Many of you will be aware that the Microsoft Global eXchange (or MGX, or MGB) is happening this week.  This is the week when Microsoft-ies go off together to get trained on the “new stuff”, what we have to sell, how to use the new technologies, and what is coming.

Some VERY cool stuff – first we’ll deal with the relevant stuff for Life Sciences:

1) Amalga Life Sciences – With the acquisition of Rosetta Biosciences, this product has quite a bit potential to have an impact in human health.  What is it?  Briefly, it is an integration engine with an inference engine on top.  But that one line does not do it justice.  Check out the website: http://www.microsoft.com/amalga/products/microsoftamalgalifesciences/default.mspx

2) Forthcoming compliance capabilities in Office 2010.  While they’re still putting the finishing touches on Office 2010, this takes what we did with Office 2007 (particularly SharePoint) and puts it on steroids.  I’m in the process now of re-writing the “Part 11 Compliance” guidance for SharePoint 2007 (available at http://msdn.microsoft.com/architecture/lifesciences) and applying it to SharePoint 2010.  Makes it much easier.  ‘Nuff said.

3) Bing!  i Bing ,u Bing.  This has some real possibilities for Life Sciences companies in a couple ways:

  • Sponsored Targeted search by Therapeutics.  Try this side by side with the “other” large search engine.  Type “Diabetes” into Bing (http://www.bing.com) and into the “G”.  I won’t give you the link ;-) .  Notice the difference:
    • “G” – gives you News on Diabetes as the first link. News!  Who wants news on their disease?  I need treatments, symptoms, diet, prevention, etc.
    • Bing – The first link is a definition (from content provided by Bing Health from Mayo Clinic), but notice on the left: Articles, Symptoms, Diet, Complications, Prevention, and Test – that’s what people are looking for!  Also notice the related searches right under that - “pre-diabetes”, “Diabetes care”.  Helps you sub-set your search instead of pouring through the “blue links”.  Powerful.
  • Sponsored Targeted search by drug name.  Again try this side by side between Bing and “G”.  Let’s stay on the theme of diabetes.  Type in Insulin into the search.  Notice the differences:
    • “G” – A “Wikipedia” entry.  Better than news, I’ll give you that… but still, it isn’t an authoritative source, and I’ll need to dig more to get the info I need, like “what are the side effects”, etc.
    • Bing – The first link is an authoritative article on insulin on “Bing Health” from Mayo Clinic.  But notice the left side: Articles, Side Effects, Ingredients, Drug Interactions – that’s the kind of information people are usually looking for.

4) Microsoft Surface – On the wall – very cool concept.  If you take the visual effects that Oculus put on top of Performance Point (our Business Intelligence offering that’s part of SharePoint) for Eli Lilly (see the article in Information Week), merge those effects with the ability to have a “Wall based” screen and interface, and you get the idea of where this could go: a true “Portfolio Wall” for managing the entire drug / product portfolio of a Life Sciences company.  Very powerful.

As to non-Life Sciences stuff (for now):

1) Project Natal – If you haven’t seen it yet, check out these videos: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Project+Natal&FORM=BVFD# – Full body motion sensing for the XBox… very cool… the concept of logging on with facial recognition is amazing as well.  Don’t know when it’ll be available, but the demos are amazing.

2) Windows Phone – The next gen of Windows Mobile 6.5 – reportedly due out in October – is pretty powerful, but I personally can’t wait to see the Windows 7 Phone. 

More tomorrow, including Social networking and Digital Marketing advances.