In our last (or is that first?) issue Brent and Jesse gave us their impressions of Office 2007. It seems to hold great promise but there are definitely hurdles to implementing it in your organization. It appears that many of the same issues hold true for Vista.

Measuring the ROI of an OS is always a challenge because it’s typically easier to measure the value of the applications that run under it. So for Vista I thought I would focus on the impact to the IT staff and ease of use for the user base. As Monty Python used to say, “And now for something completely different!”

My experience is somewhat limited. I just received my new Dell with a Dual-Core Pentium and 2GB of RAM – a pretty quick system. We were not converting any old applications and I am currently running the full suite of Office 07 along with a few other support programs, so it’s a fairly clean installation.

One problem is drivers. Yep, this one got me, but it wasn’t too bad. It started with the Microsoft wireless mouse, then the USB driver for the docking station, and then the sound port on the docking station. (Gotta have my music.) Time spent researching drivers equals negative ROI. However, Vista did a good job analyzing the problem and automatically returned the site URL for getting an updated driver. It’s a process they call self healing, which yields a positive ROI. I see this as a mixed message for the support staff and users. As time goes on, the driver issue will become less of a problem but in the interim, plan on spending more time here than you initially anticipated (or have become used to with XP).

There are some other Vista features that seem worthwhile:

• Meeting Space – a nice little collaboration tool for networked PCs to share screens and commentary. Seemed easier to use than some of the other tools like NetMeeting.
• Refined Search Bar – shows up in the lower left corner and gives you access to search for just about anything on your system.
• Built in calendar – more readily available than Outlook’s.
• ReadyBoost – this one’s just kind of cool. It can actually use a compatible USB thumb drive as an extension of system memory. I haven’t tried it yet but this could definitely help with some applications.
• Gadgets – I’m sure you’ve heard about these. They are little applets that run in the background and appear in a special window on your desktop. Currently I run a weather gadget (I could look out the window for this same information), and a CPU clock. They are fun but I think their real value is in demonstrating the true potential of Vista as a vastly improved OS for software development.

My biggest complaint – Vista does not boot any faster than XP. However, it does appear to have more reliable Sleep and Hibernate modes, that when used properly, will reduce the need for a full start. Another big plus for the IT group is the fact that the tablet OS is now part of Vista. This will reduce the requirement to support a separate operating system in mixed environments.

I have to admit that Vista has been running pretty reliably. I have only had it hang once so far. There are also new security features that allow the IT staff more flexibility in locking down workstations to prevent unwanted software from being loaded. In the long run this could be a tremendous asset to your staff as they likely end up having everyone set up with administrator rights. Otherwise, they get a call every 5 minutes because one program or another won’t run, but then they also get to deal with the viruses of other rogue applications that come along.

Bottom line – not bad. It’s taken a few weeks to figure out where some of my menu selects are hidden but overall I find things work pretty well. There is definitely a long term payoff to Vista in terms of “potentially” reduced support efforts as well OS and networking reliability. However Vista is still new and you will find yourself challenged by drivers, older system compatibility and other issues. But as we all know Microsoft progress is inevitable and you can pay them now or pay them later.

Additional Resources

Features list

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/accessibility.mspx

Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise and MDOP

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/default.mspx

Microsoft System Center

http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/default.mspx

Microsoft’s Infrastructure Optimization Model

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/infrastructure/default

Filed under: Business Articles on May 31st, 2007 | No Comments »

Should your business upgrade to the new version of Microsoft Office 2007?  Of course it has a new look and some new features but is it really a good move with tight budgets and other expenses pulling you in different directions?  You need to weigh the value of moving to this new suite vs. the actual cost of the software, training, roll-out, and potential loss of time familiarizing users with the new interface.  I’ll try to point you in the right direction, potentially helping to make the choice a bit easier for your company.  Hopefully, our experience at Awecomm and the experiences and resources included as reference will help you make the right decision.

I started by installing Office 2007 Professional  a few weeks ago , getting used to the new interface and discovering features that either didn’t exist in the last version, or that I didn’t know existed.  Honestly, I have been becoming more and more of a fan but translating that into a justifiable financial decision for upgrading has been a little difficult.  I decided to focus my attention on two areas, increased productivity and time saving enhancements.   Although I know in some cases an ROI structured on these factors can look good on paper, but can be hard to measure in actual use, I still feel they are important contributors to making a good business decision.  Because of that I only reviewed features that benefit most users, instead of focusing on a specific group of power users.  As well I only reviewed enhancements spread across the entire office suite.  I did not feel focusing in on an individual product would be fair to users who aren’t even using it.

The most dramatic change is the new navigation.  Microsoft has finally departed with the traditional command-based menu system for a results-oriented style.  This interface presents itself as a series of ribbons located at the top of the new Office applications, designed to help navigate features quickly.  Initial testing, according to Jacob Jaffe, (group project manager on the Office team) estimated a 60-65% reduction in mouse clicks and mouse movement in the new interface.  That could be a serious time-saver to employees that heavily rely upon Office applications in their daily tasks. Enhancements including document themes, and style galleries are not only helpful to build professional-looking documents, but  the new Live Preview feature helps save steps by showing changes instantaneously throughout the document without having to commit the change.  By simply hovering your mouse over a particular theme or style you can view the look and determine if it’s what you want. Either move the mouse away to cancel or click on the appropriate theme to accept.  This feature alone has saved me time in a number of projects.

New features including SmartArt diagrams and updated chart tools provide quick and easy ways to build professional-looking graphics.  With over 80 layouts for creating graphics, such as organizational charts and time lines, SmartArt tools reduce time spent fiddling with third-party applications previously needed to mimic the functionality.  Additionally, the new standardization of charting, used throughout the Office suite, makes creating data driven charts and moving them between documents faster and easier to accomplish.

There are some drawbacks, however.  Office 2007 has once again changed the file format because of a new XML-based file system.  Though there are positives to this, including smaller file size, this change creates extra work for early adopters.  Having to maintain two separate files for Office 2007-users and compatible versions for previous Office versions can become confusing and cumbersome, so I would recommend upgrading your advanced users first and later, rolling it out to the remainder of your staff. This should minimize the confusion and supplemental support needed for the change.

Overall, Office 2007 has a number of time-saving and productivity-enhancing features throughout all of the applications I tested.  There will definitely be a learning curve, but I found it to be minimal and easily compensated for by the advancement of the product. The upgrade cost seems more justifiable for the advanced user – based on complexity of document creation; and a little less advantageous for basic users, where upgrade costs may outweigh the benefits.

The price of the new system ranges from $399 (Upgrade: $249) for the standard edition to $679 (Upgrade: $539) for the Ultimate edition (version comparison chart).  This does not factor in the training costs associated with learning the new product, however.  From my own experience, the learning curve is fairly quick, but I still catch myself digging around for features here and there, which will probably be the case for most users.

My recommendation: Advanced users: yes. Basic users: no. Even if your advanced users only save a few minutes a day due to the enhancements, you can justify the upgrade in a under a year, therefore – if you have the means, make the move. On the other hand, your basic users would likely need a couple years to make the decision financially justifiable. Check out MS Office server technologies to see if there is ample reason to make the move based on other factors beyond time saving.

Resources:

MS Office 2007 Tips and Tricks
http://www.microsoft.com/office/greattips/default.mspx

MS Office 2007 Self-Paced Training
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/FX100565001033.aspx

MS Office version comparison chart
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/suites/FX101635841033.aspx

For an in-depth review of office 2007 check out:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9003994

Microsoft Office Site
 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx

Another review of Office 2007 beta
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/office12_inside.asp

MS Office SharePoint Server Overview
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointserver/HA101656531033.aspx

Ms Office SharePoint Services
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/FX100503841033.aspx

Advantages of office 2007 with MS Office SharePoint Server (MOSS 2007) http://blogs.msdn.com/brittog/archive/2007/02/16/wht-you-get-with-office-2007.aspx

Cool stuff in Office 2007 blog
http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/2592

Advantages to the new Office 2007 file format
http://www.devx.com/MicrosoftISV/Article/30907/2046

Filed under: Business Articles on May 16th, 2007 | No Comments »