Microsoft Re-Announces Windows Server 2008, Viridian and System Center
Microsoft has a PR machine that J-Lo, Paris Hilton and the Bush administration
must all envy. The company can get journalists (like me) to write about an upcoming
product -- and then get us to write about it again (and again).
Here's how it works: Word sneaks out about a major new tool, and we all run
to our keyboards. Then Microsoft doles out a few official details -- and we
pound out a few thousand more stories. Later, Microsoft actually names the product,
producing more copy. After almost all the details are known, it officially announces
the product. And once the product is finished, there's a huge launch. No one
wonder competitors have a hard time getting their message out!
Today in Barcelona, Microsoft
announced (and I quote from the headline of the press release), "Windows
Server 2008 Details." What's new here is pricing and a final set of version
types. Product details should be well-understood; the product is in heavy beta
testing.
Microsoft also made a virtualization splash, officially naming its Viridian
hypervisor "Hyper-V." This tool could be as much as a year away.
But virtualization isn't as simple as dropping in a new version of PowerPoint;
this is a fundamental infrastructure decision. In many cases, there's more planning
than actual virtualization, which makes it imperative for Microsoft to offer
as much detail as possible.
Is all this coverage too much? How should Microsoft announce its products?
Write me at [email protected]
and let us all know.
Posted by Doug Barney on November 12, 2007