Microsoft Ships New Release Of Its Dynamics AX Applications

June 4, 2008 from ChannelWeb – “Microsoft has begun shipping Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, a new release of the vendor's ERP application suite with new globalization functionality and tools for tailoring the applications' interface for specific user roles.

Microsoft previewed Dynamics AX 2009 at the vendor's Convergence conference in March. Dynamics AX is geared toward upper mid-market customers that have operations in multiple locations, particularly those in manufacturing, retail, distribution and professional services...

The software also uses business intelligence technologies to provide users with key performance indicators based on their roles. And Dynamics AX 2009 more closely resembles the familiar Microsoft Office...

Also offered in Dynamics AX 2009 is a new compliance center that provides a single view of internal controls, KPIs and other information needed to comply with company policies, local legislation in 36 countries and such regulations as Sarbanes-Oxley. The system also incorporates Microsoft's Windows Workflow Foundation technology for documenting workflows -- expense report management, for example -- and creating an audit trail. The software also provides more support for companies that operate multiple sites within a single country and across multiple countries."

180 View – We think that existing users will be eager to upgrade, and the new version will give SAP and Oracle a run for their money in the upper end of the mid market.

Microsoft Releases Dynamics CRM Online

April 22, 2008 from InformationWeek – “Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s been dabbling with on-demand software services for awhile, but the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, beginning Tuesday, marks its most significant effort yet to provide the market with an alternative to Salesforce.com.

The software service for managing a business's customer contacts, sales information, and marketing efforts is available as a subscription and hosted from Microsoft's data centers using a multitenant architecture. General availability follows months of testing by 500 Microsoft customers.

Microsoft is trying to beat Salesforce.com on price and storage options. The base version, called Professional, costs $44 per month per user following a one-year introductory rate of $39 per month. That includes 5 GB of data storage per organization and the ability to customize workflows. The Professional Plus version costs $59 per user per month with 20 GB of storage, with more customization features and the ability to synchronize data contained in other systems with the service. Users access the service using Microsoft Outlook or a Web browser as an interface.

180 View – Microsoft is now fighting yet another war (with Salesforce.com), but it’s a war that they are well equipped to wage. But Salesforce.com has formidable allies especially in Google. Click here to see the April 15, 2008 from itWorldCanada entitled “Google, Salesforce.com partner on business apps”

Microsoft Convergence

March 24, 2008 based on an interview of Joel Martin, Microsoft ERP Product Manager – a recent Microsoft recruit who was previously an analyst with IDC Canada. Microsoft should be commended on hiring Joel who brings deep knowledge of enterprise software based on his IDC experience. Joel spoke to me about Microsoft’s annual conference for Dynamics partners and customers, Convergence 2008, which was held in Orlando from March 11-14. The conference continues to grow with a record-breaking 9,600 attendees this year.

Scheduled for release in June 2008, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 was a hot topic at Convergence 2008. In the new version, Microsoft has added functionality and improved user productivity through new role-tailored interfaces and integration with other Microsoft technologies. The improvements in the user experience brings Dynamics AX 2009 in line with the user interface of the other Dynamics applications. When asked about target markets, Joel described AX as Microsoft’s system for the upper end of the mid market, mid-size and enterprise customers in manufacturing, distribution, professional services, and retail. These organizations typically have multiple sites and are present in more than one country.

Another announcement at Convergence 2008 was that Microsoft will offer a set of migration tools developed to help companies that have outgrown their small business accounting software, such as Intuit’s Quickbooks, and move to Microsoft Dynamics GP within a fixed price and fixed scope.

Joel also confirmed that ‘Project Green’ has now concluded. Going forward, rather than a ‘net new’ product, Microsoft is focusing on incremental advancements on all four Dynamics ERP platforms. One example is the company’s ongoing delivery of role-tailored user interfaces across all application releases.

Microsoft Office Live

March 24, 2008 from PC World – “Microsoft is synonymous with the ubiquitous Windows operating system. But its Microsoft Office productivity suite pulls in more revenue than any version of Windows. Competition from Web-hosted productivity applications like Google Docs and Zoho Office has changed the rules of the application-suite game, however, threatening Microsoft's desktop application revenues and forcing it to address the growing popularity of Web-hosted applications with new features and products...

If you and a few of your coworkers or family members want to collaborate in a lightweight fashion using Microsoft Office apps, Microsoft's unique response to Web-hosted applications could be a free and easy no-brainer.”

180 View – A few days after PC World’s article on Microsoft Office Live, we read in ChannelWeb - “Google took an important step forward Monday in its rivalry with Microsoft Office Live, reporting that Google Docs will allow users to edit word processing documents offline. Google said users of its Google Docs word processing application can use Google Gears to save and then edit documents without being connected to the Internet.” As Google and Microsoft duke it out, we all benefit from the improvements made in their respective systems.

Ballmer outlines Microsoft's enterprise ambitions

March 12, 2008 from Computerworld – “CEO Steve Ballmer used his opening keynote at Microsoft Corp.'s Convergence user conference here not only to preview a number of updates to the company's Dynamics line of business software, but also to make a firm declaration of Microsoft's enterprise market plans.

"I still get asked, is Microsoft a serious player in business applications? ... This is mission-critical for us," Ballmer asserted. "The biggest decision I made -- unless we close this Yahoo deal -- was pushing into the business applications area," he said at another point…

One product, Microsoft's Dynamics AX 2009, is set for release in the first half of this year. New features include integration with Microsoft's unified communications platform; a "one-stop shop" for data related to compliance issues; an integrated workflow framework; and broader localization and globalization capabilities, such as support for multiple languages and time zones.”

180 View – It appears that Microsoft AX is getting most of the attention so far at the conference. AX is positioned at the high end of Microsoft ERP systems and now competes head on with SAP and Oracle.

Canadian enterprises go vertical with ERP

March 11 from ComputerWorld Canada – “Canadian customers gathered at Microsoft’s Dynamics-based Convergence conference in Orlando, Florida Tuesday to discuss their recent implementations of Dynamics NAV-based products, which executives said highlighted the popularity of vertical-specific ERP and updating old technology…”

180 View – Initially we did not think that Microsoft would succeed in the ERP marketplace because Microsoft can’t be all things to all people/industries with one system and keep it relatively simple to use. However Microsoft’s strategy to extend the core product to specific industries using their business partners will go a long way to make Microsoft leader of the ERP pack at least for mid market organizations.

SharePoint

January 22, 2008 from ComputerWorld Canada - “According to London, Ont.-based Info-Tech Research Group, customers expressed satisfaction rates in the 92 per cent range around the functionality and total cost of ownership of SharePoint, but nearly one quarter said they were disappointed with how well the world’s largest software company was able to assist them with it. SharePoint is Microsoft’s Office SharePoint Server is a tool that companies can use to create an internal portal to collaborate, share ideas, and manage documents.

Info-Tech published a sample comment from one of the 258 respondents to its survey, who said: “I don’t think they (Microsoft) knew what to expect, and they were the first ones to admit it because they didn’t expect that SharePoint was going to reach this kind of demand. They are just overwhelmed with calls.”

180 View – The title of this article was actually "Users claim six month wait for SharePoint support" but could have also been SharePoint achieves 92% Satisfaction Rate. Whatever the title, the story is that SharePoint is one hot technology.

Microsoft Offers To Buy Yahoo

Feb 1, 2007 from WebProNews – “The world's top software company could boost its online presence dramatically if Yahoo accepts a $44.6 billion bid to be purchased. Microsoft has offered Yahoo shareholders a 62 percent premium on their shares to sell the company. Yahoo's latest disappointing earnings announcement helped to depress the stock price, making it a renewed target for a takeover.

"We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement. With online advertising projected to grow to $80 billion by 2010, Microsoft can grab a larger slice of that pie if it can pull in Yahoo, which ranks as the world's heaviest trafficked web property..."

180 View – This seems like a lot to swallow even for Microsoft. It will take time and more money to integrate products, services and culture.

Microsoft Dynamics: management changes spell lack of direction

January 17, 2008 from the Enterprise System Spectator – “Jeff Raikes, head of Microsoft's Business Division (which includes its enterprise applications group), is leaving Microsoft. Once again, the future of the Dynamics products (Axapta, Great Plains, Solomon, and Navision) is clouded by leadership issues.

Raikes joined Microsoft in 1981 and has been one of the most influential leaders at the software giant, after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. However, enterprise applications have never been his forte. His main responsibility was Microsoft's Office products. The Dynamics products were added to his portfolio in 2005 in a reorganization that pushed aside Doug Burgum, former CEO of Great Plains. Burgum later left Microsoft in 2006.

The current head of the Dynamics group, Kirill Tatarinov, has only been in the job for about seven months. He will now have a new boss in the person of Stephen Elop, who is a Microsoft outsider: he was the former CEO of Macromedia/Adobe and most recently at Juniper Networks.
The main problem I see in the leadership changes at Dynamics is that none of the players since Doug Burgum have any experience whatsoever in enterprise applications. As I've said in the past, selling shrink-wrapped software--whether it be Microsoft's or Adobe's--is a far cry from selling enterprise applications that require months of presales team effort.

It's a shame, because Dynamics is a good set of products. They just need the right people in the lead at Microsoft..."

180 View – We have also seen some very good senior people leave Microsoft. At the end of the day, it’s people that make a product successful. If the mothers and fathers who built the company/system leave, their baby is more likely to have problems of one sort or another.

12 Windows Vista Tweaks To Boost Your PC's Performance

January 22, 2008 from InformationWeek – “Soon after Windows Vista came out, many suggestions for tweaking the operating system to improve performance emerged. Unfortunately, most of those tweaks turned out to be pretty disappointing: they either provided the illusion of better performance but did nothing of substance, or they were rehashes of existing Windows XP tips that might note even be valid on Vista.

Still, there are plenty of things that can be done to make Vista run better. Over the past several months I've kept an eye peeled as to what actually works, what doesn't, and why. With less work than you might think, it's entirely possible to have Vista running quite snappily. …”

180 View – Some of the advice in this article would have saved me (Michael Burns) a lot of time when I first installed Vista. Specifically, the advice included getting rid of preloaded programs.

Windows Vista Hits the 60 Million Mark

July 27, 2007 from CIO Today – “At Microsoft 's annual meeting with analysts, Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner announced that the software giant had sold 60 million copies of Windows Vista since the product's launch in late January.
During the first five weeks alone, Turner said, sales numbers of Windows Vista exceeded the number of computers that Apple currently has as its total installed base.

But not everyone was impressed. "There were probably nearly 120 million PCs shipped in the first two quarters of 2007, so I'm not sure 60 million is that great," observed Gartner Client Computing research vice president Michael Silver.

Microsoft is "trying to dampen Apple's latest quarterly results, which saw a significant increase in shipments," he said.

Turner said he thinks Vista's prospects going forward are "huge" -- especially in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Nevertheless, the software giant has just reduced its Vista sales growth forecast to roughly 10 percent over the next 12 months.

The continuing popularity of Windows XP is one reason Vista sales haven't been as strong as some analysts had expected initially. In addition, Vista's lack of a "killer app" means that potential buyers have no compelling reason to migrate from XP aside from Vista's "coolness" factor, wrote analysts at Forrester Research on the eve of Vista's launch…”

180 View – I (Michael Burns) have now been working with Vista for about 3 months. The first few weeks were awful as discussed in the May edition of this newsletter, but it’s been smooth sailing ever since.

Windows Vista Update

In April, I (Michael Burns) wrote an article on Vista and Office 2007 that was published in CAmagazine. When I wrote the article, I learned that my computer would not support Vista and the article was therefore based on a demonstration performed by Microsoft. I have now purchased a new laptop with an Intel Core DUO Processor running at 1.60GHz and with 2GB of memory. I thought I was ready for Vista when I installed Office 2007. Vista does come with a utility that makes it fairly easy to transfer your files and settings from your old computer. I initially thought things were looking good.

A week later, I was ready to go back to XP and Office 2003. First, performance on Outlook 2007 had been abysmal. I often needed to wait a few seconds until my typing appeared on the screen or for my scrolling to actually take place. I have archived and deleted messages as I have read that Outlook files greater than 2GB can have problems. My Outlook file is now 275MB. I also installed an Outlook upgrade dated April 13, 2007 that according to Microsoft “fixes performance issues that occur when you work with items in a large .pst file”. I also turned off indexing, which dramatically improves finding files based on any keyword search. I had 2 security systems working and I removed one of them. Despite all these steps, Outlook 2007 continued to crawl.

So I contacted Microsoft support, who spent 1 ½ hours on the phone with me trying to resolve the problem. Most of the time spent was trying to remove Outlook add-in programs that might have caused the problem. We tried a few but no luck. Unfortunately, some of the add-in programs including those from Microsoft could not be removed. The support person logged this as a problem to be followed up by Microsoft. I was told that the problem should be fixed by launching Outlook in safe mode. You don’t need to load Vista in safe mode - you just need to run Outlook in safe mode. Good news – Outlook 2007 is now working well in terms of performance. You do lose some functionality in safe mode including preferences cannot be saved and additional features and programs are not automatically loaded. A few days later, Microsoft called back and fixed the problem. I was told to disable User Account Control (UAC), which is a feature in Windows that can help prevent unauthorized changes to your computer. I was then able to disable the culprit add-in that caused all the problems. It turned out to be an add-in from Cyberlink, which was one of the programs that came preloaded on my laptop. With Cyberlink disabled, Outlook 2007 runs great.

I did have another problem that was also resolved. My personal folders disappeared after using the system for about a week. Outlook reported that errors had been detected and that I should run a program called Scanpst.exe, which I did. The program went through multiple phases of analysis, backed up my file and “repaired” my file. However, there was no change after the repair. However, I soon figured out that I had multiple Outlook files and then I repaired the right one and my personal folders were back.

Other problems have been learning where all the commands are now located in Excel and Word. If you’re an old dog, you might have a hard time learning new tricks. Although the layout of the toolbars and commands may be ultimately more logical, I could happily go back to the old layout. Another problem has been getting some programs to work. For example, my version of QuickBooks 2005 does not work with Vista. I needed to purchase (not update) QuickBooks 2007, which is Vista ready. It seems vendors like Intuit (developers of QuickBooks) will make a windfall profit as their customers are forced to purchase the new version.

The morale of the story is to always be very careful when investing in new systems. It’s not just the cost of the software – it’s also the opportunity cost of making it work.

Microsoft Vista

April 1, 2007 from CAmagazine – "If you’ve heard anything at all about Microsoft Windows Vista, you are probably wondering whether it’s worth upgrading to the new operating system. The short answer is a qualified yes. It offers a lot of advantages in security, connectivity, collaboration and ease of use. However, because of those new features, you might find your existing PC or laptop does not have sufficient memory (RAM) or processing power (CPU) to run it…"

Microsoft’s ERP Wave Hits Shore

March 15, 2007 written by Michael Burns of 180 Systems – When Microsoft Corp. acquired Great Plains Software Inc. in 2001 and Navision in 2002, the force about to be unleashed in the ERP marketplace was not well understood. Many people wondered what Microsoft was up to. How could they expect to be successful in the ERP space, which is so different than all their other markets?...

Microsoft Evolves its Enterprise Plans

March 17, 2007 from PC World – “When the vendor (Microsoft) first started talking about Project Green in 2003, the initiative focused on bringing the disparate products then known as Axapta, Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and CRM together into a single code base. Then in May 2005, Microsoft began to talk more about having two distinct waves of the projects. Wave one committed Microsoft to bringing out major new releases of each of its business offerings, while wave two, due to start occurring in 2008, was when the company would begin releasing elements of the converged code base.

By September 2005, Microsoft brought its back-end applications together under a single brand name "Dynamics" resulting in the rechristening of its business applications as Dynamics AX, GP, NAV, SL and CRM. At that point, the vendor announced "Dynamics" would also refer to the ongoing Project Green research and development road map, but the old name has refused to die and still persists among the company's executives, partners and customers.
Fast forward to this week's Convergence show in San Diego and the natural question is what's happening with Project Green? Is a converged product or platform still on Microsoft's agenda?

"We don't have the goal of just convergence for convergence's sake," said Satya Nadella, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Business Solutions group. "We've delivered on Wave 1 and, with each sharing of technology, we're increasing the level of convergence, but it's not a front and central goal. We now have a common portal, a common UI (user interface) and common Web services infrastructure. Perhaps the news here is that Green's done," he added…”

180 View – I (Michael Burns) was at also at Convergence – see the article above entitled “Microsoft’s ERP Wave Hits Shore”. At Convergence, I asked Satya Nadella the question about the future of Project Green. There is still some confusion about Microsoft’s enterprise plans. We were told that all the products will share the same user experience. However it’s not so clear what will happen with the four Microsoft ERP systems. What I heard is that each product will continue to evolve but they will gradually become more differentiated. Microsoft also announced that they will focus on five industries – Manufacturing, Distribution, Professional Services, Retail and Public Sector. I anticipate that each product will be mapped to one of these industries and if more than one is mapped to a particular industry, there will be other differentiators.

MS After Convergence: Shakeup in Dynamics Leadership

March 21, 2007 from eWeek – “A little more than one week after Convergence, Microsoft's big annual user conference that highlights the company's Dynamics brand of ERP and CRM software, Microsoft quietly made some changes in the Business Solutions executive lineup.

Satya Nadella, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions, and effectively the leader of the Microsoft Dynamics group that includes the company's four separate enterprise resource planning suites and customer relationship management offering, will be joining the Platform Services Division to lead a new division, the Search and Ad Platform Group. Nadella will transition from his current role in the Business Solutions group by April 19…”

180 View – I was wondering about the keynote and subsequent presentations by Satya Nadella at Convergence. He seemed extremely knowledgeable but lacked passion. Now I know why. Why he did not get the job is another matter. My guess is that he was having a hard time replacing Doug Burgum, who seemed to inspire the troops.

Vista

January 29, 2006 from Canadian Business magazine – “It's been five long years since Microsoft booted up a new operating system and three since updating its popular suite of productivity software. So gird yourself for the sales pitch you're bound to hear in the coming weeks for the company's new Windows Vista OS and Office 2007 packages--both launched for businesses Nov. 30 and consumers Jan. 30--because it might sound a bit excessive for what, in the end, is just software. Microsoft has not reinvented the PC; it has merely made it easier to use.

"A lot of it is eye candy," says Naumi Haque, a research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group, based in London, Ont. "For the majority of users, what they have is already fulfilling their needs, so there's no immediate drive to upgrade to these products." And, Haque says, it's no different for corporations. A majority of Info-Tech's clients say Windows XP is exceeding their requirements--and, in some cases, even older versions of Windows suffice. The same goes for Office.

But if you're a Microsoft fan, you can't help but like the amount of work that has gone into Vista. For example, Vista automatically indexes everything on the hard drive and lets users quickly search for files and applications. A resizable preview panel reveals a thumbnail image of a file, and let's you scroll through its entirety before opening it. Also impressive is Vista's use of metadata tags, which are descriptive information about a file, such as the author and subject matter. The tags allow users to slice and dice search results in a variety of ways and customize how they sort categories of similar files. For example, growing digital music and photo collections can be organized on-the-fly by date, a star-rating system or personal tagging terms.

Much of Microsoft's focus on Vista for consumers has centred on solving digital-content overload and making the PC more fun to use. And, of course, there are updated 3-D glossy and translucent graphics. For business customers, Vista has tried to make IT departments happy with a more secure OS that's easier to back up and lock down. Vista also simplifies how corporate users adjust settings for presentations and find networks.

Similarly, developers of the Office 2007 suite of applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) have directed their efforts toward some of the peripheral programs, such as SharePoint, to improve collaboration, workflow and document management for governance purposes.

But the big change everyone will notice in Office 2007 is what Microsoft calls the "ribbon," which replaces the familiar drop-down menus and floating palettes. The ribbon presents all the functions in buttons along the top of the screen, organized in contextual tabs such as Table and Review. It will take some getting used to, but it's supposed to put everything in plain sight and standardize the functions across all programs. The idea is that everyone, not just the experts, get more out of the applications.

And you might. But there is no killer feature that makes Office 2007 an essential purchase. "The decision to buy new hardware is going to be more important for the consumer than the actual decision to upgrade to Office 2007," says Haque. When it does come time to get a new computer, you won't miss the old Windows or Office--but you won't have that choice anyway.”

180 View –There has been so much in the press about Vista that is was difficult to figure out which article to quote. We have just completed our own review of the system, which will be published in CAmagazine in the near future. We recommend Vista if you have enough horsepower to run it, and your existing programs and devices will work. Microsoft does provide a free downloadable program called Upgrade Advisor which will tell you which of the various versions of Windows Vista is most appropriate and also whether you have any devices or software that may be incompatible.

Vista Reviews from PC Magazine and PC World

We have attached excerpts from 2 of the better articles available about Microsoft’s new operating system.

PC Magazine

November 30, 2006 - “The first things you notice about Windows Vista are the glitzy bells and whistles, but these aren't the essentials that will woo businesses. Organizations, especially large ones, have always been Microsoft's most important customers, and Vista is full of offerings aimed at them…

What's certain about working with Vista is that it's very different from previous versions of Windows; it has perhaps the biggest interface changes since Windows 95. It will require significant retraining of users and of IT personnel.

Yes, you can build a secure network and secure desktops with Windows XP if you work at it and administer it properly. But with Vista, making your systems more secure is a lot easier, even as you run into new issues in the process…

The most interesting new tool in Vista is Windows Meeting Space, which seems at first glance like a version of Groove, the virtual office program Microsoft bought when it hired its author, Ray Ozzie. WMS is a pale shadow of Groove and will pose no market threat to it (Groove 2007 is currently in beta). Still, WMS will be worth evaluating for many organizations…

With WMS, you can set up a meeting and invite others (up to ten participants) either through e-mail, by sharing an invitation file, or by browsing and joining meetings on the local network. We found setup very easy. In a meeting, you can chat, share documents, and share desktop applications. Indeed, application sharing is the only apparent advantage WMS has over an instant messaging program. Vista Home Basic users cannot start a new meeting…

Vista also comes with an integrated desktop search feature. There were questions raised several times during Vista's development about what level of system search the operating system should provide, and it does provide less than what was originally planned. Nevertheless, desktop search is implemented well…

Vista will likely save your butt one day with its Previous Versions feature, borrowed from Windows Server 2003. Vista automatically creates "shadow copies" of file changes, reserving (by default) 15 percent of disk space for this purpose. If you mess up a file and need access to an earlier version, you can right-click on the file or folder and select Restore Previous Versions…

We agree with what seems to be the consensus among observers: Vista has many compelling advantages over previous versions of Windows, especially in the area of security. Security has been a focus for Microsoft over the last several years, as well one of the most headline-grabbing of all computing problems, and the new features in this area may cause many businesses to upgrade just to get them.

Windows Vista is a better business operating system, all things considered. For many organizations, this release will prove to have been worth the long wait. But businesses need to evaluate thoroughly, plan rigorously, and move carefully as they transition from older versions to Vista. In many cases, this isn't going to happen overnight, and, as always, up-front planning will make a very big difference. Expect a long adoption cycle, especially since much business software will take some time to work properly in Vista. But businesses should welcome this new OS and never look back.

PC World

November 22, 2006 – “Windows Vista is a clear winner. It's beautiful, sports much-improved security, offers superb networking capabilities...and maybe most of all, it's just plain fun to use. That's not to say it's perfect--far from it. Some may view the new interface as little more than fluff or be turned off by the intrusive User Account Control feature….

The Look
The moment Windows Vista starts, some of its biggest changes are in plain view: It is distinctive and eye-catching. Colors are subtler and the overall look less cartoonish than Windows XP's.

Dare I say it's Mac-like? In fact, it is. Microsoft has always stolen from the best. Key to a lot of what's new in Vista is the much-anticipated Aero interface--but to use it, you'll need adequate hardware and one of the pricier versions of the OS.
Within Aero, screen windows maximize and minimize with a kind of visual "swoosh." The - command for switching between open windows now invokes Windows Flip, which displays thumbnails of open windows. Flip 3D (-) ups the ante, stacking windows so that you can flip through them like playing cards.

Some may say this is mere eye candy that won't affect your real productivity. Maybe so. But it makes life at the keyboard fun again. And for my money, that's right up there with productivity.
Two other notable new interface elements are the Sidebar and Live Thumbnails. Hover your mouse over a minimized window on the taskbar, and a thumbnail pops up with its contents, plus the program and document name or Web site.

I'm particularly fond of the Sidebar gadgets, interactive applets that display information--RSS feeds, stock tickers, clocks, weather, and so on. Vista ships with about a dozen of them; there are more online. While similar to Google Desktop Gadgets or Yahoo Widgets, they're actually more like the Mac's Gadgets in that they're built directly into the operating system and so may use its underlying architecture. For example, one gadget displays RSS news feeds you've subscribed to using Internet Explorer 7's RSS Reader…

New, Annoying Virtual Nanny
User Account Control (UAC) has riled more Windows Vista testers than all other features combined. UAC prompts you to type in a password or click OK before taking certain actions--for example, turning the Windows Firewall on or off, adding or removing user accounts, or even running some applications. You sometimes get a warning: A small shield appears next to links or options that will summon the UAC prompt if clicked.

What's the point of this annoying virtual nanny? First, it protects against malware running unchecked. If your PC gets infected and the malware attempts to perform a dangerous action such as turning off your antivirus program or the firewall, UAC will stop it cold. Second, UAC can protect you against yourself, keeping you from making changes that could harm your computer.

That's all well and good, but Microsoft has gone overboard with this protection. Why should you get a UAC prompt when you try to change Windows' font size, or your PC's name? Because of UAC, using Vista can at times become a herky-jerky kind of experience, with so many annoying pop-ups coming at you that you want to scream "Stop!"

In fact, you can stop the prompts by turning off UAC entirely. Go to Control Panel, User Accounts and Family Safety, User Accounts, click the Turn User Account Control on or off link, and you'll send that nanny into the virtual ether.

Of course, if you do turn off UAC, then you have no one but yourself to blame if a piece of malware does get in and take over your system.

Networking
Up to now, Microsoft had never done a stellar job of integrating networking capabilities into Windows. Just try synchronizing Offline Folders in Windows XP, for example--I dare you.

Windows Vista, however, presents your network as a natural extension of your PC. The OS helps you configure a network, share files, manage multiple networks, and more--all with a minimum of fuss. Vista supports all the usual network technologies, including ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

The new Network and Sharing Center puts network tools and information right at hand. Click View Full Map, for example, and you'll see a diagram showing all PCs and devices on your network, including printers, switches, and gateways. Click or hover over a device icon to get more details, such as IP and MAC addresses.

Vista handles wireless network connections deftly: Simply click the network icon in the system tray, click Connect or disconnect, and you'll see a list of nearby wireless networks. Hover your cursor over any one to see details such as Wi-Fi type (802.11b or g, say) and security protocol, if any.

Vista saves settings for networks you use frequently so you can automatically connect to them when you're in range. You can even specify which take precedence if more than one is available.

Not all networking features are hunky-dory. Windows Meeting Space is supposed to let you hold virtual meetings over an ad-hoc network--but has a well-nigh worthless chat module, no voice capabilities, and no whiteboard tools. Doesn't sound like any virtual meeting I want to attend.

The Sync Center, designed to help you sync files and folders between networked PCs and devices, is a bit of a mess as well. If you want to do anything other than perform basic syncs, you may throw up your hands and walk away.

180 View – We have read that the research group Gartner claims some 58 percent of new PC shipments in 2007 will include Windows Vista, and also estimate that Vista will be running on less than 10 percent of PCs in the installed base by the end of 2007. That figure is expected to rise to 29 percent in 2008, 50 percent in 2009 and 67 percent by the end of 2010. The reason for the delayed acceptance is mostly because of the hardware requirements. Check out http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/capable.mspx to see the hardware requirements and to see an analysis of the differences between the 4 Vista editions (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate).

SAP All-in-One vs. MS Dynamics

September 1, 2006 from webCPA – “For the giant multinationals of the world, SAP continues to be the dominant ERP player. But once you move down a notch, the picture changes dramatically. Microsoft, once content to play second fiddle to SAP's ERP core, is quietly but steadily ramping up its Dynamics series with a uniform Dynamics package offering in the works for a 2008 release.

SAP's All-in-One product has many strong points, but so does Dynamics. On the flip side, either solution has its distinct weaknesses compared to the other guy. Which path is best for your company? And what can you expect in the years ahead? Will Microsoft's lower cost and ubiquitous presence (ie. existing "beach heads") translate into market dominance, or will SAP continue its midmarket growth through focus on business values and technical finesse?”

180 View – This article contains detailed analysis by a spokesperson for SAP and Microsoft as to why their system is the best. The SAP argument essentially boils down to “because there is SAP development know-how all over”. The Microsoft argument is the “flexibility to change as your business changes”. Both arguments are interesting but not persuasive. We think that either solution could be the best depending on the circumstances.

ProClarity: If You Can't Beat 'Em, Buy 'Em

April 13, 2006 from SQL Server Magazine - "Microsoft dramatically shook up the business intelligence (BI) market competitive landscape last week with the acquisition of ProClarity, one of the leading developers of third-party analysis and visualization tools for the Microsoft BI platform. The Microsoft press release emphasizes the compatibility of the two companies' visions. The release features a statement from Bill Baker, general manager of Microsoft Office Business Applications, who says the ProClarity acquisition will help Microsoft "build even more BI capabilities into the Microsoft Office system productivity tools people use every day." And ProClarity CEO Bob Lokken says his company shares "Microsoft's enthusiasm for making BI accessible to all decision maker's within an organization."

Although I haven't reviewed ProClarity's latest market-share data, I know that the company was one of the first third-party providers of tools for the Microsoft BI space and is widely regarded as one of the best BI providers in the market. Microsoft regularly buys small software companies to roll into its own product suites, but it's rare for Microsoft to acquire such a visible, leading player. I've been following the SQL Server space since the product's beginnings (when SQL Server ran on LAN Manager and OS/2), and I can't recall Microsoft ever acquiring a product that has such a significant market share in a mature market segment--at least in the SQL Server space. (I'm sure someone will quickly point out some major event I've missed, and I'll be glad to pass that info along next week!)

I worked with the first release of the ProClarity platform and attended one of the company's earliest partner-training events in the days of SQL Server 7.0. I remember joking with CEO Bob Lokken, "So, when is Microsoft going to buy you?" From the start, ProClarity's offering was strong, especially when compared to the weak Microsoft offerings of the time, which relied on Microsoft Office as a BI front end. In addition, the ProClarity platform did a great job of leveraging Microsoft technology.

The move to acquire the mature ProClarity product raises some interesting questions:
Will Microsoft integrate ProClarity into existing Microsoft tool offerings (i.e., Office), or will ProClarity become a standalone, high-end product? What does this acquisition mean for other third-party BI tool providers? Which companies will be able to compete, and which small tool companies may go out of business?

Microsoft hasn't revealed whether ProClarity's platform will be integrated into the Microsoft BI stack or be consumed by the upcoming Office 2007. But ProClarity Analytics is a best-of-breed product, and Microsoft has made great BI-related strides in the upcoming Office release. So tool choices for Microsoft customers are bound to be varied and rich.

I'm not sure I'd want to be a standalone-tool competitor in the Microsoft BI space. Competition in this arena will be tough given the massive upcoming BI improvements in Office 2007 and the acquisition of ProClarity. I'm sure BI competitors such as Cognos and Business Objects are also keenly interested in this acquisition. Microsoft BI has made enormous strides over the years, and the company has become recognized as a leading player in the BI space. The ProClarity acquisition can only make Microsoft an even stronger player."

Microsoft unveils mid-market BI software

March 16, 2006 from InfoWorld - "Microsoft unveiled new business intelligence (BI) software Wednesday that was designed to let mid-market companies use analytics and scorecards to study business data through various organizational roles. BIO (Business Intelligence Optimization) for Microsoft Dynamics SL, slated for release to manufacturing in May, allows business users to build, manage and use scorecards and reports, according to Microsoft officials. Users can then view the analytical reports with Microsoft tools such as Excel, Office SharePoint Services, and other Office products or directly within the BIO application.

Microsoft developed the new BI software with channel partner NexVue Analytics. BIO is built on SQL Server Analysis Services and integrates with SQL Server 2000 and 2005, Microsoft said. The software is scheduled for general availability in June. Pricing for the BIO Foundation, an entry-level option, starts at $3,600 and includes financial analytics and a two-user license. Additional users and project, distribution, and field service analytics solutions can be licensed for additional fees."

180 View - You will find many examples of ERP vendoprs acquiring or developing BI solutions. Sage began selling its version of the eAnalytics Portal authored by Dynamic Software Systems International. Late in 2005, Exact Software acquired Vanguard Business Systems, which makes a BI product. Systems Union acquired F9 and MIS AG a few years ago... ERP systems generate lots of data but without BI it's not easy to get useful information to make decisions.