Still flying… man, I get a lot of writing in when I’m flying. This flight to Boston is like the flights to Seattle last year. I used to get a ton done on the plane with so much uninterrupted time.
I’ve been trying to get my schedule lined out for the week in Boston at WPC. Microsoft has done a great job of getting plenty of activity on the books for the week. Without shame, I don’t care as much about the conference content as I do the structured networking. I’m focused on meeting other folks like myself and in complementary businesses. I’m going to go to sessions when I’m not in scheduled meetings, but frankly, I’ve booked up most of my afternoons in the structured networking meetings. (Which, as I look into the future, is the thing that’s been the best about the run up to the conference.) I’ll go the morning sessions and a few afternoon sessions, but the content is the content, and I’m assuming it will all be available on CD/DVD afterwards. We’ll see. I hope to meet some great new folks, and I’m looking forward to meetings with people I already know.
So, my predictions:
- I think one of the key messages from the conference will be SAAS… software as a service. Microsoft is moving this way on so many of their products, Exchange, SharePoint, and most recently CRM. I think that their model of allowing partners to sell the Microsoft stack as a service is fantastic. It’s going to allow guys like me to meet my clients needs in a whole new way. I’m hoping that they will exceed my expectations in terms of the products that are moving to a SAAS model. While I don’t believe this will outstrip the demand for traditional licenses, it does meet a definite client need, especially in the midmarket and non-sensitive application area. I think that this hosted model will extend to the types of offerings and Partners that Microsoft is highlighting. I will expect to see Microsoft shine the spotlight on the infrastructure guys (don’t get me started), and I think that the guys who do hosting and network management will get special attention this week. It’s all good stuff for my clients.
- I also think that we’re going to hear a lot about Vista and Office 2007. I’m not as excited about this. I think the delays in Vista and the long-term adoption rate of the Vista OS will not mean a lot to me or my business. (I’d love to be surprised, but I just can’t get my mind around a compelling business case for this.) Now Office 2007 is a whole different story. Maybe because Ty and I have adopted the 2007 beta and think it’s cool personally or maybe because I see the potential productivity lifts for some of my clients, I think that in Office 2007, Microsoft has moved the ball down the field in a big way, and I can’t wait to see what else they come up with for its release. I’m all in!!!
I’ll report in on my perceptions of whether I’m on or off on these two biggies!
