IT shops appear very eager to migrate to Windows 8, according to a new survey of 1,400 IT pros by our sister site, Redmondmag.com.
Nearly 61 percent of respondents said their shops were somewhat interested (40.2 percent) or very interested (20.7 percent) in Windows 8. Among respondents interested in a migration, a plurality (49 percent) wasn't sure when it would occur. About 5 percent expected their shops to jump to Windows 8 on release.
As for the adoption timetables of the slightly less eager, 11 percent were looking at the first six months after release; 18 percent, the second six months; and 17 percent, the second year.
For Microsoft partners wondering about opportunities, customer pain points and expectations, the survey suggested some general outlines. More customers seem to be leaning toward replacing older machines with new Windows 8 systems rather than upgrading older PCs to Windows 8. And one of the major customer concerns is compatibility.
You can read more of the survey here.
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 30, 20120 comments
Partners specializing in government solutions are getting another way to deliver the Microsoft stack to U.S. government agencies (or another way that Microsoft will compete directly with them in government accounts).
On Wednesday, Kirk Koenigsbauer, the corporate vice president of the Microsoft Office Division, announced in a blog post the introduction of Office 365 for Government. While previous editions of Office 365 had government clients, the new edition is a multi-tenant service that stores U.S. government data in a segregated community cloud -- checking off a critical box for many government buyers.
Office 365, available for a year now, is Microsoft's cloud-based productivity solution, which includes Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online and comes with options to license Office Professional Plus on a subscription basis.
Koenigsbauer's government-focused blog entry also pointed to the many standards Office 365 supports. He cited ISO 27001, SAS70 Type II, EU Safe Harbor, EU Model Clauses, the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the US Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the U.S. Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).
He also previewed a few plans to augment the service in the next few months. "To meet evolving needs, we also plan to support IPv6 in Office 365 for Government by September of this year, and we're taking steps to soon support Criminal Justice Information Security (CJIS) policies," Koenigsbauer wrote.
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 30, 20120 comments
Another quarter of stunning growth for smartphones, and another quarter of less impressive progress for the Windows Phone platform.
International Data Corp. released its global smartphone shipment estimates for the first quarter of 2012 on Thursday -- and the reckoning wasn't good for Microsoft. Comparing shipments for this quarter against the same period last year, the overall market went up by 50 percent, Android-based smartphones increased 145 percent, Apple iPhones increased 89 percent and Windows Phone shipments increased 27 percent. In other words, Windows Phone shipments improved at about half the rate of the overall market and much slower than the platforms Redmond is trying to beat.
Microsoft's trajectory was good compared to Symbian (-61 percent) and BlackBerry (-30 percent), although even there it badly trailed the two struggling platforms in raw unit shipments. Symbian shipped 10.4 million units, BlackBerry shipped 9.7 million units and Windows Phone shipments totaled 3.3 million units. The quarterly unit shipment numbers were 90 million for Android and 35 million for iOS.
IDC offered analysis for each of the major platforms. For Microsoft's, IDC wrote:
"Windows Mobile/Windows Phone has yet to make significant inroads in the worldwide smartphone market, but 2012 should be considered a ramp-up year for Nokia and Microsoft to boost volumes. Until Nokia speeds the cadence of its smartphone releases or more vendors launch their own Windows Phone-powered smartphones, IDC anticipates slow growth for the operating system."
Coming from way behind in units and growing slower than your top competitors is not a formula for market dominance. Persistence, on the other hand, can be, and Microsoft has been persistent with Windows Phone. The slower-than-the-market growth beats the actual market share slides Microsoft was enduring last year.
Some of the company's investments are beginning to bear visible fruit. While Nokia is a deeply flawed partner, its Nokia Lumia 900 is the first true flagship phone on the Windows Phone platform and it hit the market in Q2. AT&T employees (in some stores) actually seem enthusiastic about Windows Phone at last. High-profile TV ads are also popping up, such as the ones featuring former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Chris Parnell as a characteristically goofy pitchman.
Whether Microsoft's share keeps moving in the right direction or not, those projections from Gartner and IDC a year ago that Windows Phone would reach about 20 percent market share in 2015 look more and more unlikely as each quarter rolls past.
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 24, 20121 comments
During the registration process for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, potential attendees come across what amounts to an enemies list in the small print.
"The following companies and their employees and representatives are excluded from attending and participating in WPC 2012 and affiliated events," a pop-up window during registration reads. Microsoft's prohibited companies are:
- Google
- Oracle
- Salesforce.com
- VMware
This kind of company-specific exclusion is probably common at vendor events. I'd expect it, for example, at an event for a managed services provider remote monitoring and management tool vendor, a market where many companies offer very similar and mutually exclusive products. From Microsoft, though, it's a little surprising.
On the company secrets side, it's a bit like tilting at windmills. It seems futile to ban potential attendees when many of the keynotes are digitally streamed and many of the sessions also go up on digitalwpc.com.
For another, many of Microsoft's best partners also already belong to the partner programs of Google, Oracle, Salesforce.com or VMware. To expect that those vendors wouldn't be able to count on those existing personal relationships for at least some information about what Microsoft is up to would be unrealistic.
It would also seem to undermine one of Microsoft's main strengths: It's a technology empire that makes money from many different sources. Oracle wins a lot of ERP, CRM and database business from Microsoft, but Oracle customers still invest heavily in Windows servers, Windows desktops and Office software. Wherever money is made in tech, Microsoft historically has gotten a piece, and part of that is from working well with everyone, at least in certain areas.
One way the ban might make logical sense is in preventing direct competitors from coming in and trying to poach Microsoft's best asset at the show: the partners themselves. Still, prohibiting direct competitors in key areas from putting up a booth on the show floor would seem like a pretty effective way to dampen competitive recruiting. And if recruiting were a motivation, it seems that Apple's recent efforts to build a channel in part from Microsoft partners should land Cupertino on the list.
At the least, the list is probably a pretty good preview of who will come in for abuse from Microsoft COO Kevin Turner in Toronto this July. During his usual WPC-closing keynote, Turner rips into competitors with gusto. Last year, in addition to the four listed above, Turner also focused on Apple and Cisco.
What's your take? Is it just spite that bans these companies from WPC, or does Microsoft have good reasons to keep them out of the convention center?
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 21, 20124 comments
In any list of objections that customers raise to going to the cloud, security is prominent.
Evidence is emerging that among small and medium-sized businesses, though, security may be considered more of a feature than a bug for cloud services.
Earlier this week, Microsoft published highlights of a survey of SMBs in the United States. According to Microsoft, the survey found:
- 35 percent of companies surveyed report "noticeably higher levels of security since moving to the cloud."
- 32 percent say they spend less time worrying about the threat of cyberattacks.
- Almost a third (32 percent) spend less time each week managing security than companies not using the cloud.
- SMBs using the cloud are five times more likely to have reduced what they spend on managing security as a percentage of overall IT budget.
It's probably true that data is more secure for many SMBs in the cloud. The cloud service providers argue that professional datacenter administrators at huge cloud providers can run a more sophisticated, secure and patched environment. That's a compelling argument.
On the other hand, of course, cloud providers' infrastructures are more tempting targets than the servers of a small company. And are the cloud-using SMBs who are spending less time worrying about security doing enough to secure the connections between their cloud services and their on-premises systems?
There's no historical run of this survey referenced, so it's hard to tell if SMB attitudes are changing. Meanwhile, the fact that Microsoft felt the need to share the results suggests that it's still running into plenty of questions, even from SMBs, on the issue of cloud security.
What's your take. Should SMBs really feel safer in the cloud? Leave a comment below or e-mail me at [email protected].
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 16, 20120 comments
While Verizon Wireless talks vaguely about new Windows Phones sometime in the Windows Phone "8" timeframe, AT&T keeps rolling out new devices.
Today, AT&T announced another Windows device on its 4G LTE network -- the Samsung Focus 2, which will be available on May 20.
The Samsung Focus was reportedly the most popular of the Windows Phone 7 devices (for what that was worth). Samsung had already rolled out an upgraded phone, the Samsung Focus S to coincide with the Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" release. So in effect, this is the third generation Focus for the Windows Phone platform.
Specifics of the device are a relatively low price tag ($49.99 with a two-year contract), a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, a 5-megapixel camera and a front-facing VGA camera. It's available in white.
For AT&T the biggest significance is that the Samsung Focus 2 is the third device on its 4G LTE network, joining the $99 Nokia Lumia 900 and the $199 HTC Titan II (both prices are with two-year contracts). Salesperson incentives in AT&T stores also seem to be trickling down to some actual store-level enthusiasm, as my colleague Keith Ward recently noted.
Will AT&T's big push funded by Nokia via Microsoft start making a difference this quarter? Only the numbers will tell, and even if Microsoft turns in another lackluster quarter in terms of smartphone sales, I don't suspect Microsoft will be deterred. Microsoft's pockets are deep, and management has obviously concluded that smartphones are too strategic to abandon without a lengthy fight.
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 07, 20121 comments
Congratulations are in order for RCP's long-running "Selling Microsoft" columnist Ken Thoreson. Ken was named a Top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencer for 2012 by Top Sales World magazine this month.
In addition to receiving Ken's sales wisdom in his columns and blogs on RCP, you can also catch Ken's great tips for getting the most out of the Worldwide Partner Conference in the WPC Marching Orders article we ran last week.
We've known Ken was a top sales influencer for years. We're glad others are recognizing him!
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 06, 20120 comments
We've covered Microsoft's new Small Business Competency here based on a lengthy interview with Microsoft Partner Network General Manager Julie Bennani. If you want the key-to-middling details on the competency that went into effect on Tuesday, I'd still point you to that story, "MPN Small Business Competency: More Benefits, Bigger Price Tag," to get them.
If you're looking for some additional detail, though, some of your questions might be answered by a new FAQ posted on Eric Ligman's blog on Wednesday. Ligman, Microsoft's director of partner experience, hits a dozen questions, including:
- So what happens to the Small Business Specialist Community (SBSC) benefits we're currently getting once the Small Business Competency launches?
- After the Small Business Competency launches, can partners still join SBSC?
- Do we also need to subscribe to Action Pack, like we have to for SBSC, to earn the Small Business Competency in addition to paying the competency fee?
- Why are "cloud" and Office 365 a requirement for the Small Business Competency instead of just an option?
See Also:
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 03, 20120 comments
IDC released its estimates for first-quarter media tablet shipments on Thursday. The numbers showed a slight miss against expectations, a huge drop in Android tablet shipments and reconsolidation by Apple of iPad's dominance.
What caught RCP's attention were IDC's extrapolation of what's happening in the Android market, and its cautionary words directed at Microsoft and its OEM partners for the upcoming Windows 8 launch.
"It seems some of the mainstream Android vendors are finally beginning to grasp a fact that Amazon, B&N, and Pandigital figured out early on: Namely, to compete in the media tablet market with Apple, they must offer their products at notably lower price points," IDC analyst Tom Mainelli said in a statement.
IDC goes on to extend that lesson to Windows 8, and especially Windows RT, in the text of its research news release (emphasis mine):
"The impact that Microsoft Windows 8- and Windows RT-based tablets, which are widely expected to ship into the market by the fourth quarter, will have on the overall tablet market is yet to be determined. Pricing on the new Windows tablets hasn't been announced, and that will be a critical factor when it comes to winning over consumers. Consumer reception to the new OS and the success of integration with traditional Windows systems will also be critical."
In the meantime, IDC acknowledges that for the second half of 2012, almost all bets are off.
Said IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell, "While Apple will continue to sit comfortably on the top for now, the battle for the next several positions is going to be fierce. Throw in Ultrabooks, the launch of Windows 8, and a few surprise product launches, and you have all the makings of an incredible 2012 holiday shopping season."
Looking forward to it.
See Also:
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 03, 20120 comments
The conventional wisdom these days is that Apple and Google are eating Microsoft's lunch.
For Apple, the company has followed a well-chronicled path from a niche, artist-friendly computing platform to a revenue and profit juggernaut at the core of the IT industry. Apple's success came from making markets in smartphones and tablets -- two areas where Microsoft already had products but hadn't even come close to figuring out how to ignite public excitement for them. And ever since the iPod, Apple has been leveraging one product to generate buzz and market share for the next. The halo effect of the mobile devices is helping drive market share growth for Apple's computers.
Google, of course, established a search engine dominance that's afforded the company a beachhead for many other products. Microsoft's been pouring money into search ever since just to try to avoid ceding the whole market to Google.
Those successes in elbowing the one-time computing megapower out of the center of the IT universe are having some unintended effects. Yes, Apple and Google are eating Microsoft's lunch. But two headlines from last week demonstrate that they're both experiencing some of the same symptoms of indigestion that Microsoft suffered at the height of its run in the late 1990s.
First, controversial security guru Eugene Kaspersky caused a stir last week when he said that the Flashback/Flashfake malware heralded a new wave of Mac security exploits.
"[Apple] will understand very soon that they have the same problems Microsoft had ten or 12 years ago. They will have to make changes in terms of the cycle of updates and so on and will be forced to invest more into their security audits for the software," Kaspersky's CEO and founder told CBR in an interview at Info Security 2012.
To Kaspersky, as Microsoft and its supporters have been arguing to derision for years, Microsoft's security profile versus Apple's was more a matter of market share, not technology. As Apple gains market share, Kaspersky said his company is seeing more malware targeting Macs because "[c]yber criminals have now recognized that Mac is an interesting area. Now we have more, it's not just Flashback or Flashfake. Welcome to Microsoft's world, Mac. It's full of malware."
Ten years after Trustworthy Computing, could it be Apple's turn to invest tons of money on what is essentially customer support, a cost of playing in the big leagues?
Then there's Google, which couldn't have been pleased to find out last week that the Federal Trade Commission hired a prominent litigator in its antitrust investigation of the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant. The litigator is Beth A. Wilkinson, who helped convict Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
While a government decision on whether to proceed with a case is said to be months away, experts quoted by The New York Times compared the move to the government's hiring of David Boies to go after Microsoft in the 1990s.
"It increases the likelihood that there will be a case," Douglas Broder, an antitrust expert, told the newspaper.
Whether the government should be pursuing Google is fodder for another post. What the effect will be is more certain -- a distraction for Google's management and an opportunity for the company's critics to tee off.
Apple and Google are coming to learn, as Microsoft did, that in tech, sometimes size brings more than economies of scale.
Posted by Scott Bekker on April 30, 20120 comments
More details on the Microsoft Partner Network's new Small Business competency should be coming tomorrow during a webinar with Microsoft partner officials.
Microsoft worldwide channel chief Jon Roskill will host an MPN Live session Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific time called "Introducing the SB Competency." The session will be available from the MPN Facebook page here or on the Digital WPC site here.
"We expect this to become the Microsoft Partner Network's most popular competency. Tune in to the conversation to be among the first to find out more about this competency from a great line-up of Microsoft partners with extensive experience working with SMB customers and / or selling and deploying cloud solutions," the session description reads.
For more detail on the competency, check our detailed news story here.
Posted by Scott Bekker on April 25, 20120 comments
A major limitation in kicking the tires of Windows 8 in the consumer preview is that for most users, there's no experience of the touch-first interface -- arguably the most transformational aspect of the brand-new design.
For the most part, the million-plus downloaders of the new OS are careening through the elegant Metro-style interface with a mouse and keyboard. Unless they've already got an all-in-one system with a touchscreen, or a Windows 7 tablet, developers and tech enthusiasts face the unenviable choice of testing Windows 8 without touch or shelling out $1,000 or more for a touchscreen system or tablet that may or may not take full advantage of Windows 8 when the OS ships.
The situation changed radically for testers today with the release of a product for running a remote desktop version of the Windows 8 consumer preview on the Apple iPad -- the device people generally want to compare the Windows 8 software experience against anyway.
Splashtop Inc., one of the most successful app sellers in the Apple App Store and on Google Play, released "Win8 Metro Testbed -- powered by Splashtop." While the name is a mouthful, the product allows testers to try the Windows 8 Metro interface, complete with gestures, on an iPad.
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| [Click on images for larger view.] |
| Screenshots of Win8 Metro Testbed on the iPad. |
Win8 Metro Testbed requires three components: Windows 8 Consumer Preview downloaded from Microsoft and installed on a PC, the Win8 Metro Testbed app purchased from the App Store and installed on an iPad, and free Splashtop Streamer software installed on the test PC.
Win8 Metro Testbed is pricey by App Store standards at $49.99, although it launched at a $24.99 promotional price.
Splashtop Inc. was primarily thinking about developers when it created, and priced, the tool. "We think it's not a regular app. It's really a developer's tool, similar in value to a VMware client or a Parallels desktop product," Cliff Miller, Splashtop's chief marketing officer, told me in a telephone interview this morning. "For what we're selling, $50 is a pretty good deal, especially if it means you don't have to buy a $1,000 tablet."
What Splashtop did was create a way for the native Windows 8 Metro touch gestures to work on the iPad. According to the company's press release, those gestures include:
- Swipe from the right to view the Charms menu
- Swipe from the left to switch apps
- Swipe left/right in Internet Explorer to move between pages
- Swipe down to bring up additional menus
- Swipe down on an item to select it
- Pull down from the top to close an app
- Swipe slowly from the left to run two apps side-by-side ("snapping")
- Swipe from left-and-back to show running apps
- Pinch to navigate files, folders, apps and data with Semantic Zoom
In the months leading up to the Windows 8 launch, Miller said the app can give Metro app developers a way to test the behavior of their apps in the touch environment.
Miller adds that the 200-employee, 6-year-old company's focus on optimizing performance for both PC and tablet hardware will come in handy for app testing. An emphasis on video-streaming quality and on minimizing latency will make it easier to test touch apps, he said.
With millions of Windows 8 testers and the tens of millions of Apple iPads heavily concentrated among tech enthusiasts and developers, the potential market for the app is fairly large -- but short.
"We tend to try things out and sort of improvise along the way," Miller said. "My feeling is there's huge potential here, at least until Microsoft releases its official version of Windows 8. We know we've got that window. Between now and then, we have some opportunities that are interesting." Down the road, Splashtop may look to start a developers' program or steer its efforts toward gaming companies.
For now, the Win8 Metro Testbed is worth serious consideration for developers and anyone else in the Microsoft channel with a vested interest in understanding what the full Windows 8 touch experience could be like.
Posted by Scott Bekker on April 12, 20120 comments