Gearing up for the Brave New World - download.microsoft.com · Gearing up for the Brave New World Dear Friends, It was in late 2005 that Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect

M I C R O S O F T I N T E R F A C E • J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 0 7 1

c h a i r m a n ’ s m e s s a g e

Gearing up for the Brave New WorldDear Friends,It was in late 2005 thatMicrosoft Chairman andChief Software Architect BillGates outlined thecompany’s vision foradvanced productivitytools that would empowerinformation workers tobecome more efficient in the“New World of Work.”

The vision has foundreflection in Microsoft’smost significant product launches inrecent times—the new Vista OS, the 2007Office system and Exchange Server2007—offerings that address thechallenges faced by knowledge workers.

Clearly in the new world of worksoftware plays a major role. It helps anorganization’s People, its key strength,to become more efficient and productiveand make better, more “educated”decisions. This in turn, impacts theoverall business performance of thecompany, enabling it to achieve its goalsand greater competitiveness in a secureand familiar environment.

This rule applies to all types oforganizations, particularly in theGovernment sector, where the new worldof work encompasses large mission-critical networks, that carry terabytes ofdata and provide e-services to citizens.Here, the imperative is to ensure that theinformation remains secure, private,relevant and insightful to the end-user.

Imagine, for instance, a person re-applying for a driving license, and theofficial at the counter receiving an alerton his computer about a recent accidentthat the applicant was involved in. Inthis case, the official would have beforehim the complete profile of theapplicant—his driving history, details of

I S S U E 4 | J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 0 7

vehicles driven, challans imposed—anda report card stating the reasons whyhe should be accepted or rejected. Nowthat would be technology at itsintelligent, empowering best. Or thensomeone filing his income tax returns,receiving a five-year chart stating whenhe paid his tax, how much he paid andwhether any extra fines were involved.

Similar uses of technology andpowerful software by say, the policeforce, to quickly identify and track downcriminals, healthcare officials to monitorthe impact of a polio campaign in a smallvillage, and scientists to interpretseismic data and make projections aboutthe next big earthquake or Tsunami totouch India’s coastline—are alreadybecoming a reality in today’s new worldof work.

Of courses, related to this intelligentuse of technology is the issue of trainingpeople to work on it and optimally derivebenefits from it. Knowledge workersmust be geared up for the new digitalworkstyle.

A brave new world of work isopening before all of us. Let’s take fulladvantage of it.

Ravi VenkatesanChairman, Microsoft India

c o n t e n t s

THEME:

The New World of Work

2 2 2 2 2 IN FOCUSIN FOCUSIN FOCUSIN FOCUSIN FOCUS

Entering into the New

World of Work

4 4 4 4 4 INTERVIEWINTERVIEWINTERVIEWINTERVIEWINTERVIEW

“Workflow-based solutions

are revolutionizing the

Government workspace by

bringing in speed in decision

making.”

—Tanmoy Chakrabarty,

Vice President & Head, Global

Government Industry Group, Tata

Consultancy Services Limited

66666 TECH TRENDS TECH TRENDS TECH TRENDS TECH TRENDS TECH TRENDS

Windows Vista. 2007 Office

System. Exchange Server

2007:

Power. Performance.

Partnership.

88888 CASE STUDY CASE STUDY CASE STUDY CASE STUDY CASE STUDY

Infosys Embraces Microsoft

Vista and the New World

of Work

Among the early deployers

of Windows Vista in India,

Infosys expects the OS to help it

improve internal operations and

establish it as a technology leader

in the eyes of customers.

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12 12 12 12 12 FACTS & FIGURESFACTS & FIGURESFACTS & FIGURESFACTS & FIGURESFACTS & FIGURES

2 M I C R O S O F T I N T E R F A C E • J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 0 7

actions. Nurses being able to simplifytasks like scheduling, record retrievaland status reporting.

Next-generation monitors, or eveningestible or implanted RFID (radiofrequency identification), devices,providing rich real-time information onpatient health, monitoring the qualityand regulating the release of medication.Outpatients being monitored remotely,with care dispatched automatically in theevent of an emergency.

Something straight out of a sci-fifilm? Hardly.

This is just a small instance of whatthe future holds. A future that is beingdefined by the new world of work!

Quality healthcare for its citizens,one of the most important priorities forGovernments across the globe,including developing nations such asIndia, is just one of the areas that will beimpacted by the new world of work. Fromlearning and education to the waymanufacturing, retail, travel andagriculture is done—the all pervasive,

“new world of work” will transformworkstyles, 21st century Governmentand private organizations and the newage workers in these enterprises.

But what exactly is this new worldof work?

Ushering in the New Work Space

The arrival of the digital era hastransformed the way we live and work.The old order has indeed changed, givingplace to the new and technologicalinnovation is altering the look and feel ofthe emerging workplace. IT isempowering companies, and their peopleto realize their own potential in thisenvironment and deal with the immenseinformation, that is being generatedwithin the digital organization.

Technology innovation is in facthelping combat the challenges beingexperienced by people operating within thedigital bubble. Workers today, for instance,are challenged not just by numerousmeetings, phone calls and drop-ins bycolleagues, but by e-mail, instantmessaging, unsatisfying search engineresults and less-than-relevant Internet sites.

Recent industry research haspointed out that information workersspend up to 30 percent of their workingday just looking for data they need.Further studies from Ford Motor andAIIM suggest that information workersspend 15-25 percent of their time on non-productive information-related activities.The new world of work is completelychanging this scenario, helping peopledeal with the information overload andaddress the pain points.

Characterized by instantcommunication, always on-alwaysavailable wireless networks, powerful andversatile software and computing

Scenario: Not so far into the future.Situation: A medical consultant awaitshis next appointment, armed with a hostof “smart documents,” and informationabout just who he needs to interact within the healthcare system quickly, toprovide the most comprehensive adviceto his patient.

He logs into his sleek computerusing biometric authentication forsecurity and single sign-on. When thepatient arrives, he clicks a few keys toaccess the latest pathological reports,X-rays and MRI scans. Studying thesedocuments, he uses natural languageand speech recognition technology tosimply “dictate” his diagnosis andanalysis into the computer. For gainingbetter insights and clarifications in acertain MRI report, he simply dials intothe computer of the radiologiststationed a few miles away and “chats”with him on the case.

Now replay this scene with amedical practitioner in a remote Indianvillage, who uses all of the above toolsand technologies to provide state-of-the-art diagnosis to a poor rural citizen.Using broadband connectivity andpowerful software he is even able tointerface with a “specialist” at a topcity hospital, to confirm his opinion,and provide high quality medical careto someone on the other side of thedigital divide. And all this at the clickof a few keys!

Digital motion capture tied tosurgical instruments. “Smart” medicalenvironments that can record and adjustconditions. Adaptive filtering based onmachine learning and patternrecognition to automate a great numberof administrative or information seeking

i n f o c u s

Entering

into the

New World of Work

The arrival of the digital

era has transformed the

way we live and work.

The old order has indeed

changed, giving place to

the new and

technological innovation

is altering the look and

feel of the emerging

workplace.


systems, the new world of work isproviding knowledge professionals withrich tools that help them sift throughvoluminous data and content to find therelevant nuggets that make them evenmore productive and effective. Today’sworkers are using these tools to bettermanage and utilize the vast sea ofinformation, and convert it into greaterinsight for better decision making. At theexecutive level, insights gleaned frombusiness intelligence, is enabling leadersto improve their people and processes.

The new world of work is witnessingthe rise of software, which is replacingthe complexity of the workplace withcontext sensitive views that are helpingleaders and knowledge workers takemeaningful action. It is also setting thestage for the next phase of evolution,where solving more sophisticated userneeds will become a key priority for ITsolutions providers.

How We Will Work

Over the next decade, companies suchas Microsoft are seeing a tremendousopportunity in the new world of work,where they will focus on helpingcompanies of all sizes maximize the impactof employees and workgroups, drivedeeper connections with customers andpartners, enable informed and timelydecision-making, and manage andprotect critical information.

The next generation of information-worker applications will build on promisingtechnologies—such as machine learning,rich metadata for data and objects, newservices-based standards for collab-oration, advances in computing anddisplay hardware, and self-administering,self-configuring applications—transform-ing them into software that will trulyenhance the way people work.

• Improving personal productivityOne consequence of an “always-on” environment is the challenge ofprioritizing, focusing and workingwithout interruption. Tomorrow’ssoftware will learn from the waypeople work, understand theirneeds, and help them set priorities.

• Pattern recognition and adaptivefilteringRules and learned behavior will soonbe able to automate many routine

i n f o c u s

tasks. Software will be able to makeinferences about what informationprofessionals are working on anddeliver the information they need inan integrated and proactive way.

• Unified communicationIntegrated communication will providea single “point of entry” to thenetworked world that is consistentacross applications and devices. It willgive people a unified, complete viewof their communication options,whether by voice or text, real-time oroffline, with ready access to tools likespeech-to-text and machinetranslation. They will be able to listento e-mail, or read their voicemail. Projectnotifications, meetings, businessapplications, contacts and scheduleswill be accessible within a singleconsistent view, whether they’re attheir desk, down the hall, on the roador working at home.

• PresenceThe world is only just beginning totap the potential of presenceinformation to help information andnotifications flow where they’reneeded and better enable ad-hoccollaboration to solve problems andget things done. Presenceinformation connects people andtheir schedules to documents andworkflow, keeping them close to thechanging data and expert insight thatis relevant to what they’re doing.

• Team collaborationOver the next decade, shared

workspaces will become far morerobust, with richer tools to automateworkflow and connect all the people,data and resources it takes to getthings done. They will capture livedata and documents in ways that willbenefit teams that work across thehall or around the globe. Meetingswill be recorded with sophisticatedcameras that can detect and focuson speakers around the room. Notestaken on a whiteboard willautomatically be captured and e-mailed to participants, and attachedto the video of the meeting. Theywill also serve as lasting repositoriesfor institutional knowledge, so teamswon't have to “reinvent the wheel.”

• Optimizing supply chainsXML and rich Web services arealready making it possible forbusinesses to seamlessly shareinformation and processes withpartners, and build supply chainsthat stretch across multipleorganizations but work as a unifiedwhole. Going forward, Web serviceswill help optimize and reduce theamount of unnecessary manual workundertaken across the supply chainand make it more efficient.

• Finding the right informationA new layer of context-sensitiveservices will provide professionals withflexible and intuitive ways to manageinformation that goes beyond the “fileand folder” metaphor of today. Patternrecognition will help tag and organizeinformation automatically, as well asextract meaning from documents andenable them to be queried in morenatural and intuitive ways.

• Spotting trends for businessintelligenceSophisticated algorithms will be ableto sort through millions of gigabytesof data to identify trends that humananalysts might miss. Software will beable to find meaningful connectionsin mountains of data and presentthem to experts—or even automatedprocesses—that can act on them.Clearly the new world of work willchange lives and workstyles. Peoplemust tune to it quickly.

Workers today are

challenged not just by

numerous meetings,

phone calls and drop-ins

by colleagues, but by

e-mail, instant

messaging, unsatisfying

search engine results

and less-than-relevant

Internet sites.


Q

i n t e r v i e w

“Workflow-based solutions are

revolutionizing the Government

workspace by bringing in speed

in decision making.”

—TANMOY CHAKRABARTY, Vice President & Head,

Global Government Industry Group, Tata Consultancy Services Limited

How is India and particularly Government

organizations in the country, opening up to

the “new world of work?”

India is undergoing a greattransformation, in terms of newlyemerging workstyles and the arrival ofthe highly connected and automatedworkplace. Government organizations inparticular, are beginning to leverage thepower of technology and state-of-the-art software to ensure better networkingand knowledge sharing betweenemployees, greater efficiency,productivity and customerresponsiveness. Governmentorganizations are embracing the “newworld of work” by deploying leading-edge IT solutions, and harnessing theInternet and Web to improve theirservice delivery.

Today, Technology is becomingintegral to the concept of policy.Through the use of technology, a taxadministration, for example, ismodernizing its service delivery torealize processing efficiencies whileregaining millions of rupees in unpaidtax. A tourism portal is helping increaseGDP. A government employment agencyis demonstrating that its online Webservices job-brokerage operationreduces the frictional cost ofunemployment. Technology is trulybecoming one of the most powerfulpolicy tools for the twenty-first centuryGovernment organizations.

How can today’s workers enhance their

ability to do new things with technology?

The availability of relevant technologyis enabling today’s workers to do thingsthey were unable to do before. Take forinstance, the advances taking place instorage technology. The ability to store

information, is improving at a rapid rate.While in the past, it would have beenimpractical to think about storing all thetraining videos available within anorganization and making them easilyaccessible and navigable to employees,or even where appropriate, to citizens,today the costs have come down. It ispossible now for today’s workers torefresh their skills, or stay in touch evenif they work at a distance. The cost ofdisk technology then, has been a majorenabler for today’s knowledge workers.Taking another example, workflow-based solutions are revolutionizing theGovernment workspace by bringing inspeed in decision making, transparency

in day-to-day operations and helpingthem deal with the challenges posed bynew legislations such as the Right toInformation Act. Other similartechnologies are benefiting new ageworkers in many ways.

How can they improve collaboration?

Powerful software coming out fromorganizations such as Microsoft—Windows Vista and Office 2007—ishelping improve collaboration among21st century knowledge workers. Theseofferings integrate all the differentmodes of communication thatinformation workers use—from instantmessaging to phones to Web portal sitesto e-mail—so that end users caneffortlessly share information betweenthese different channels without reallyhaving to think about which one they’reusing.

They take into account the fact thatwhen sharing things in a collaborativeway, what users really want to do is beable to create Web sites without anyprogramming. And that’s what has beenhappening with the new version ofproducts such as Microsoft OfficeSharePoint Portal Server. The idea is forpeople to say, ‘okay, I want to have adiscussion group about this topic. Iwant to have blogging, or editing thingson the public Internet, and I want it tobe secure, administrable by my keypeople, backed up the right way.’ ITcomplexity that comes with enablingcollaboration over organizationalboundaries has been addressed bymaking it easier to set up and use sharedworkspaces in products such asSharePoint Portal Server.

How is TCS stepping up its role in this

Through the use of

technology, a tax

administration is

modernizing its service

delivery to realize

processing efficiencies

while regaining millions

of rupees in unpaid tax.

A tourism portal is

helping increase GDP. A

government employment

agency is demonstrating

that its online Web

services job-brokerage

operation reduces the

frictional cost of

unemployment.


Q&Anew world of work?

TCS has reinforced its commitment toMicrosoft’s newest product lines andannounced its early expertise as aTechnology Adoption Partner (TAP) forMicrosoft SharePoint Products andTechnologies. In order to takeadvantage of Microsoft OfficeSharePoint Server 2007’s enhancedworkflow and content managementcapabilities, TCS has invested heavilyin training and asset creation to helpclients adopt these new technologiesearly on. TCS is ready to deliver serviceson Microsoft’s new range of products.With our expertise in emergingtechnologies, combined with our strongpartnership with Microsoft, we are readyto help organizations take advantage ofthese new technologies. We are alsoexcited about the advances in Office2007, that will let users securely connectwith trusted partners outside of theircorporate firewalls to share documentsand track issues at a moment’s notice,from anywhere and at any time that theyhave Internet access.

What are the kind of products that are

needed today to address this emerging

world of work? What features and

capabilities do you believe will be crucial

for Government organizations?

Going forward, four capabilities,identified as priority investments, willbe fundamental to Governmentorganizations: Document management,CRM/Case management, FormsManagement and Identity Management.Enabling solutions are needed that willtake these core capabilities and interlockthem digitally, leading to the benefits ofseamless data exchange from theelimination of inefficient manualprocessing. These solutions will furtherbenefit the Government by providing asingle view of the customer and allowingit to deliver better services, moreefficiently. The capabilities will helpstrengthen policy and decision makingprocesses, offering fast and appropriateaccess to information. The result,Seamless Service Delivery, will offer thetrue citizen-centric perspectivegovernments aspire to have, whilerealizing productivity efficiencies thatcould return millions to their bottom lines.

Government organizations that are

unveiling citizenship initiatives entailing

massive volumes of information face

many challenges today. What specifically

are these and how can they be addressed

through IT solutions?

The regulatory compliance burden,social and generational changes, agingtechnology assets, and emergingfunctionalities—are some of thechallenges Governments face as theymove into the new world of work. Overthe past decade, technology hasprofoundly transformed the way we live,work and communicate. In the decadeahead, technology holds even greaterpromise to truly transform the businessof government. Here’s how newtechnologies will enable Governmentsface the challenges: • Fewer forms and electronic

regulatory processes will optimizepolicy and service deliveryoutcomes

• New information managementcapabilities will enable efficiency

• Real-time reporting will drive real-time policy

• Advanced mechanisms will alleviateidentity-based concerns

• Interoperability will help mitigate theburdens of bureaucracy and legacymigration

• Collaboration will enable timely androbust policy and decision making

How can the Government achieve its goal

of digital inclusion? What are the solutions

available today that can help integrate the

physically, economically and socially

challenged—into the new workplace?

One way in which companies areexpanding access to technology andmaking it available to more and moreunderserved sections of society isthrough localization of language. Inorder to bring the benefits of technologyto the broadest possible audience,products such as Windows Vista areavailable in more than 100 languages.

New software will also enablepeople, who experience physical,sensory and cognitive disabilities to usecomputers. Windows Vista, as we know,includes a new Ease of Access Centerand cutting-edge speech recognitionand screen magnification capabilitiesthat will help in the digital inclusionprocess.

Powerful software

coming out from

organizations such as

Microsoft—Windows

Vista and Office 2007—

is helping improve

collaboration among

21st century knowledge

workers. These offerings

integrate all the

different modes

of communication that

information workers

use so that end users

can effortlessly

share information

between these

different channels.

Technology is becoming

integral to the concept

of policy. Through the

use of technology, a tax

administration, for

example, is modernizing

its service delivery to

realize processing

efficiencies while

regaining millions of

rupees in unpaid tax.

A government

employment agency is

demonstrating that its

online Web services job-

brokerage operation

reduces the frictional

cost of unemployment.


� More than1 billion user sessions to

provide vital feedback for the next

wave of Microsoft products.

� More than 5 billion downloads of

beta versions of Vista, Office and

Exchange server during testing.

� Unprecedented collaboration

between Microsoft and its

customers to design and create the

new Windows Vista, Office 2007

and Exchange server 2007.

� The first simultaneous release of its

flagship products since the joint

launch of Windows95 and Office 95

more than a decade ago.

The “new world of work” is here.And so is the next wave of Microsoftproducts, servers and services.Microsoft has announced the businessavailability of the Windows Vistaoperating system, the 2007 MicrosoftOffice system and Exchange Server2007—all of which are aimed at deliveringthe advanced tools and solutionsneeded to empower customers tosucceed in the evolving workplace.

The aim has been to use smart,simple, pervasive and trustworthytechnology in its products to fulfill thepromise of the digital workstyle andcreate a more human-centric world ofinnovation and productivity.

The company, in fact, began workingto face the challenges of the new worldof work almost two decades ago. Therelease of Microsoft Office 2003 was the

first important step in helping new ageinformation workers survive and thrivein the 21st century office.

However, much more needed to bedone.

Customer-Driven, By Design

The next wave of Microsoft Officeproducts represent that “much more.”The products are designed around fivegeneral areas that customers haveidentified as important needs: individualimpact, collaboration, knowledge

t e c h t r e n d s

discovery and insight, enterprisecontent lifecycle, and informationsolution IT fundamentals.

In order to identify these fivefundamental areas, Microsoft’sdevelopment team undertook thousandsof hours of primary research includingvisiting customers in what the companycalled “Office 9 to 5 Studies.” As part ofthe research, Microsoft watched howpeople worked to identify the pain points.The company’s customer advisorycouncils and partner advisory councilsalso provided detailed feedback abouthow Microsoft’s plans measured up totheir expectations and needs.

The other thing that Microsoft didwith the new products was to get theminto the hands of customers early in thedevelopment cycle so that feedbackcould be elicited and integrated into theofferings. More customers, for instance,helped Microsoft test “Office 12” (as theproduct was code named) than anyother previous release.

Recognizing that customers werelooking to use more of the power ofWindows and Microsoft Office softwarebut were struggling to discover the toolsthat were available and figure out howto use them, the next wave of productsincorporated features that would helppeople get results faster. Here’s how:

• there are new tools in MicrosoftOffice PowerPoint that automaticallyapply professional-quality formatt-ing and layout to slides so peoplecan focus their attention on thecontent.

• using Office 2007, people within an

The next wave of

Microsoft Office

products represent that

“much more.” The

products are designed

around five general

areas that customers

have identified as

important needs:

individual impact,

collaboration,

knowledge discovery

and insight, enterprise

content lifecycle, and

information solution IT

fundamentals.

Windows Vista. 2007 Office System. Exchange Server 2007

Power.

Performance.

Partnership.

Windows Vista. 2007 Office System. Exchange Server 2007


organization, it true heroes, cancreate more dynamic documentswith less effort.

• the 2007 Office system is focusedon improving collaboration byintegrating all the different modesof communication that informationworkers use—from instantmessaging to phones to Web portalsites to e-mail—so that end userscan effortlessly share informationbetween these different channelswithout really having to think aboutwhich ones they're using.

• collaboration over corporateboundaries has been enabled bymaking it easier to set up and useshared workspaces in MicrosoftOffice SharePoint Portal Server.

• the new products allow users tosecurely connect with trustedpartners outside their corporatefirewalls to share documents andtrack issues at a moment's notice,

• the products also enhance workers'ability to locate, understand and actupon important information, usingeffective data visualization.Microsoft Office Excel for instance,lets users create real-time visualdashboards and scorecards directlyfrom the data within theirspreadsheets, then share thatbusiness intelligence in a centralMicrosoft Office SharePoint portalsite or workspace for others to viewand expand upon with their insights.

Something for the CIOs

As far as IT managers are concerned,there’s much they can look forward toin the new Microsoft launches. Besidesbeing able to create content easily,Microsoft Office will enable ITdepartments to manage that contentinside an organization using the newservers and services. For example,organizations will be able to centrallydefine expiration and archival policiesfor the content, as well as establishthe consistent approval workflows

Here’s why Microsoft Chairman Bill

Gates believes the new Windows

Vista, 2007 Office System and

Exchange Server 2007 will transform

the way people work and play:

¶ Windows Vista and Office 2007

feature dramatic graphic

enhancements to the interface

that make the desktop more

visually exciting and significantly

easier to use.

¶ With simple and intuitive tools,

consumers can easily create and

share digital documents, photos,

music and videos, participate in

digital communities, and play

online and offline games.

¶ With Windows Vista, consumers

will be able to experience all

kinds of entertainment—from

television to video games to

music and movies—how and

when they want

¶ Keeping in touch with family,

friends and colleagues using e-

mail, voice recording or video will

be richer and more convenient.

¶ Redesigned user interfaces will

increase productivity and ease-

of-use, helping consumers and

small businesses produce

documents—from a marketing

plan to a child’s birthday

invitation—that look better and

are more professional in less

time.

¶ Windows Vista and Microsoft

Office 2007 will continue to

improve access to information

with new tools that make it easy

to find the right piece of informa-

tion—be it an e-mail message,

image, note or media clip—no

matter where it is stored.

¶ Security is also more robust in

the new releases. Features such

as Windows Defender will help

protect consumers against

attacks from spyware and

malicious Web sites, while other

enhancements will safeguard

personal information.

Blending Work and Pleasure

“In a new world of work,

where collaboration,

business intelligence and

prioritizing scarce time and

attention are critical factors

for success, the tools that

information workers use

must evolve in ways that do

not add new complexity for

people who already feel the

pressure of an "always-on"

world and ever-rising

expectations for

productivity.”—Bil l GatesBi l l GatesBi l l GatesBi l l GatesBi l l GatesChairman and

Chief Software Architect,Microsoft


t e c h t r e n d s

Microsoft Windows Vista and

Microsoft’s Accessible Technology

Group, are making it easier for people—

particularly individuals with disabili-

ties—to see, hear and use computers

and contribute to the new world

of work!

EASE OF ACCESS CENTER

Windows Vista includes a new

Ease of Access center (located in the

Control Panel), where anyone can turn

on accessibility settings and tools. A

questionnaire helps users decide which

accessibility settings or tools to use.

Users answer questions about their

experience performing routine tasks,

such as reading a newspaper. Based on

those answers, Windows Vista provides

a personalized recommendation for

accessibility tools and settings in the

operating system that are likely to

improve their ability to see, hear, and

use the computer.

NEW TECHNOLOGY IN WINDOWS

VISTA ENHANCES ACCESSIBILITY

The new Speech Recognition experience

in Windows Vista is designed to

empower people to interact with their

computers by voice. This is particularly

important for people who have difficulty

with dexterity or limited use of their

hands and arms, because it reduces or

eliminates their need for a mouse and a

keyboard while enabling them to

needed to meet compliance, reportingand accuracy standards. This meansthat IT managers gain the control theyneed while information workers cancontinue using Microsoft OfficeOutlook, Word, Excel and PowerPointtools to create content that naturallyrespects the central content lifecyclepolicies.

Benefiting Developers and

Partners

Microsoft has a huge focus onembracing open XML standards in thenew Office to make it far easier for thesoftware to interoperate effectively withcompanies' back-end systems. Thisdeeper incorporation of XML will allowcorporate developers and Microsoft

quality by providing increased testing

support and a new way of doing

automated UI testing for software

developers.

partners to build unique solutions ontop of the work that it has already done.Another exciting scenario that thisenriched XML support will open up isthe ability to create easy-to-useMicrosoft Office InfoPath forms thatallow workers, such as a company's salesforce, to extract and analyze data fromtheir company's customer relationshipmanagement system without ever leavingthe Office interface or having to worryabout what's taking place on back-endsystems.

The new products from Microsoftwill help new age workers combat theproblems in the complicated workscenario, bringing in new conveniences,new efficiencies and new levels ofproductivity.

maintain or increase their produc-

tivity. Speech Recognition in

Windows Vista allows users to

dictate documents and e-mail

messages, fill out forms on the

Web using voice commands, and

seamlessly manage Windows

Vista and their applications by

saying what they see.

Also in Windows Vista, Microsoft

has added a new magnification

layer to the graphics stack that is

used to display the user interface.

Having this capability in the core of

Windows significantly improves

the quality of magnified screen

images and improves the readabil-

ity of scaled text for people with

low vision.

MICROSOFT UI AUTOMATION IN

WINDOWS VISTA

One of the most innovative aspects

of Windows Vista is a new

accessibility and automated testing

model called Microsoft UI Automa-

tion, which reduces development

costs not only for accessible and

assistive technology (AT) develop-

ers, but also for application

developers who make their

software compatible with AT

products such as screen readers for

people who are blind. Microsoft UI

Automation also improves product

The aim has been to use

smart, simple, pervasive

and trustworthy

technology in its

products to fulfill the

promise of the digital

workstyle and create a

more human-centric

world of innovation and

productivity.

Digital Inclusion


The Situation

Enhancing its credibility in the eyes ofits customers was an important driverfor Infosys when it decided to take arelook at its existing IT infrastructure.As a leading IT-BPO services providerin India, the company needed to deploycutting-edge technologies within itsown realm to sustain its image of atechnology leader among clients. Thecompany also needed to provide itsmammoth global workforce—of which20 percent worked remotely—withsecure, “encrypted,” anytime-anywhereaccess, creating the same “userexperience” they would enjoy within theoffice scenario.

In order to do so, Infosys waslooking at moving from its current ITenvironment to a centralized andcommonly managed one, whileenhancing its security, infrastructureand mobility. As part of this move, thecompany decided to rank among theearly bird implementers of Microsoft’snew Operating System and harness itsbenefits.

The Solution

Infosys partnered with MicrosoftConsulting Services to undertake a 35-user test deployment of Windows Vistaand the Office System. As part of thisinitiative, a single image for all corporatePCs was created using the WinPEimaging system, eight applications weretested and packaged on the image, thesecurity settings were configured inaccordance with Infosys’ internalsecurity policies, and IT and other staffmembers were provided training on thenew systems.

Following a 20-day rollout, 350systems at Infosys were upgraded to

c a s e s t u d y

Infosys Embraces Microsoft Vista

and the New World of Work

Among the early deployers

of Windows Vista in India,

Infosys expects the OS to help it

improve internal operations and

establish it as a technology leader

in the eyes of customers.

of work, and its employees to 21stcentury workstyles. Going into thefuture, Infosys expects to achieve thefollowing benefits from its Vistadeployment:• Realize cost savings of around

US$150 in avoided third-partysoftware purchases, includingImaging and Encrypt ionsoftware.

• Experience increased control inimage deployment and managementowing to its ability to move fromusing 18 images to using a singleimage, across all countries,regardless of language requirements.

• Enhance security by linkingsoftware and hardware safeguards.Windows Vista’s enhanced firewallnow has the flexibility to beactivated, but still allows access toneeded files and resources in acomplex environment.

• Improve IT infrastructure and lowersupport and management costs.With the centralization provided byWindows Vista, Infosys’ ITmanagers say they will be able to fixmost user problems remotely.

• Patch management, which will resultin time savings, plus ensuredcompliance to latest patchinstallations.

The Road Ahead

The production roll-out of WindowsVista will occur in two phases at Infosys.The first phase, covering 1000 users, willbe followed by a second phase, that willcover the entire corporation. The roll-out will be fully automated using WDSand Microsoft SMS 2003—and usher ina new era of intelligent communicationsat Infosys.

“As Infosys embraces

Windows Vista, our

customers trust in

adopting the

technology increases.

We will also be better

equipped to help our

clients deploy

Windows Vista.”—Kris Gopalakr ishnanKris Gopalakr ishnanKris Gopalakr ishnanKris Gopalakr ishnanKris Gopalakr ishnan,President, Chief OperatingOfficer and Member of the

Board, Infosys

Windows Vista. The Volume ActivationLicense was used to automaticallymanage volume license keys on clientPCs, with a single machine allocated tooperate as the license server.

The Benefits

Users, who were IT staff members,reported a high level of satisfaction (auser rating of 4 or 5 on a 5-point ratingscale) with Windows Vista, especially inthe area of security. Features such asBitLocker Hard Drive Encryption, UserAccount Control, Windows VistaFirewall and Windows Defender, drewthe most appreciation.

Besides the many OS improvements,Windows Vista also earned praise for itsease-of-deployment and management,which was stated to be even better thanWindows XP. Overall, Windows Vistawas found to be more cost-effective,stable, efficient, and secure—a softwarethat tuned the company to the new world


Even prior to the launch, over 350,000Office 2007 Beta 2 CDs and 500,000Windows Vista Beta 2CDs wereaccessed. Over 1500 Microsoft partnersjoined in the readiness programsunveiled by the company, while morethan 40 solutions were developed toaddress diverse business challenges.Additionally, over 1.5 million devicesand peripherals were made available thatworked with Windows Vista, includingmore than 2000 that were Windows VistaCertified.

Customers Give Major Nod to Microsoft 2007 Office

System and Windows Vista

An overwhelming customer response to the next wave of Microsoft products—the 2007 Office System and

Windows Vista—stands testimony to the arrival of the new world of work in India. It also reflects the fact that

the country’s organizations are keenly focused on how they can prepare for the emerging workplace.

i n f o b i t s

troupe, put up a performance.Additionally, Microsoft organized a galaBollywood evening in Mumbai, whereusers from across the country enjoyedperformances by tinsel town celebs suchas Akshay Kumar, Karan Johar, MalaikaArora, Priyanka Chopra, and UrmilaMatondkar.

Additionally, a seven-city road showwas flagged off by Microsoft incollaboration with its partners includingIntel, AMD, EMC, Nortel, Wipro,Kingston and Sonata. The road-showsare taking the company’s flagshipofferings to Hyderabad, Bangalore,Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata andChennai.

With customer adoption crossing8,85,000 for 2007 Microsoft OfficeSystem and 2,00,000 for Windows Vistalicenses in just over a month followingthe launch of the products in India,Microsoft has revved up its efforts tocreate awareness about the offeringsand proliferate their deployment.

To celebrate the launch, thecompany organized a series of “Wow”moments, including an event in Agra,where 70 street children from the NGO,Chetna, trained by Ashley Lobo and his

Microsoft’s Next Gen Vista and 2007 Office System

Key Highlights

• The new products were made available to consumers in 30 countries on

January 30, 2007.

• In India, OEMs, including HCL, HP, Lenovo, Sahara, Wipro and Zenith are

launching a range of Vista compatible PCs to provide users with widest

hardware options.

• Windows Vista, is available in four consumer editions—Windows Vista

Ultimate, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Home Basic

and Windows Vista Starter.

• It is being shipped in over 18 languages including Hindi.

• Microsoft 2007 Office System, includes two consumer editions—the

Office Home and Student 2007 and Office Basic 2007.

• Windows Vista Home Basic is priced the same as Windows XP Home.

Genuine Windows Vista loaded PCs in India will retail at a starting price of

Rs. 22,000., while pricing for the Microsoft 2007 Office consumer editions

starts at Rs. 6,000.

• According to a Capgemini study, early adopters of the new Office system,

Windows Vista and

Exchange 2007 expect

dramatic gains in

revenue, customer

responsiveness, sales

team win rates and

productivity through

capabilities that

address core business

issues

in new ways.

CUSTOMER SPEAK

“We have a number ofcustomized portals andWeb applications built forvarious businessrequirements. Thechallenge was to make theright information availableat the right place, at theright time and to the rightperson. Microsoft’s teamhelped us set up anenterprise searchleveraging the 2007 Systemplatform which enabledproficient searching on aplethora of assets includingfiles, mail folders, Websites and applicationsacross the organization.The solution, currentlyunder beta testing hassignificantly improved theproductivity of our users.”

—Rajagopal SukumarRajagopal SukumarRajagopal SukumarRajagopal SukumarRajagopal SukumarVice President and Chief

Knowledge Officer, CognizantTechnology Solutions


i n f o b i t s

There’s a Point in MultiPoint!

MultiPoint—a simple, powerful andcreative technology that allows multipleusers to share a single PC using multiplemice or other peripherals—has enteredthe classrooms in India. The country’sinfrastructure challenged schools,where 40 students in a classroom haveto share four PCs, are most likely tobenefit from as will the children out tolearn 21st-century skills. The technologywill help shift the student from passiveto active learning, and enjoy thecollaborative experience so created.

Here’s how MultiPoint adds valueto the classroom:• its helps children use PCs to learn

together versus having an isolatedcomputer experience where they’reeach on their own PC.

• when they are accountable for

finding the right answer and clickingon it, their learning goes upexponentially.

• it helps children learn teamwork,collaboration and computerfamiliarity

• it offers a more affordable way todecrease student-to-PC ratios, andprovides a platform for Windowseducation software developers tocreate collaborative learningapplications.The MultiPoint technology –

formerly known as MultiMouse–wasdeveloped at Microsoft Research Indiaand is now undergoing a technologytransfer to the Market Expansion Group(MEG) where it will be further developedand made available for the world’sclassrooms.

Microsoft to Expand

Presence in India;

Reach for the SMEs

Offices in six additional cities in

India—including Ahmedabad,

Indore, Nagpur, Chandigarh,

Cochin, and Coimbatore—which

will take Microsoft’s office tally to

13 cities, is part of its strategy to

actively address the SME market

in the country.

This enhanced presence will help smallercompanies easily access Microsoft’sproducts and services, deploycustomized solutions quickly andreceive enhanced support from thecompany and its partners.

The geo expansion plan will seeMicrosoft set up a direct team in eachcity, and support it with regionalbranches for deeper functional expertise.The company will also forgerelationships with IndustryAssociations in each city to understandand address local business challenges.

MICROSOFT SPEAK

“Small and Medium

Businesses are

playing a key role in

driving India’s growth.

We remain committed

to help them utilize

technology for

empowering their

people; address

consumer needs

better and streamline

their businesses. Our

presence in these

cities will achieve this

much more

effectively.”—Neelam DhawanNeelam DhawanNeelam DhawanNeelam DhawanNeelam Dhawan

Managing Director,Microsoft

As part of its global effort to combat

online child pornography, Microsoft

India, in partnership with the

International Centre for Missing and

Exploited Children (ICMEC) and

Interpol, brought in global experts to

train Indian law enforcement

agencies on technology to investi-

gate online crimes committed

against children. The “Advanced

Workshop on Cyber Crimes and

Computer Facilitated Crimes

Against Children,” was conducted at

the CBI Training Academy at

Ghaziabad.

The training equipped participants

with knowledge about Malicious

Software, Phishing, Botnet Attacks,

Advanced Windows/XP Forensics,

Windows Vista Security Enhance-

ments, and Log Analysis, in addition

to acquainting them with the specific

technologies and on-line methods

used by predators to facilitate crimes

against children.

According to the National Crime

Records Bureau (NCRB), in India

alone, the proportion of cybercrimes

is increasingly proliferating with a

38.6 percent rise in 2005 as com-

pared to 2004.

As part of this campaign,

Microsoft has contributed US$1.5

million to develop and implement a

global training program for law

enforcement.

Taking

Online

Crimes

Head On

Microsoft, ICMEC and

Interpol train law

enforcers to prevent

online crimes against

children


f a c t s & f i g u r e s

Not Finding the

Information You

Want? It Could

Cost You,

says IDC!

The information explosion

in the workplace has

imposed new performance

pressure on information

workers, who now work

with an overwhelming

amount of data and

struggle to make sense of

what they find. According

to IDC estimates, the expense of not finding the information needed

costs an organization employing 1,000 knowledge workers about US$5.3

million per year. Given this staggering opportunity cost as well as the

basic time investment made in people searching for and analyzing

information, it’s only prudent to make the information access and

management process as productive as possible.

(IDC, The Hidden Costs of Information Work, 2006)

Collaboration is a key driver of overall performance of companies around the

world. Its impact is twice as significant as a company’s aggressiveness in

pursuing new market opportunities (strategic orientation) and five times as

significant as the external market environment (market turbulence).

Those are the results of a groundbreaking study —“Meetings Around the

World: The Impact of Collaboration on Business Performance” — conducted

by Frost & Sullivan. The study has defined collaboration as an interaction

between culture and technology such as audio and Web conferencing, e-

mail, and instant messaging, and it creates a method to specifically

measure how collaboration affects business performance.

It shows that a global culture of collaboration exists, but there are

regional differences in how people in various countries prefer to

communicate with one another.

The results indicate that collaboration can positively impact each of the

gold standards of performance—profitability, profit growth and sales

growth—to determine a company’s overall performance in the marketplace.

Global companies that collaborate better, perform better. Those that

collaborate less, do not perform as well.

The “Meetings Around the World” study surveyed 946 information

technology and line-of-business decision-makers from a cross-section of

2,000 small-to-medium, mid-market and global companies in the US, Europe

(France, Germany and the UK) and Asia-Pacific (Australia, Hong Kong and

Japan).2

The researchers created a collaboration index to measure a

company’s relative “collaborativeness.”

New Frost & Sullivan Research

Shows Collaboration

is a Key Driver of Business

Performance Around the World

New Frost & Sullivan Research

Shows Collaboration

is a Key Driver of Business

Performance Around the World

Here’s what recent research has shown about

XML.

: : According to a 2005 Microsoft research,

more than 1 million developers were

creating solutions using Office 2003, and

more than one-third of them were using

XML in their solutions

: : Gartner Inc. has estimated that the use of

XML-enabled e-forms doubled through

2006 (as compared to 2005) and that 40

percent of knowledge workers would use

XML-aware content-creation tools by 2007.

: : Forrester has predicted that XML will

become one of the dominant document

formats for archiving data by 2008.

Yet another IDC report, titled “The road to Open

Document Standards,” based on a survey of

Nordic companies and providing an overview

of interoperability issues and options with a

focus on document standards such as Open

XML and ODF, has indicated the following:

: : the ratings of the importance of Open

XML were generally higher than the

ratings of ODF.

: : the bigger the company, the bigger was

the rating of the importance of Open XML.

: : when analyzing the data by private and

public sectors it became clear that the

strongest segment for ODF was the public

sector, while the importance of Open XML

was relatively stronger in the private

sector compared to the public sector. It

did not change, however, that Open XML

was rated more important than ODF in all

segments in absolute terms.

: : it was also felt that once Open XML was

approved by Ecma and subsequently ISO,

even this position could be contested by

Open XML–if Microsoft could build

enough confidence in the market as to its

"open intentions." An important step in

this direction was the recent collabora-

tion between Microsoft and Novell.

: : Companies looking at open source

software to become more vendor indepen-

dent, rated Open XML higher than ODF.

Documents

Gearing up for the Brave New World - download.microsoft.com · Gearing up for the Brave New World Dear Friends, It was in late 2005 that Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect