Microsoft partners supporting customers on Apple Macs have a new version of Office coming from the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU). Today at Macworld 2010 in San Francisco, the MacBU provided some details about Office for Mac 2011, which is supposed to be available later this year.
Certain elements of the Office suite should be especially attractive to partners supporting customers with Office on both Windows and Mac platforms. The high-level changes coming in Office for Mac 2011 are new connections to Microsoft services, an updated UI that sounds like a half-step toward the ribbon interface, document compatibility and the replacement of the Entourage e-mail client with Outlook for Mac.
While Microsoft has previously discussed Outlook for Mac, which will leverage Exchange Web Services protocols, Microsoft announced at Macworld that users of Outlook for Mac will be able to import .PST files from Outlook for Windows.
The Office for Mac ribbon seems to acknowledge some of the user pushback on the ribbon interface. In a release, Microsoft stated, "We took your feedback and haven't completely rearranged what you know and love: the new design is an evolution of the Office 2008 Elements Gallery and uses the classic Mac menu and the Standard Toolbar giving you the best of both worlds." The MacBU also promises that power users will have the option to collapse the ribbon and Toolbar for more screen space.
Office 2011 will also bring to the Mac platform the Microsoft Office Web Apps that Microsoft introduced to PC users in Microsoft Office 2010.
There's more detail on the Office for Mac 2011 announcement in this news story.
Posted on February 11, 2010 at 3:57 PM0 comments
As Apple puts the tablet PC in the limelight with its iPad announcement, ruggedized device pioneer Panasonic Computer Solutions Co. used the occasion of Macworld to launch its own spin on the tablet.
Panasonic on Wednesday introduced the Panasonic Toughbook H1 Field, a device starting at $3,379 that's supposed to be available worldwide in March. According to Panasonic, the device has a six-foot drop rating, has six hours of battery life and can come with twin hot-swappable batteries for extended field use. Options include SmartCard, fingerprint reader, RFID, barcode readers, camera, GPS and several types of wireless connectivity, including Qualcomm's Gobi2000 mobile broadband technology, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 2.1.
The device features a 10.4" dual-touch display and weighs 3.4 pounds. It includes 2GB of RAM and a 64GB solid state drive. The device comes with Windows 7 with a Windows XP Tablet downgrade option.
I'm not saying this device is better than the iPad is going to be, but I can tell you which one I'd want to have by my side in a dark alley.
Posted on February 11, 2010 at 2:12 PM1 comments
Dell picked up some system management capabilities today with the announcement that it will acquire KACE. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based KACE makes the KBOX series of systems management and deployment appliances, both physical and virtual.
Current capabilities of KBOX systems include help for Windows 7 migrations through system deployment, imaging and migration. Other uses for the appliances include device discovery, system inventory, asset management, configuration management, patch management, policy enforcement, vulnerability scanning and service management.
According to Dell's statement on the deal, the appliances are suited for midsized companies and public institutions that are staffed by IT generalists, who can use the help with the specialized tasks the boxes perform. For now, KACE partners will continue to sell the appliances, but they will also be available directly from Dell or from Dell partners.
Posted on February 11, 2010 at 2:09 PM0 comments
Distribution giant Tech Data Corp. this week rolled out a new service that allows resellers to provide environmentally responsible technology disposal for their customers.
Tech Data is reselling the services of Austin, Texas-based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner TechTurn, which bills itself as the world's first Windows and Windows Server Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher.
Tech Data will offer several TechTurn service packages through its TDOnCall technical services team, including asset recovery and rebuilding, a service for data erasure, removal of asset tags and hardware value assessment; Logistics, a service in which TechTurn arranges for packaging and discounted shipping to either its Austin or Richmond, Va., processing facility; recycling; redeployment of wiped and rebuilt systems to the original asset owner; and lease return processing.
Posted on February 11, 2010 at 2:06 PM0 comments
In an era when some channel-focused events have gotten smaller, VMware likes the trend for its own partner event. The virtualization giant is holding VMware Partner Exchange 2010 this week in Las Vegas.
"We're north of 2,500 attendees, which is over 50 percent growth from last year," Ben Matheson, senior director of global partner marketing for VMware, said in an interview. The figure includes about 300 VMware employees, with the remaining 2,200 attendees a mix of channel partners and technology partners.
The growth of the show reflects a growth in the VMware's partner program over the last year. Matheson said the VMware Partner Network grew by 4,000 partners in 2009 to reach 25,000 partners worldwide.
"I think the thing that's probably more interesting is we've seen really significant growth in our existing partners, double-digit growth rates," he said. "The reason that they are growing is that there are some very large adjacent markets that partners are entering. A few years ago, virtualization was all about server consolidation. Now, there's massive growth in disaster recovery, business continuity and desktop virtualization."
Recognizing that RCP's audience consists of committed Microsoft partners, many of whom are looking hard at Microsoft virtualization solutions, Matheson said, "Don't view VMware and Microsoft as being mutually exclusive. You can deploy VMware and all the Microsoft applications like Exchange and SQL and basically you're doubling your profit and your opportunity."
What's your take? Do you find that layering VMware on Microsoft solutions works well for customers or does Microsoft's "better together" story match your reality? I'd like to hear your views at sbekker@rcpmag.com.
Posted on February 10, 2010 at 1:23 PM2 comments
While we're digging out from under a blizzard here on the East Coast, the entire IT industry is digging out from a blizzard of security patches from Microsoft this week. (I'll admit that was a weak hook, but cut me some slack. I'm tired from all this shoveling. We've gotten 38 inches and counting since Saturday here in suburban Baltimore.)
Microsoft this week released 13 security bulletins addressing 26 vulnerabilities. The security community doesn't seem exceptionally worked up about the flaws -- though, of course, they recommend that everyone patch them all immediately.
Jason Miller, data and security team leader with Shavlik Technologies, said in an e-mail to reporters, "There have been no reports of active attacks against these vulnerabilities. One of these vulnerabilities has been publicly disclosed."
To Miller, IT professionals need to address three of the bulletins right away: MS10-006 to fix two vulnerabilities in the SMB networking service, MS10-007 to fix a vulnerability in the Windows Shell handler, and MS10-013 to fix a flaw in Microsoft DirectShow.
Joshua Talbot, security intelligence manager at Symantec Security Response, is most concerned about MS10-012.
"The SMB Server pathname overflow vulnerability tops my list this month," Talbot said in an e-mail. "Server-side vulnerabilities aren't too common anymore, but they're a golden goose for attackers when they are discovered. With this one, if an attacker can find a vulnerable remote server that has a guest account set up, just like that, they've got access to the machine and possibly the entire local network -- all without any user involvement required."
Posted on February 10, 2010 at 1:26 PM0 comments
Dick Brass, a former vice president at Microsoft who was briefly the toast of the town about a decade ago for his e-book efforts in Redmond, has an interesting opinion piece in The New York Times this morning. In a rare public expose for a former executive, he talks about why he thinks Microsoft is a "clumsy, uncompetitive innovator."
The primary culprit in Brass' telling is that the dominant product groups (Windows and Office) are allowed to stifle threatening innovation, even when the innovation seems to have the support of top management. He shares some personal examples, including infighting between the Tablet PC group Brass was involved with and an unnamed vice president of Office.
In support of his fairly devastating conclusion, Brass writes, "It's not an accident that almost all the executives in charge of Microsoft's music, e-books, phone, online, search and tablet efforts over the past decade have left." It's a worthwhile read.
Posted on February 04, 2010 at 9:39 AM3 comments
I'm not much of a gadget geek, but one device did jump out at me from all the Consumer Electronics Show hoopla as potentially useful for the sizable contingent of Microsoft partners who do a lot of traveling and presenting.
No, I'm not talking about the Google Nexus One, which looks like a nifty piece of hardware but strikes me as only incrementally moving the ball forward in the app phone space. My colleague Jeffrey Schwartz has a nice piece on the smartphone market implications of the Google-branded device here.
I'm more excited by the BlackBerry Presenter that Research In Motion unveiled on Wednesday to accompany its BlackBerry smartphones. The idea is you plug it into a projector or monitor and then display a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation wirelessly from your BlackBerry, relying on a Bluetooth connection between the RIM devices. RIM is demonstrating the device at CES in Las Vegas this week.
Availability is unclear; RIM's site for the device describes it as "coming soon." However, a lot of the other specifics are nailed down. It will cost $200, its dimensions in inches are 3.4x2.4x0.9, and it weighs about a third of a pound. The amount of gear required for a business trip continues to move in the right direction.
Posted on January 06, 2010 at 2:27 PM0 comments
On Monday, we included a couple of the "Marching Orders 2010" essays from the January issue of Redmond Channel Partner magazine. Continuing as promised, here's the entry from Julie Bennani, a general manager of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group, with advice for partners to transition into the new Microsoft Partner Network:
"Microsoft is in the midst of the biggest technology launch wave in the company's history -- and with every new innovation comes additional opportunity for you, our partners. We know that you're facing tremendous economic and business challenges, but we see you rising to those challenges, and we're working hard to help you seize the opportunities that come with our offerings.
"In July 2009, at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), we announced that the Microsoft Partner Program was evolving into the MPN. The transition is based first and foremost on your feedback and feedback from our mutual customers. You told us that you need deep technology and business expertise, marketplace differentiation, customer opportunity and partner-to-partner networking. We took this feedback and directly reflected it in the MPN.
"We're simplifying the competency structure to align with how customers buy and how you connect with them. We've revamped our membership options to allow our most dedicated partners to better differentiate themselves and sustain competitive advantage, while enabling other compelling connection points for the rest of our ecosystem.
"Another important aspect of the MPN is its greater emphasis on relationships. Partners can more easily engage with other partners, customers and Microsoft to create meaningful connections through communities like the Microsoft Partner Network Community, Digital WPC and the MPN's presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. Partners who engage in partner-to-partner networking find it helps build their business, improves profitability and better enables them to compete. Digital marketing and social media training are also available for you via the Partner Marketing Center.
"With a focus on customer needs, the MPN prioritizes connecting customers with the right partners. More than 2.3 million customer visits occur on average each month on our online marketplaces, such as Microsoft Pinpoint, which -- beyond the connection and lead opportunity -- also provide partners with online selling support, business analytics and lead-qualification information to help attract and engage customers. The results of these connections are evident in a recent IDC study, which found that Microsoft partners earn $8.70 for every $1 of Microsoft revenue.
"The MPN will continue to evolve with our ongoing conversations with our partners. Recent evidence of our response to feedback and customer centricity is the launch on Nov. 20 of the simplified Core IO competencies and improved online experience enhancements.
"Partner Call to Action: Now is an opportune time to become familiar with the new MPN requirements, including participation in Customer Satisfaction measurement for all Gold Certified Partners. Also, adopt, deploy and extend our latest technology and use our resources to expand your network and make it easier for customers to find you. Keep the feedback coming to let us know how we can help you continue to innovate in the market to benefit our mutual customers and capture new business opportunities for your organization."
Posted on January 06, 2010 at 2:23 PM0 comments
Partners will be the tip of the spear of a Microsoft effort to get SMB customers upgraded to Windows 7 and Office 2010.
Redmond announced a 50 percent discount on Windows 7 Professional and Office 2007 Professional for the first year of a subscription to the "open value subscription" volume licensing program. The deal lasts through the end of June, and customers who are on OVS at that point can move up to Office 2010, which is supposed to ship in June or sooner, for free.
Word of the promotion came on the blog of Eric Ligman, global partner experience lead for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group. For more details, see Kurt Mackie's article here.
Posted on January 06, 2010 at 2:24 PM0 comments
Microsoft released pricing details for Office 2010 this week, as the desktop productivity suite grinds closer to its expected June release. The headline numbers for the four editions:
- Office Home and Student will cost $149.
- Office Home and Business will be $279.
- Office Professional will cost $499.
- Office Professional Academic will be $99.
Interestingly, Microsoft also will offer a stripped-down Starter Edition preloaded on new PCs. Users can then upgrade to full product editions by buying product key cards from various retail outlets. Get the details here.
Posted on January 06, 2010 at 2:26 PM1 comments
Business-growth consultant and friend of the magazine Mike Harvath came through with a contribution for our readers in this year's RCP "Marching Orders 2010" feature. Mike, who is president and CEO of the Revenue Rocket Consulting Group, wrote:
"Think of two things this year: mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and business focus.
"We saw a healthy volume of M&A activity in the sector of the market in which we specialize: IT services companies in the $5 million to $50 million range. These executives took advantage of the long-held dictum that they can gain a competitive advantage with a countercyclical strategy for M&A.
"We see M&A continuing to be a smart growth strategy in 2010, but we also see new pressures coming to the market in the declining dollar. Domestic buyers could find themselves being priced out of the market by foreign buyers looking to increase their share of the U.S. market. If you're looking at M&A in 2010, you'd be well-advised to acquire smartly and strategically. This means buying companies that strengthen your tightly defined offering in the market. On the other hand, if you're looking to sell, you may find some attractive suitors out there.
"The IT services companies that prospered in 2009 did so because of their strict allegiance to focus and execution. They were uniquely positioned at the intersection of a technical and vertical specialization. This allowed them to attract skittish, tight-fisted buyers who were looking for the assurance of delivery that comes from companies that can speak from a position of authority, with strong expertise and demonstrable proof-of-performance. While the global IT services market looks to begin growing again, the rate appears tepid enough to keep customers playing the risk card closer to their vests. Focus is the name of the game for 2010.
"For those companies that stayed focused and acquired strategically in 2009, good for you. For those that didn't, couldn't or wouldn't, there's still time to catch up to your newly fortified competitive brethren. Don't despair, but also don't hesitate."
Posted on January 04, 2010 at 12:11 PM0 comments