Microsoft has promised a transformation in business
productivity across a range of office tasks when businesses roll
out Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server
2007.
At the launch of Vista and Office 2007 last week, the company
said that in tests of beta products, 79% of users said they could
perform common tasks more quickly.
It also claimed that improved security and administration
features would cut support costs by £18 per desktop per year.
Gordon Frazer, Microsoft’s UK managing director, said, “These
products deliver game-changing innovation. They will enable UK
companies to unleash the full potential of their people to build
profitable relationships with customers, spearhead new innovations
and drive business success.
"Although many customers will deploy products separately,
together they will fundamentally change the way companies get value
from business information.”
Microsoft also said that integration with its Sharepoint Server
portal technology and the extensive use of a new XML file format
would allow users to share work more easily and reduce duplicated
effort.
Microsoft also said the release would benefit the UK economy,
claiming that investment in software upgrades and associated
services, together with increased productivity, would create 30,000
jobs in the UK, according to research it commissioned.
However, Gartner vice-president and research director Michael
Silver said that although productivity would increase, there would
also be some pain for businesses in the transition to the new
system. “For business, the new interface will initially be more of
an annoyance. It is not difficult, but users will need to
adjust.”
The new XML file format could also create difficulties. “The old
file format issue is coming back. There is an XML format in Office
2007, and although you can exchange files, it could result in some
problems,” said Silver.
However, Frazer said any teething problems would be short-lived.
“If there is a drop in productivity in the short-term, it will be
only a matter of days or weeks, or a month at the most, before it
outstrips pre-roll out levels,” he claimed.
Microsoft has recommended that even if firms do not intend to
roll out the new version of Office soon, they should download its
file converters to be able to use documents created by Office 2007
users.
Early adopters
Budget airline EasyJet is one early adopter and plans to use a
desktop “gadget” feature in Vista to allow it to offer business
customers access to flight price, time and availability information
without them having to open a browser. It could also offer flight
times once a meeting had been booked in Outlook, with the aim of
increasing its share of the business travel market.
Another early adopter, Newham Council, had found a 25% reduction
in e-mail because of the greater use of instant messaging allowed
by the new releases.
Through mobile working, home working and flexible working,
Newham Council believes it can achieve 30% reduction in the number
of office desks it requires
Exchange Server 2007 launch
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