World-Wide Launch and the WOW Effect

Microsoft Office is undoubtedly the most widely used
productivity software in history. Microsoft SharePoint has been the
fastest-growing product in the company's history. Being able to take
part in the joint launch of the new versions of these two products
proved to be all that one would hope for - an exciting experience that
showcased the impact that Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 are about to
have on the way people work with each other and on their own ability to
become more effective at what they do on a daily basis.

The delivery of the keynote by the president of
Microsoft's Business Division, the customers and partners from around
the world who shared their stories, and the location of the event at NBC
Studios in New York City, all contributed to this event being a perfect
kick-off to a series of launch events that will take place world-wide
over the next few weeks and will engage decision makers who are
interested in what Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 can do for them. All
of this was part of our launch plan. What wasn't planned was the
customers' reaction to the demo delivered by Chris Capossela, our Senior
Vice President. Sitting with our customers in the audience and becoming
a spectator myself, I was able to sense how decision makers from
leading organizations responded to the 20-minute demo. Many of them were
pleasantly surprised to see what the new versions of these products can
do to enhance the productivity of people in the companies. Their
surprise was apparent as some of them kept turning around to exchange
amazed looks and comments with their colleagues. Beyond the fact that it
was a great feeling to see customers respond this way to our products,
what was more significant is the fact that most of those customers were
early adopters of Office 2010, SharePoint 2010 or both. This means that
they have already been exposed to the products and have deployed
solutions based on them. Why the surprise then? As part of their early
deployments - oftentimes involving rapid development and deployment
cycles - many of these early adopters have implemented solutions that
are focused on a specific business need and have utilized the feature
sets that are relevant to addressing that need. Therefore, even they
haven't taken advantage of all the capabilities that Office 2010 and
SharePoint 2010 have to offer.

For me, this was indicative of the richness of the
business-productivity platform that is based on those products, together
with Microsoft Exchange 2010, the Office Communication Server (OCS),
and more. Our early adopters were not only excited about what they've
already done, and were eager to share their stories with others, but are
also looking forward to going back to their companies and continuing to
find business needs that require technology-based solutions.

Another thing I thought about while sitting there was the
impact involved in seeing productivity software in action. Sometimes,
and especially with products that span so many business scenarios and
people, reading an evaluation guide, a white paper or downloading a
trial version, aren't always enough for understanding the full impact
such technologies can have on one's company. As a decision maker who
needs to evaluate software and then convince the business that an
investment in that software makes sense, experiencing the software
yourself can go a long way in making your evaluation process both more
educating and more effective.

One way to do it is to find an opportunity to go-through
what we call a Customer Immersion Experience (CIE). This usually
involves investing half a day or a day and participating in a
demonstration of Microsoft's business-productivity tools in one of
Microsoft's locations around the world. During your visit there, you
will go experience the products first-hand, have the opportunity to ask
our experts all the questions that are top-of-mind for you and your
business, and obtain a deeper understanding of what it would take to
boost productivity and efficiency.

To learn more about this opportunity, contact the local
Microsoft office. Much like our products themselves, this immersion
experience is offered "on-premises", at a Microsoft location, and will
also be offered "online", over the Internet, so you can choose the best
option that fits your needs and time constraints.

If you are just starting your evaluation process, visiting our virtual-launch
experience (VLE), would
be a great way to get a first impression of the products and their
capabilities, and to be expose to more content.

All the best,

Gideon