Today is a time in history where there are more economic factors disrupting the real estate market and operations than ever before. To mitigate this trend and ensure real estate and financial professionals have all the information necessary to make critical decisions, more and more data is being provided to help improve business intelligence. However, this resulted in creating mountains of charts, graphs and documents that need to be reviewed from multiple systems, in order to present a clear perspective of assets, locations, and their operations. This sheer volume of information adds significant overhead to the users and professionals that depend on them.

To address this issue, Grubb & Ellis Company worked with Microsoft and speakTECH, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, leveraging Microsoft Silverlight and Bing Maps for Enterprise, to create a new tool called Spotlight.

Spotlight is a real estate and research mapping tool which provides a rich data visualization and interaction environment for an array of property, location, operations and research information. The layering of a massive amount of data at Grubb & Ellis, over a rich interface, allows clients and professionals at Grubb & Ellis to search, review and collaborate regarding real estates across the globe, in a streamlined and easily accessible manner.

Examples of this type of intelligent data layering are:

• Property Level Statistics and Analysis
• Aerial Mapping Tool
• Market / Sub-Market Analytics
• Competitive / Market Analysis
• Parcel and Other Associated Statistics
• Demographic Statistics
• Economic Development Zones

High definition video of transaction professionals and virtual building tours using Microsoft Photosynth, where available, are also accessible through a single click of the mouse, providing users with unparalleled insight into the information.

A few screen shots of the Spotlight application are shown here:

Main Search and Summary Screen

Property Detail and Business Intelligence Details

Broker Profiles and Property Tours in High Definition

The Spotlight application was completed in just 12 weeks, including significant work on the back-end to integrate data sources and providing them as services.

“The combination of Bing Maps and Sliverlight, has enabled speakTECH to merge the large volumes of structured data with rich interactive maps to create an entirely new generation of applications. These capabilities have enabled Grubb & Ellis to combine time consuming research and analysis tasks that used to spread across many applications, into an single user experience.   Enabling rapid decision support, supports the accelerating needs of today’s sales and marketing teams” Aaron Sloman, CEO, speakTech.

Components from the Microsoft platform used in this project include:

• Silverlight SDK
• Photosynth Silverlight Control
• Bing Maps (Virtual Earth) Silverlight Map Control
• Bing Maps for Enterprise
• Expression Studio
• Visual Studio 2008
• .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), ASP.NET
• Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS)
• SQL Server 2005
• Windows Server 2008

About Grubb & Ellis

Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Over 6,000 professionals in more than 130 company-owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm’s transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise.

http://www.grubb-ellis.com/

About speakTECH

speakTECH is an interactive design and solution integration firm delivering innovative solutions in the areas of Web-Based, Enterprise wide collaboration and Social Computing. We specialize in uniting technology, riveting design and interactive experience into powerful, world-class business solutions. Established in 2005, speakTECH has grown to become a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, National Systems Integrator, and has been honored with numerous design awards.

http://www.speaktech.com/

On July 7th, 10AM PT/1PM ET, Microsoft will be broadcasting the Michael Jackson memorial, live in HD from the Staples Center in Los Angeles using Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming (the technologies used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 NCAA March Madness, Netflix, etc.). And this event will be available worldwide to anyone who has an internet connection.

Memorial Service Live Streaming

Visit the Sympatico / MSN inMusic website, at http://inmusic.ca/news_and_features/Michael_Jackson, for up-to-date content, and special tributes to the King of Pop. The Silverlight player providing the live streaming service will become available at the time of the event (2009.07.07 10AM Pacific Time / 1PM Eastern Time).

MSN Special Coverage

Also visit MSN for additional information and special coverage on Michael Jackson, at http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/music/michael-jackson.aspx. And visit a DeepZoom (also in Silverlight) collage of hundreds of Michael Jackson’s pictures, at http://www.msn.michaeljackson.shoothill.com/.

Microsoft and the Country Music Association are partnering on bridging the cultural divide between the country music world and the world of technology, this week at the 2009 Country Music Association (CMA) Music Festival. Microsoft will be showcasing cutting edge technology few outside the tech industry have seen – including Silverlight with DeepZoom technology and Microsoft Tag.

This is one of the places where Microsoft Tag is being used in a large scale application of digitally “enhanced reality” where the physical world in tied to online assets in meaningful and significant ways. For more information on Tag, see my previous blog post - http://blogs.msdn.com/dachou/archive/2009/01/08/microsoft-tag-interactive-mobile-bar-codes.aspx.

At the festival in Nashville:

• “Cell Journalists” using Windows Mobile - Attendees can participate in the event by acting as cell journalists. Using Windows mobile or other cell phone cameras, pictures taken from the event are automatically uploaded to a shared server hosted by ASP.NET and displayed throughout the event – including the Jumbotron.  Windows Mobile users will have a customized, high-end experience
• “Where am I” using Microsoft Tag and Virtual Earth - Attendees will be able to scan signs located throughout the venues to learn more about the physical environment and what’s happening around them.  Their location will also be mapped via Virtual Earth (Bing Maps) making the task of navigating the enormous number of venues easy and convenient for festival attendees
• “Tag Hunter” using Microsoft Tag - an event wide contest which will be distributed event wide by a legion CMA “Fun Squad” members. Attendees can scan these Tag Hunter cards and find out immediately if have a winning tag!
• “Technology Booths” showcasing Microsoft Surface, Xbox 360, and IE8 – Attendees can drop by Microsoft booths available onsite at the festival, to check email, browse the web, and to check the festival schedule and venue information, etc. In addition, to test drive two Surface tables with a jukebox application, and in-person visits by performing artists. And of course, play the Xbox 360 RockBand Country Track Pack from MTV!

And online:

• “Be This Close” using Silverlight DeepZoom - interactive search game (available on 6/11)
• “Cell Journalists” ASP.NET photo sharing website

Links:

• Main Site: http://cmafest.com/2009/
• IE 8 Web slice : http://ieaddons.com/en/details/music/CMA_Music_Festival_2009/
• “Be This Close” interactive Silverlight game - http://www.cmafest.com/2009/videophotos/games/bethisclose/
• Microsoft page on CMA Site: http://www.cmafest.com/2009/microsoft

Tags and Metadata:

• Twitter Tag: #MSCMA09
• Twitter: @MsftAtCMA
• Blog Tags: CMA Music Fest 2009, Microsoft at CMA 2009

“Cloud computing will supersede traditional IT”, “SOA will enable business agility”, “my way or the highway”, etc. We’ve all heard this type of proclamations before, as many look to the “next big things” in technology to exact sweeping changes and solve many issues; truth is, technologies and tools aren’t as instrumental in influencing progress, as the design and discipline in applying them to specific issues. When used appropriately, technologies and tools can be powerful enablers that bring about change.

To address this, and trying to be a bit more green, our team is hosting a series of live webcasts at noon PST on June 9th – 11th, 2009, which will focus on guidance and patterns for some of today’s hottest topics. Just another excuse to have lunch at your desk (if your time zone is nearby)! :)

Patterns for Moving to the Cloud – June 9
Larry Clarkin & Wade Wegner

Building Silverlight & WPF Applications with Prism – June 10
David Hill

Patterns for Parallel Computing – June 11
David Chou

For more details and registration, please visit http://blogs.msdn.com/sac/pages/council-2009q2.aspx

Overview

This two day training is designed to teach developers how to create Line of Business (LOB) applications using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).  

Day One is an introduction to the WPF graphics subsystem, the tools used to build WPF applications, and the core UI services: styling, data binding, templating, layout and input-
The second day begins with interop (Windows Forms and Win32)  and then quickly dives into LOB topics, including building applications using the Model-View-ViewModel pattern, creating unit testable applications,  implementing data validation, and error handling.  
After completion, attendees will have a solid understanding of WPF, its advantages over other Microsoft UI platforms, and how to use the M-V-VM pattern to create great WPF LOB applications.

Dates, Locations, and Logistics

Los Angeles, CA | 4/24-25 | To register: www.msregistration.com/wpflobLA

Phoenix, AZ | 6/26-27 | To register: www.msregistration.com/wpflobAZ

Registration tips:
If you are not a partner or don't know if you are:
When asked "are you registered" select No.  Select "Visiting partner" under Partner Level.
Get creative on the Partner Type;  if in doubt, we are all "System builders"
Note that registration links with * are not active today (4/2). Sorry for inconvenience, they will all be active in next few days. We blogged all at once to avoid people flying from say St. Louis to LA when they could have driven to Chicago.  We wanted you to know what was coming.  

Format

Instructor-led training from 9 AM to 5:30 PM.   15 minute breaks every couple hours. 45 minutes lunch around mid-day.
Food: Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks are provided.

Cost

The training is FREE! You do need to register prior to the event, but there is no cost.  You can register for one or two days. Registration is first-come-first serve, sign-up as early as possible to reserve your spot!

Agenda

Day One:

• Lap Around WPF
• WPF Tools ( Blend, Visual Studio 2008)
• Graphics Subsystem
• Layout
• WPF Fundamentals and new concepts
  • Application Model
  • Dependency Properties
  • Trees (logical & visual)
  • Events
  • Threading
  • Resources
• Controls
• Styling
• Templating
• Q&A with instructors at end of day

Day Two:

• WPF integration with Win32 and Windows Forms
• Data binding
• Introduction to Model-View-ViewModel
• Commanding in M-V-VM
• Views, Navigation and Transitions
• Data Validation
• Error handling, Model dialogs, Logging
• Unit Testing
• MVVM & LOB tips and tricks
• Q&A with the instructors

About the instructors
Karl Shifflett is a software architect, former Microsoft MVP, current Code Project MVP and MCAD from Bellevue, Washington. He is currently working for Microsoft on the Cider Team as a Program Manager II. He has been designing & developing business applications since 1989 and transitioned to .NET in March of 2003. In April of 2007 he joined the list of WPF and Microsoft Expression fanatics & evangelists. He is a member of Team Mole that delivered Mole Visualizer For Visual Studio to the world. He is the author to XAML Power Toys and loves WPF LOB.  Karl’s Blog: http://karlshifflett.wordpress.com/

Jaime Rodriguez is a Senior Technical Evangelist at Microsoft. He focuses on WPF and Silverlight.   For the last four years, he has helped a lot of enterprises and ISVs adopt WPF in large scale, mission critical, projects. 
Jaime has been doing software development for fifteen years. Prior to Microsoft, he worked at Xerox, HP, Cerner and GeoAccess.   He joined Microsoft 9 years ago, he spent the first four years as an Enterprise Architect Consultant in Microsoft Services, and the last five he has been a client evangelist covering Windows Forms, WPF and Silverlight.  Jaime’s blog is at http://blogs.msdn.com/jaimer. 

Many new and interesting developments on the Microsoft Web platform were unveiled at the MIX09 conference last week, such as Silverlight 3, Eclipse Tools for Silverlight, .NET RIA Services, ASP.NET MVC, Web Platform Installer, IIS Smooth Streaming, Windows Web Applications Gallery, Windows Azure enhancements, Expression Blend SketchFlow, Expression Web SuperPreview, Internet Explorer 8, etc. Here’s an innovative service that was not highlighted during the keynote presentations.

Microsoft Translator

Microsoft Translator, also branded as Live Search Translator, is a free language translation service that can take any text-based content (text strings, HTML pages, XML, etc.) as input, and translate it from one language to another, such as Arabic, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), French, German, Japanese, Spanish, etc. The service has been around for a while, and is very similar to the Google Translate offering.

At MIX09, the Microsoft Research Machine Translation (MSR-MT) team unveiled the web page widget (see the picture on the right), which is a fully customizable widget that anyone can be embedded into any website, and gain the ability to allow international visitors to utilize Microsoft Translator to translate web pages into their languages. I have installed it on this blog as well, and you can find it in the column on the right. Give it a try! :)

To people familiar with the Google Translate service, this may not be anything new (such as hovering on a translated sentence and seeing the original content popup). As Google Translate also provides a widget for people to embed into their websites, and it at this point has a higher number of supported languages. But the user experience in the Microsoft Translator widget is pretty nice. It does not bring the viewer to a new page, but instead, just parses and translates the content in document.body in-line and dynamically. And allows viewers to switch back to the original content by removing the “layer” of translated content.

On longer pages, the running progress of translation is also displayed in a fixed layer added to the top of the page. Closing this “header” layer also flips the view back to the original content. This is a little different from the Google Translate widget’s behavior, where it points the viewer to a new page with an HTML frame at the top. Ultimately they do very similar things, though the newer Microsoft Translator widget seems to have applied a little more user experience design.

SDK Support

Now this is one thing that Google Translate doesn’t seem to support at this moment. Microsoft Translator provides a set of HTTP, AJAX, and SOAP interfaces for anyone to interact with via code. This means any application, whether it’s client-side using JavaScript (which the widget itself uses), Silverlight (C# implementation), WPF, Win32, mobile applications, etc., or server-side (C# using WCF) integration, can now leverage the Microsoft Translator service to translate any text-based content.

The MSR-MT team has provided a live SDK for people to play with, built in Windows Azure, at http://translatorsdk.cloudapp.net/.

A couple of interesting functional features or scenarios with the service API’s:

• Translating individual elements on a web page (instead of the entire page)
• Performing in-line translation asynchronously (thus not impacting page rendering time)
• Performing translation by excluding individual elements, which can be quite useful too if we want to translate the entire page except a few elements
• Parsing and interpreting the language of the input content

This open and accessible services API has allowed Microsoft to provide a number of clients to the Translator service:

• Translator website – enter text or URL to translate and presents side-by-side comparisons of input and result
• Web widget – embeddable widget (one used now on this blog)
• Windows Live Toolbar – a button on the toolbar to translate viewed content
• Windows Live Add-In – another embeddable widget
• Windows Live Messenger Bot – translate via IM’s in Windows Live Messenger
• Internet Explorer 8 Activity – highlight any content on the web page and translate

The quality of translation is very comparable to Google Translate. I didn’t do an exhaustive study of the results, but just comparing a few pages translated to Chinese, I found things that were better on both services.

And of course, this is not all. The MSR-MT team is busy working on a number of enhancements and new features. Read their blog at blogs.msdn.com/translation for more details, and new announcements as they become available.

Team System “Big Event”

A Day in the Life of Scrum with Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server

Please join Microsoft and Neudesic for a day in the life of Scrum with Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server!  Agile methods are a set of development processes intended to create software in a lighter, faster, more people-centric way. Many development teams have adopted "agile" methodologies to manage change and to improve software quality. These methodologies promote continuous integration as a practice to build and test software products incrementally as new features are included, bugs are fixed, and code is re-factored.

If you missed the first series of Agile & Scrum Essentials last fall; here’s your chance to attend the follow-on event where we’ll briefly revisit the basics of Agile and Scrum and provide a walkthrough of how to configure Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server for Scrum.  Participants will be familiarized with how key artifacts are managed within this popular process template for enacting Scrum in organizations.  

Join us for this interactive event as we explore a “day in the life of a Sprint,” that will give you a practical perspective of how Scrum teams leverage Visual Studio Team System for end to end management of the planning, execution and control of Scrum projects. The day will end with an overview of what’s coming in Visual Studio Team System 2010!

Register for a date & location near you

Welcome: 8:30 AM
Seminar: 9:00 AM-4:30 PM

To Register by Phone –
Call 1.877.MSEVENT (1.877.673.8368) with invitation code.

April 2, 2009 - Bellevue, WA
Click here to register with invitation code: 46F263.

April 9, 2009 - Portland, OR
Click here to register with invitation code: ED7794.

April 7, 2009 - Salt Lake City, UT
Click here  to register with invitation code: FF5466.

April 14, 2009 - San Diego, CA
Click here  to register with invitation code: 1A8639.

April 16, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA
Click here to register with invitation code: A61EB4.

Architect Council  | The Importance of the Client

Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of innovation around technologies that make it easier for the end user of an application to interact with systems.  These innovations have been a boon for the end user because it has provided them a more natural interface with systems that span the web, computer, and phone.  However, this has caused the complexity of systems architecture and development to increase.  The focus of this session will be on how to prepare and manage this complexity within your organization.

Facilitated by Microsoft, the premise of this event is to provide an open forum where architects can meet to discuss technologies with their peers.  This forum will provide first-hand experience and best practices that will enable its members to learn from each other and transfer knowledge. Please join us for this great opportunity to learn, share and network with your peers and other company leaders.

EVENT SUMMARY

The Value of the Client – In the past, the choice of how an end user interacts with an application has been dictated by IT and often without regards to the usage.  Recently, as the population has become more tech savvy and are experiencing interactions on the web, computer, and the phone their expectations have increased tremendously.  Many organizations now have to support multiple standards and technologies to accommodate their user base.  We will discuss the opportunities and challenges this presents.

The Changing Face of the Web – The web has changed from a static collection of data to an application platform.  In many cases, JavaScript and AJAX have enhanced the experience to enable more advance application scenarios.  In other cases, the Rich Internet Application using technologies such as Silverlight and Flash can bring the experience to a new level.  In this session we will discuss the web and in particular the investments Microsoft is making in this technology.

Creating Powerful Applications on Computers and Devices – The web has been a boon to application development and deployment, but it doesn’t always fit every scenario.  There are certain classes of applications which provide a better experience when running on a device and utilizing local hardware.  The ubiquity of the mobile device has also extended the expectations of users with anytime/anywhere access. 

The Future of the Client – The pace of change in client technologies over the past few years has been tremendous and is expected to continue to evolve.  From support of new device types such as tables and walls, to continued improvements in interactions on the web, client, and the phone the client will become more and more important from a technology perspective and more strategic to the organization.

AGENDA

12:45 PM  Open for Dial-in & Announcements

01:00 PM  The Value of the Client

01:45 PM  The Changing Face of the Web

02:45 PM  Creating Powerful Applications on Computers and Devices

03:45 PM  The Future of the Client

04:15 PM  Raffle and Close

REGISTER

To register, please select a date/venue below.

March 31, 2009 | Online Webcast

Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032408787&Culture=en-US

Event ID: 1032408787  *Referral code not required to register.*

April 1, 2009 | Irvine, CA

Microsoft Corporation

3 Park Plaza, Suite 1600

Irvine California 92614

Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399665&Culture=en-US

Event ID: 1032399665  *Referral code not required to register.*

April 2, 2009 | Los Angeles, CA

Microsoft Corporation

333 S. Grand Ave, 33rd Floor

Los Angeles California 90071

Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032404032&Culture=en-US

Event ID: 1032404032  *Referral code not required to register.*

On Thursday, March 26, 2009 - Microsoft is hosting a day long free training event for all Developers and IT Pro’s interested in learning more about Internet Explorer 8. You can read about the speaker line up, sessions and get a feel for the agenda by registering for the event.

Note that this event will be broadcasted online as well. So, if you are not in Redmond, you can watch the entire event online via Live Meeting. Be sure to register for the Online version. All the sessions will be recorded and made available post event.

Register to Attend In-Person (Redmond, WA): http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032406308&Culture=en-US

OR

Register to Watch the event online: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032408665&Culture=en-US

For more details, you can contact Mithun Dhar (Developer Evangelist)

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

I had the privilege of speaking to the community at the South Bay .NET User Group again, on March 12, 2009; onsite at the Honda campus in Torrance, California. Thanks to everyone who made the time to attend!

For those who are interested, the slide decks I used can be found via the links below.

MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF TEAM FOUNDATION SERVER WITH FREE LIVE WORKSHOPS

There is continual pressure for IT departments to accomplish more for the business with fewer resources. Make sure your business application development projects are advancing with the greatest possible efficiency, consistency, quality, and time to market with free ALM Catalyst Live Workshops.

ALM Catalyst Live Workshops are a series of two-hour interactive workshops; repeated over a period of sixteen weeks giving you the flexibility to fit with your schedule.

The ALM Catalyst Live Workshops are designed to enable development teams and achieve these key goals:

· Understand the potential of Team Foundation Server in the enterprise

· Identify gaps in current use of Team Foundation Server

· Create higher-quality, applause-generating software—with less time and stress

Topics covered include:

1. Keeping Projects on the Rails (Reporting)

Status reports shouldn’t be time sinks for teams to create and understand. This topic will demonstrate how Team Foundation Server reports can be easily prepared, keep a project on track and serve as critical decision-making tools to deal with inevitable project changes. Finally, this section of the workshop will feature a few typical “disasters,” preventable with TFS.

2. Avoiding Unpleasant Surprises (Deployment)

Software deployment should not be a dreaded task in the development process. By utilizing automated builds in Team Foundation Server, participants will better understand the health and organization of applications throughout the project, preventing the end-of-project surprise (the “bad kind”). This topic will demonstrate the benefit of automated builds and the calamities they can avert by dynamically assessing build quality.

3. Quality Matters (Testing) 

Quality is everyone’s responsibility. Development teams should integrate quality checks throughout every phase of the development process rather than relegating it as the final, pre-deployment task. By utilizing Visual Studio Team System to manage testing tasks, test types, test automation and test results, quality is always front-of-mind with all team members. This topic will demonstrate how to fully integrate the software development lifecycle with quality assurance.

4. Making Process Stick

Strong process speeds development and increases software quality. When implemented properly process enables development teams and minimizes “workarounds” and inefficiencies. This topic will demonstrate a smoothly implemented process methodology in Team Foundation Server, customized for an organization and embraced by the development team.

These workshops will help you understand and implement Team Foundation Server (TFS) to help simplify and accelerate the software development process and improve quality for teams of all sizes.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER FOR FREE LIVE WORKSHOPS AT:

www.almcatalyst.com

The intended audiences for these workshops are software development leaders and team members who want to maximize the impact of their current Microsoft Team Foundation Servers and Team System projects

Came across a nice feature in Windows 7.

Windows 7 Search

Windows 7 search can help you find and act on documents anywhere in the enterprise, not just those indexed on your local computer. Any server compatible with the OpenSearch standard such as Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007 servers can now be searched directly from Windows Explorer. All you need to do is install a "search connector" pointing to the server location before you can search it. Best of all, search results in explorer get all the normal functionality of files in explorer like drag & drop, preview, open, print, and e-mail.

In Windows Explorer, search connectors that have been installed appear on the left side, in the Navigation Pane. Clicking on one of the search connectors will allow you to type in your search term as you would normally. Those results can then be acted on in Explorer just like regular files. You can also take the same search back to the original website by clicking the "Search on website" button at the top of the window.

If you would like to add additional search connectors, which will allow you to search against other sources like live.com, and more, they can be found and installed from .

The search experience in Windows 7 feels very intuitive. As shown above, a user starts by typing in search phrases to the text field accessible via the Start menu. The search results are displayed immediately in the same Start menu pop-up. The initial view also categorizes search results. On my computer when I typed in “Silverlight”, the integrated Windows 7 Search showed results and number of hits in Documents, OneNote, Outlook, and Files. If I clicked on “See more results” then a more detailed view is shown in a new Windows Explorer window, with previews as well as highlighting of the locations of search phrase matches.

If you are interested in developing your own OpenSearch search connector, please visit opensearch.org (an Amazon website).

Federated Search

Or “aggregated search”. What this means, is that multiple search sources can be plugged in to Windows 7. Now that may not be very useful in consumer scenarios searching against the public Web, as some users may not want the search matches against their private sources to be integrated into matches against the public sources. But this could be very useful in enterprise environments.

And of course, this doesn’t mean that every user should look forwards to configuring search connectors and keeping them updated in order to effectively search against all available sources in an enterprise environment (group policies may help with that, or simply add one search connector pointing to the enterprise search source), and this doesn’t mean a replacement to an integrated/federated enterprise search solution. But at the very least this can provide a seamless search experience in terms of integrating search scopes against local (such as all my emails in Outlook) and networked resources.

Another nice thing is, I don’t need to provide access to a search engine, whether public or internal to an enterprise, so that it could index the files and data and assets that are local to my desktop. I can leverage my own desktop environment to index and search against those sources, while federating with networked search sources to get an integrated view across the enterprise.