisation and it's management is changing with the change of the culture. Implementing teleworking as a part of new way of work, means other management style, technology can only support the succes of these changes.
(*)The article refers to a survey (Dutch) of TeleworkForum and Novay. They conclude from their survey that the biggest obstacle of teleworking are stated by the employee.
Without the details of the survey I can not explain this conclusion. For instance the opinion of the employer is missing.