Architecture + Strategy : Microsoft

Microsoft Recite – Voice Notes as a Service

dachou — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:23:25 GMT

Microsoft just announced a new service intended for mobile devices, called Recite. In short, it allows people to record voice notes using their mobile devices, and then use voice again to search against saved “notes”, then Recite will “recite” the identified note. More details can be found on the Recite blog site.

Watch the video below to get a better idea of what Recite does:

This is the latest deliverable in a series of mobile applications from Microsoft:

Live Search – local search, maps & directions (Virtual Earth), gas prices, movie showtimes, weather, etc.
Microsoft Tag – interactive mobile bar codes
Seadragon Mobile – Photosynth viewer on iPhone
Recite – voice notes as a service
Voice-driven search – still in the works

Freebie – A t-shirt for Taking a Survey!

dachou — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:42:09 GMT

“Are you a PC?”

Get a FREE “I’m a PC” black, cotton t-shirt by taking a short survey…honest, it’s less than 10 questions! Click here to take the survey and get your t-shirt.

[UPDATE 2009.02.04]: Our apologies – the response has been overwhelming and the supply of t-shirts allocated for this survey are all gone already. We will definitely let you know when there are more opportunities to get freebies!

Check out MSDN for all the latest on Windows®

Legalese:

Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy. Your personal information such as name, e-mail address, postal address, and phone number may be collected if you choose to register to complete the survey to receive the incentive. It will be used for fulfillment of the incentive. Your responses to this survey will not be linked to the contact information previously collected by Microsoft. Your answers will be reported in aggregate with those of other respondents. This survey does not use any cookies or other technologies to track your responses to the survey. Please note that this privacy statement applies only to the [I'm a PC T-Shirt Giveaway] survey. It does not apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, surveys, products or services.
Please contact jolarter@microsoft.com if you have any questions concerning collection and use of your personal information.

Offer good only to residents of the 50 United States (including the District of Columbia) who are 18 years of age or older and are professionals or hobbyists engaged in the field of technology development. Limit one gift per person. This offer is non-transferable and cannot be combined with any other offer. This offer is while supplies last, and is not redeemable for cash. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient. Any gift returned as non-deliverable will not be re-sent. Please allow 6 - 8 weeks for shipment of your gift. We will try to accommodate your shirt size request and will send the next closest size if unavailable.

Series - Cloud Computing and Microsoft

dachou — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:47:24 GMT

This is an ongoing series of posts and studies on cloud computing and related concepts, and the Microsoft platform and strategies. This post will serve as an index of related posts on this blog, and will be updated periodically.

Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing and the Microsoft Platform (2009.01.13)
Multi-Enterprise Business Applications (MEBA) as Cloud-Based Next-Generation B2B Business Processes (2008.12.01)
Cloud Computing and User Authentication (2008.08.19)
Cloud Computing and Microsoft (2008.07.31)
Cloud Computing and Software Clients (2008.07.31)
Describing Cloud Computing (2008.07.25)

Service-Oriented Architecture

SOA – End of Life 2009.01.01 (2009.01.09)
Using Events in Highly Distributed Architectures (2008.11.14)
SOA Change Management Strategies (2008.04.22)
SOA Security – Enterprise Architecture Prespective (2007.10.17)

Web 2.0

Describing Web Platform Stack (2007.12.01)
Web 2.0 – A Platform Perspective (2007.11.25)

Software Plus Services

Microsoft Implementing Software Plus Services (2008.04.15)
Microsoft Platform Overview (2008.04.15)
Talking about Software Plus Services (2008.01.29)

Cloud Computing and the Microsoft Platform

dachou — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:09:14 GMT

It has been a couple of months since I wrote about cloud computing and Microsoft’s plans and strategies. Now that Azure Services Platform has been unveiled at PDC2008, and after having the opportunities to discuss it with a community of architects from major enterprises and startups via the Architect Council series of events, I can talk about cloud computing from the perspective of the Microsoft platform, and the architectural considerations that influenced its design and direction.

Okay – cloud computing today is a really overloaded term, much more than SOA (service-oriented architecture) when it was the hottest ticket in IT. There are a lot of different perspectives on cloud computing, adding to the confusion and the hype. And unsurprisingly, there are a lot of confusion around Microsoft’s cloud platform too. So here is one way of looking at it.

Microsoft’s cloud includes SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) offerings as shown in the top row of the above diagram, such as Windows Live and the Business Productivity Online Suite; and the PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) offering currently branded as the Azure Services Platform. For the rest of this article we will focus on the Azure Services Platform, as it represents a platform on top of which additional capabilities can be developed, deployed, and managed.

Comprehensive Software + Services Platform

At Microsoft, we believe that the advent of cloud computing does not necessitate that existing (or legacy) IT assets be moved into the cloud, as it makes more sense to extend to the cloud as opposed to migrate to the cloud. We think that eventually, a hybrid world of on-premise software and cloud-based services will be the majority norm, although the balancing point between the two extremes may vary greatly among organizations of all types and sizes. As a platform company, Microsoft’s intention is to provide a platform that can support the wide range of scenarios in that hybrid world, spanning the spectrum of choices between on-premises software and cloud-based services.

Thus Microsoft’s cloud platform, from this perspective, is not intended to replace the existing on-premises software products such as our suite of Windows Server products, but rather, completes the spectrum of choices and the capabilities required for a Software + Services model.

Cloud Platform as a Next-Generation Internet-Scaled Application Environment

So what is a cloud platform? It should provide an elastic compute environment that offers auto-scalability (small to massive), and ~100% availability. However, while some think that the compute environment means a server VM (virtual machine) allocation/provisioning facility that provides servers (i.e., Windows Servers, Linux Servers, Unix Servers, etc.) for administrators to deploy applications into, Microsoft’s approach with the Azure Services Platform is remarkably different.

Azure Services Platform is intended to be a platform to support a “new class of applications” – cloud applications.

On the other hand, the Azure Services Platform is not a different location to host our existing database-driven applications such as traditional ASP.NET web apps or third-party packaged applications deployed on Windows Server. Cloud applications are a different breed of applications. Now, the long-term roadmap does include capabilities to support Windows-Server-whichever-way-we-want-it, but I think the most interesting/innovative part is allowing us to architect and build cloud applications.

To clarify, let us take a quick look at the range of options from an infrastructure perspective.

The diagram above provides a simplified/generalized view of choices we have from a hosting perspective:

On-premises: represents the traditional model of purchasing/licensing and acquiring software, install them, and manage them in our own data centers
Hosted: represents the co-location or managed outsourced hosting services. For example, GoGrid, Amazon EC2, etc.
Cloud: represents cloud fabric that provides higher-level application containers and services. For example, Google App Engine, Amazon S3/SimpleDB/SQS, etc.

From this perspective, “Hosted” represents services that provide servers-at-my-will, but we will interact with the server instances directly, and manage them at the server level so we can configure them to meet our requirements, and install/deploy applications and software just as we have done with existing on-premises software assets. These service providers manage the underlying infrastructure so we only have to worry about our servers, but not the engineering and management efforts required to achieve auto-scale and constant availability.

“Cloud” moves the concerns even higher up the stack, where application teams only need to focus on managing the applications and specifying to the environment their security and management policies, and the cloud infrastructure will take care of everything else. These service providers manage the application runtimes, so we can focus on deploying and managing business capabilities, as well as higher-level and differentiating aspects such as user experience, information architecture, social communities, branding, etc.

However, this does not mean that any one of these application deployment/hosting models is inherently better than the other. Yep, while most people look at “hosted” and “cloud” models as described here, both as cloud platforms, they are not necessarily more relevant than the on-premises model for all scenarios. These options all present varying trade-offs that we as architects need to understand, in order to make prudent choices when evaluating how to adopt or adapt to the cloud.

Trade-Offs in the Cloud

Let us take a closer look at the trade-offs between the on-premises model and the cloud (as differences between “hosted” and “cloud” models are comparatively less).

At the highest level, we are looking at trade-offs between data consistency and scalability/availability. This is a fundamental difference between on-premises and cloud-based architectures, as “traditional” on-premises system architectures are optimized to provide near-real-time data consistency (sometimes at the cost of scalability and availability), whereas cloud-based architectures are optimized to provide scalability and availability (by compromising data consistency).

One way to look at this, for example, is how we used to design and build systems using on-premises technologies. We used pessimistic locking, optimistic locking, two-phase commit, etc., methods to ensure proper handling of updates to a database via multiple threads. And this focus on ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the data was deemed one of the most important aspects in modern IT architectures. However, data consistency is achieved by compromising concurrency. For example, in DBMS design, the lowest transaction isolation level “serializable” means all transactions occur in a serial manner (in a way, single-threaded) which promises safe updates from multiple clients. But that adversely impacts performance and scalability in highly concurrent systems. Raising the isolation level helps to improve concurrency, but the database loses some control over data integrity.

Furthermore, as we look at many of the Internet-scale applications, such as Amazon S3/SimpleDB, Google BigTable, and the open source Hadoop; their designs and approaches are very different from traditional on-premises RDBMS software. Their primary goal is to provide scalable and performant databases for extremely large data sets (lots of nodes and petabytes of data), which resulted in trading off some aspects of data integrity and required users to accommodate data that is “eventually consistent”.

Amazon Web Services CTO, Werner Vogels, has recently updated his thoughts on “eventual consistency” in highly distributed and massively scaled architectures. An excellent read for more details behind the fundamental principles that contribute to this trade-off between the two models.

Thus, on-premises and cloud-based architectures are optimized for different things. And that means on-premises platform are still relevant, for specific purposes, just as cloud-based architectures. We just need to understand the trade-offs so each can be used effectively for the right reasons.

For example, an online retailer’s product catalog and storefront applications, which are published/shareable data that need absolute availability, are prime candidates to be built as cloud applications. However, once a shopping cart goes into checkout, then that process can be brought back into the on-premise architecture integrated with systems that handle order processing and fulfillment, billing, inventory control, account management, etc., which demand data accuracy and integrity.

The Microsoft Platform

I hope it’s kind of clear why Microsoft took this direction in building out the Azure Services Platform. For example, the underlying technologies used to implement Azure include Windows Server 2008, but Microsoft decided to call the compute capability Windows Azure, because it represents application containers that operate at a higher level in the stack, instead of Windows Server VM instances for us to use directly. In fact, it actually required more engineering effort this way, but the end result is a platform that provides extreme scalability and availability, the transparency of highly distributed and replicated processes and data, while hiding the complexities of the systems automation and management operations on top of a network of globally distributed data centers. This should help clarify, at a high level, as to how Azure can be used to extend existing/legacy on-premise assets, instead of being just another outsourced managed hosting location.

Of course, this is only what this initial version of the platform looks like. From a long-term perspective, Microsoft does plan to increase parity between the on-premise and cloud-based platform components, especially from a development and programming model perspective, so that the applications can be more portable across the S+S spectrum. But the fundamental differences will still exist, which will help to articulate the distinct values provided by different parts of the platform.

Thus the Azure Services Platform is intended for a “new class of applications”. Different from the traditional on-premise database-driven applications, the new class of “cloud applications” are increasingly more “services-driven”, as applications operate in a service-oriented environment, where data can be managed and provisioned as services by cloud-based database service providers such as Amazon S3/SimpleDB, Google MapReduce/BigTable, Azure SQL Services, Windows Azure Storage Services, etc., and capabilities integrated from other services running in the Web, provisioned by various private and public clouds. This type of applications inherently operate on an Internet scale, and are designed with a different set of fundamentals such as eventual consistency, idempotent processes, federated identity, services-based functional partitioning and composition (loose-coupling), isolation, parallel and replicated data and process architecture, etc.

This post is part of a series of articles on cloud computing and related concepts.

Microsoft Tag – Interactive Mobile Bar Codes

dachou — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:10:01 GMT

One of the interesting items announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week was Microsoft Tag (http://www.microsoft.com/tag). It is a different kind of bar code, intended to be read by cameras in cell phones and mobile devices with Internet connectivity.

Each tag can be generated and managed on the Microsoft Tag website, and each one can be associated with a number of things, such as a URL (link to a website), free text, vCard (electronic business card), or dialer (call-out #).

A reader application is required on the mobile device to interpret the tag, and interact with the Microsoft Tag service to find the associated information. It is available for the iPhone, BlackBerry 81xx/83xx/Bold, J2ME, Symbian S60-3E, and Windows Mobile 5/6. Point your mobile browser to http://gettag.mobi and install.

Of course, this isn’t anything new. Various types of codes have existed for a long time now. A Wikipedia entry on bar codes provides a nice overview, which also shows the HCCB (High Capacity Color Barcode) format Microsoft Tag uses. But now we have a free service to generate and manage them.

There are a lot of applications for this, but in general mobile tagging provides a bridge between the physical and the online worlds. Anything a camera can see, can be embedded with a tag, and associated with a specific piece of content. For example, I pointed my cell phone at my screen to interpret the tag above, and it worked!

Now technically, printing/showing URLs or related information on physical items would do pretty much the same, but mobile tagging automates the human interaction part of it, and we don’t have to read/process the printed information, then data input it into the device to retrieve the information. Now we just need to point the device at the tag, and it will display the associated information. It also means that while the physical tag may be static, the information it is associated can be dynamic. I can print a tag as my business card, and not worry about it being outdated or needing to update business contacts if any of my information changes.

More information available at the Microsoft Tag website http://www.microsoft.com/tag.

Architect Council - Mountain View 2008.11.18

dachou — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:19:00 GMT

Here are the content for the Architect Council event at Microsoft's Mountain View campus on Tuesday, November 18, 2008. We would like to thank everyone who made the time to attend, and sharing your feedback. We appreciate the kind comments, as well as areas we need to improve upon. If you have any further questions and/or comments, please feel free to reach out to us (via blogs listed on this site, our email addresses, or other information contained in the slide decks).

Looking forward to another set of events next quarter!

Microsoft And Cloud Computing

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: microsoft cloud)

Azure Services Platform

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: microsoft azure)

A Lap Around The Mesh Services Woodyp

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: services mesh)

Announcements (PPTX):

Microsoft and Cloud Computing (PPTX):

A Lap Around the Mesh Services (PPTX):

Azure Services Platform (PPTX):

And a couple of upcoming events:

XAMLFest - Dec. 16-18 – Mountain View, CA

http://www.isvconcierge.com/Lists/Articles/DispForm.aspx?ID=335

Architect Council - Dec. 18 - San Francisco, CA

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=5D-BC-15-14-81-B7-05-DA-9F-C0-E7-E4-23-88-67-BE&Culture=en-US

SOA & Business Process Conference 2009 - Jan. 27-30 – Redmond, WA

http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=628664

MSDN Developers Conference 2009 - Feb. 19 – San Francisco, CA

http://www.msdndevcon.com/Pages/SanFrancisco.aspx

MIX 2009 - Mar. 18-20 – Las Vegas, NV

http://2009.visitmix.com/

Tech•Ed 2009 - May 11-15 – Los Angeles, CA

http://www.microsoft.com/events/teched2009/

Professional Developers Conference 2009 - Nov. 17-20 – Los Angeles, CA

http://www.microsoftpdc.com/

TechDays08 Talk - Microsoft Cloud Services Architecture

dachou — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:48:11 GMT

Here are the slides for my talk at the TechDays08 event in Costa Mesa on Thursday, November 13, 2008. I'd like to thank everyone who made the time to attend. Personally I really enjoyed the interactive questions and was glad to share this information with the community, even though I wasn't able to go through the content, and that my demo crashed! :) Lots of interest and questions in this area; please feel free to reach out if you have any as well.

Make sure you check out presentations from my fellow teammates:

SQL Server 2008 for Developers - Lynn Langit
Parallel Programming and F# - Lynn Langit
VSTO App with LINQ - Daniel Egan
ASP.NET 4.0 - Daniel Egan

And also my friend and esteemed colleague Mike Vincent who delivered the presentation on "The Role of an Architect".

Microsoft Cloud Services Architecture

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: services azure)

Architect Council - Cloud Computing and Impact on Architecture

dachou — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:34:53 GMT

Cloud computing is a disruptive force that has the potential to change everything, but how do we take advantage of it? At Microsoft, cloud computing is a major component of our technology strategy and platform, and a rich and massively scalable cloud platform called the Azure Services Platform was just unveiled at PDC by Ray Ozzie (Ray’s keynote). Come for a discussion on how Microsoft’s platform can be leveraged to create a new class of applications that are more connected, dynamic, and can extend existing IT investments towards cloud computing.

Facilitated by Microsoft, the premise of this group 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

Microsoft and Cloud Computing – Cloud computing represents the new wave of innovation that will significantly transform many aspects of computing as we know today. During this session, we will discuss Microsoft’s outlook and strategy in moving towards cloud computing, providing the next-generation cloud-based platform for building services in the cloud. We will also take discuss what cloud-based applications may look like, and how they need to be architected differently from today’s on-premise enterprise applications in various scenarios.

Live Services Platform – A deeper look into the Live Services component of the Azure Services Platform, designed to combine the world of the web and the world of digital devices. We will discuss the underlying service architecture behind this mass-scale cloud service and client platform, and how to build applications using Live Identity Service, Synch Service, Resource Model Service, Device Management Service, Notification Service, and Presence Service.

Azure Services Platform – Discussion on the enterprise-class components of the Microsoft Azure Services platform, with an overview of .NET Services (Access Control Service, Workflow Service, and Service Bus), SQL Services (SQL Data Services, SQL Reporting Services, and SQL Data Analysis Services), and Windows Azure (Compute Service, Management Service, and Storage Service). We will take a look at what these services provide, their long-term roadmaps, and discuss guidance on how they can used.

AGENDA

11:45 AM Arrival

12:00 PM Lunch and announcements

01:00 PM Microsoft and Cloud Computing

02:00 PM Live Services Platform

03:15 PM Azure Services Platform

04:30 PM Open discussion

05:15 PM Raffle and close

REGISTER

Register for a date and location near you! To register, please click on the link below (note - referral code not required to register) or call 1.877.MSEVENT (1.877.673.8368).

November 18, 2008 | Mountain View, CA
Microsoft Corporation
1065 La Avenida, Building 1
Mountain View, CA 94043
Main: 650.693.4000
Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=5D-BC-15-14-81-B7-05-DA-F3-EE-3A-14-5E-8B-0D-10&Culture=en-US
Event ID: 1032393291

December 4, 2008 | Los Angeles, CA
Microsoft Corporation
333 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 3300
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Main: 213.807.7300
Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=5D-BC-15-14-81-B7-05-DA-B5-BB-D8-65-4B-00-E3-8D&Culture=en-US
Event ID: 1032393292

December 9, 2008 | Phoenix, AZ
Microsoft Corporation
2929 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1400
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Main: 602.280.8600
Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=5D-BC-15-14-81-B7-05-DA-F7-7B-61-77-D0-0E-22-EC&Culture=en-US
Event ID: 1032393293

December 11, 2008 | Irvine, CA
Microsoft Corporation
1800 Park Plaza, Suite 1600
Irvine, CA 92614
Main: 949.263.3000
Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=5D-BC-15-14-81-B7-05-DA-68-F5-7D-59-6B-E7-02-AB&Culture=en-US
Event ID: 1032393294

December 16, 2008 | Bellevue, WA
Microsoft Corporation
Civica Office Building
205 108th Avenue NE, Suite 400
Bellevue, WA 98004
Main: 425.705.1900
Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=5D-BC-15-14-81-B7-05-DA-9E-26-99-66-72-50-7D-10&Culture=en-US
Event ID: 1032393295

December 18, 2008 | San Francisco, CA
Microsoft Corporation
835 Market Street, Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94103
Main: 415.972.6400
Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=5D-BC-15-14-81-B7-05-DA-9F-C0-E7-E4-23-88-67-BE&Culture=en-US
Event ID: 1032393296

Event - TechDays 08 Orange County

dachou — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:31:56 GMT

If technology is the backbone of your business, you won’t want to miss out on the TechDays ’08 event in Costa Mesa, CA. Filled with exclusive product information presented by insider experts, TechDays ’08 will show developers, IT professionals, IT executives, and partners how Microsoft technology can take their business to the next level.

Whether you attend just one day or all three, you’ll walk away with a greater understanding of the business value of Microsoft’s technology solutions. Plus, you’ll have the chance to take a closer look at Microsoft’s latest development tools. Check out the tracks below and register for these exciting sessions today!

TECHDAYS - ORANGE COUNTY, CA

November 11-13, 2008
Hilton Orange County / Costa Mesa
3050 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626

WHAT'S NEW FOR DEVELOPERS
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 | REGISTER >

Join us for this free, live session designed to enhance your coding skills and make your life a little easier. By attending you’ll get up –to-the-minute technology delivered by seasoned developers and have lots of time to network and ask questions. Chat with your fellow developers get the latest coding tools and tips and learn how to create rich new applications. LEARN MORE >

SILVERLIGHT 2.0, SQL SERVER 2008 AND VSTO
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 | REGISTER >

Join us for the latest tips, tools and technical information you need to build powerful applications and engaging user experiences. We’ll show you how SQL Server 2008 delivers new development capabilities, including support for Spatial Data types, a fresh storage mechanism and more. You’ll also learn how to leverage the Silverlight platform to build next generation applications for consumers and business, and how Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO) addresses some of the toughest challenges facing today’s Office solution developers. Don’t miss these free, live sessions near you. LEARN MORE >

Topic 1: What’s New in SQL Server 2008 for Developers
Topic 2: Power up your Office applications with VSTO
Topic 3: Build next generation applications with Silverlight 2.0

THE ROLE OF THE ARCHITECT: TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE
Thursday, November 13, 2008 | REGISTER >

In this session, we’ll take a look at the strategy behind the new Microsoft Cloud Services platform, provide an overview of building block services, and show how to facilitate cloud-based transactions that connect multiple organizations. We’ll also discuss the role IT architects play in the success of IT projects. The skill sets and certifications required to be a professional IT architect are still being defined, and we’ll have a panel discussion with local architects on how you can get involved and contribute to the process. LEARN MORE >

Topic 1: Microsoft Cloud Services Architecture
Topic 2: The Role of an Architect, Experiences and Our Profession
Topic 3: Local Architect Panel Discussion

SQL SERVER 2008 ROADSHOW
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 | REGISTER >

Learn more about SQL Server2008 and its new features and capabilities the new enhanced capabilities of the product. We’ll be exploring security and database management, how to best manage your data, and what’s new in business intelligence with SQL Server 2008. Don’t miss this half day event that will give you a better understanding of what SQL 2008 has to offer and how you can best put it to use at your company. LEARN MORE >

Topic 1: Database Management and Security
Topic 2: Data warehousing
Topic 3: Integrated Business Intelligence

WINDOWS VISTA, POWERSHELL AND GROUP POLICY
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 | REGISTER >

Get the latest tips and tools from Microsoft that will make your life as an IT Professional a lot easier. First, we'll dispel some Windows Vista myths and address the top deployment blockers that have been reported. Then, we'll show how you can automate system administration tasks and increase your productivity using Windows PowerShell™. Finally, you'll get the inside track on Group Policy preferences, a new feature in Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 that will help you better deploy and manage Windows Vista and application settings. LEARN MORE >

Topic 1: Why Windows Vista with SP1?
Topic 1: Managing Windows Vista with Windows PowerShell
Topic 1: Group Policy Preferences, Templates and Scripting

VIRTUALIZATION AND ENTERPRISE SEARCH
Thursday, November 13, 2008 | REGISTER >

Join us for a series of demonstrations and technical discussions about virtualization and enterprise search. We’ll explore the powerful new Windows Server 2008 virtualization platform and data center management solutions, while covering the benefits of Microsoft’s integrated Hyper-V and System Center product families. We’ll also look at how to help information workers find, use and share the critical data they need to boost productivity and success. You’ll see how Microsoft’s robust platform of business-ready search solutions can quickly, securely and seamlessly connect people with the information they need – when they need it. LEARN MORE >

Topic 1: Virtualization
Topic 2: Enterprise Search

Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates' Real-World Tour

dachou — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:35:55 GMT

So the much anticipated Microsoft consumer advertising campaign finally kicked off. We first saw the "Shoe Circus" TV spot, and just now the second episode, "New Family", was released. The series can be found on Microsoft's website, and other usual places on the Web.

Episode 1: Shoe Circus

Episode 2: New Family

Needless to say, it wouldn't be inaccurate to state that reactions to the "Shoe Circus" episode wasn't well-received. To be honest, I was a little surprised to hear some positive comments. But I think it achieved its primary goal - to get people thinking and talking about it. As Oscar Wilde said: "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about".

Then I saw the "New Family" episode, and I found myself giggling all the way through. It was silly, but funny. Although, my reaction may not be representative of mainstream opinion, as the funniest part to me was when Bill Gates cited design merits of using inheritance and polymorphism as bedtime reading to the boy. Regardless, I think we're starting to get a glimpse of what this campaign is intending to do.

Video: New Family

Now this post is not meant to explain what these ads mean, as I don't have any inside knowledge from the team that worked with Crispin Porter & Bogusky; but rather, my own interpretations based on the discussions I've read. I also don't want to place any judgments on the resulting opinions and/or effectiveness of the campaign. This is more of a discussion on the strategies potentially used in shaping this campaign, as I think it's much more interesting to try to see beyond the immediate reactions, and look at these ads as results of series of systematically and methodically crafted decisions by a group of really smart people.

What It Is Not

First of all, I think it is worthwhile to talk about what this advertising campaign isn't.

It's not about selling Windows Vista. Rather, it is about how Windows in general participates in and connects many aspects of our daily lives. That includes Windows Vista (desktop), Windows Server (enterprise), Windows Mobile (devices), Windows Live (services), and so on.

It's not a "fight-back" ad against Apple. This campaign is certainly designed to address the popular perceptions created by Apple's highly successful "Mac guy - PC guy" ads. But the approach is not directly responding to that, and is really focused on the higher-level view of the role Windows plays in the world.

It's not what we have seen so far. The first episodes are just setting things up for what's eventually to come, and is not representative of the entire campaign. They are just teasers or "icebreakers"; as Chris Flores put it -

Just as somebody might tell a joke to lighten up a room or get somebody's attention before changing gears, these first ads were designed to tap people on the shoulder and say "Excuse me. We're back and we'd love a few moments of your time".

It may be still too early to judge this book by its cover.

Why Not Respond to Apple?

From a strategy perspective, doing so would only validate the messaging defined by Apple's ads. And trying to "out-cool" Apple is an ineffective solution to the problem as it only forces the "battle" to be played out on the stage that Apple has set. Also, it is difficult to "out-cool" Apple to begin with, as that is typically associated with the minority few that stand out from the majority crowd, which is something only Apple can use to differentiate its share of the market. Plus that approach is so, in a way, high school; thus comparatively someone in college probably shouldn't use those same tactics. With the level of scale and reach Microsoft is operating at today, "cool" is not something that defines Microsoft's products. Something else is, and that's the story Microsoft wants to tell.

Why So Indirect? Why Not Get to the Point?

Instead, these ads seem to follow Seinfeld's formula "story about nothing", and as a result often elicits responses such as "what the?", "pointless", "a waste of $300M", "Microsoft is so out of it", and so forth. So if there is something positive to say, why doesn't Microsoft just come out and say it? It's almost as if there is nothing positive to say about Microsoft.

Ultimately, it's about connecting with real people (just as the "New Family" episode articulated). It's about establishing the fact that Microsoft products are essential parts of our daily lives. But they lend no credibility if these ads focus on delivering that message by just stating so; that's just all talk. It is much more impactful to show how Windows are connected with real people, in real-life situations; compared to the "high and almighty" elitist (or for that matter, "I am so cool you should want me") approach.

And the decision/strategy on how to convey this more profound and complex message and delivering it with such subtlety, is, I think, one of the most brilliant aspects of this advertising campaign.

At a high-level, there are basically two approaches. One is taking a product-driven perspective and tell people directly about how these products are changing people's lives (e.g., we run some of the most trafficked and reliable websites, how many transactions are being processed daily on various implementations of our platforms, how Windows security is actually comparatively more robust than any other desktop O/S, and so on). The other is taking a people (customer)-driven perspective, and tell stories about how technology in general is impacting our lives, then weave in products where applicable.

Of course, the second approach is considered more of a high-road, and that is the approach this campaign seems to be taking. Plus, this campaign needs to differentiate from Apple's (which ingeniously combined elements of both approaches), by not presenting messages in a similar manner. Just like all of Microsoft's competitors are constantly figuring out what Microsoft is not doing and try to differentiate that way, Microsoft has to do something different this time.

Telling the Story

This indirect approach is designed to tell an unfolding story that builds sequentially over time, instead of delivering contextually independent short episodes that are connected only in theme. And to do so, it requires a carefully crafted setup and framework on which subsequent episodes can build upon. This is partially the reason why the initial episodes are so seemingly underwhelming; they were intended to be, just so that they pave the way for the story to unfold and be able to lead the audience through the process.

The concept is a tried-an-true strategy behind many highly successful advertising campaigns, most notably the road-side billboards used in the Burma-Shave ads. It needs to start in an under-promising and unassuming way, but just enough to pique people's interests and get them thinking and talking (whether negatively or positively), gradually build up and manage expectations accordingly, then over-deliver on the expectations.

But from a form factor perspective, the limited time available in individual television broadcast spots doesn't provide sufficient space to convey a complex message. By contrast the messaging in Apple's ads are succinctly simple and direct. So how can we tell a story effectively using this format?

Kevin Schuler, a Technical Evangelist at Microsoft, offered some insights to this aspect:

Since the advent of broadcast advertising, broadcast media has always faced a significant challenge: How to develop a story line and the associated character development in the typical half-hour segment consisting of but 17 minutes of actual content. Even the rare one hour show only had 34 minutes of content. The thinking was that developing characters within the context of the family would be easier for the audience to understand quickly and, therefore, save precious content time. This is a strategy that worked well for decades, only to be changed by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David who took a huge risk by reversing the concept: Basically, no blood relationships, lot’s of character development, and a rather pointless story line.

In essence, the story in this case is not "nothing", but very subtle things. And these subtle concepts (or characters) won't become apparent until they have a chance to be developed, and communicated properly to the audience. In retrospect, as popular as "Seinfeld" (the sitcom) has been, the series didn't do well initially; and similarly for "Friends" as it started off as just another sitcom after Seinfeld.

On the other hand, the strategy is also based on the recognition that well-established perceptions cannot be altered in one 30-second spot, or a series of non-connected individual spots.

Thus the story is still being developed (well, most likely everything technically has already completed post-production and is just being scheduled to be released), and we're just looking at the initial chapters now.

Just For Fun

The usual conspiracy theorists have already begun to come up with interpretations of what various things in the series represent. Just a small sampling here:

Bill Gates = Microsoft
Jerry Seinfeld = Windows
Grandma = IE (not the latest and greatest, but still does everything around the house, been around 12 years, etc.)
Mom and Dad = users (asking Windows to do things – financial advice, how much greek coins are worth, etc.)
Daughter = Apple/Mac (sets up Microsoft and Windows, and frames them into something they aren't or didn't do)
Delivery Boy = Search (Instantly recognizes Bill & Jerry, gives them something for no cost (but a token))

Not sure if that really was part of the grand plan, but it's just really interesting to see how the story was set up to allow people to draw those kinds of interpretations. And the amount of chatter that is happening as a result, is in one way, testament to the effectiveness of the strategy.

Also, the captions at the end of each episode also kind of says something about what's coming:

"The Future - Delicious"
"Perpetually Connecting - PC"

Lastly

I just want to iterate again that this post isn't intended to convince the critics that there's more than meets the eye, and that there is a good reason why the initial parts of this campaign are so seemingly pointless and obtuse. To that I think time will tell all, and everything will become very clear in retrospect. Personally I just wanted to look at this significant deliverable from the perspective of planning and strategies, and problem solving approaches when given such task. I have learned quite a few things in the process, and am really looking forward to the rest of the campaign.

Cloud Computing and Microsoft

dachou — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:28:00 GMT

Here's a popular topic. ;) A quick search in the blogsphere finds countless number of posts and comments proclaiming the inevitable (or already happening) decline of Microsoft as we near the age of cloud computing.

A small sampling of some well-known publications finds comparatively less dramatic views, but the theme is quite consistent - cloud computing is heralded as the future, and Google is best positioned to dominate this new era.

Computing Heads for the Clouds (BusinessWeek, 2007.11.16)
Google and the Wisdom of Clouds (BusinessWeek, 2007.12.13)
Google Gets Ready to Rumble With Microsoft (NY Times, 2007.12.16)
Cloud Computing: Eyes on the Skies (BusinessWeek, 2008.04.24)
Inside Microsoft's War Against Google (BusinessWeek, 2008.05.08)
The Computer Industry Comes With Built-In Term Limits (NY Times, 2008.05.18)
Battle for the Cloud: Google vs. Microsoft (InfoWorld, 2008.07.24)
Microsoft: What Web Strategy? (BusinessWeek, 2008.07.25)

While things look quite certain on Google's side in terms of succeeding on the Internet and leading/riding the cloud computing tidal wave, at this point it doesn't seem to be the case for Microsoft.

Single-Era Conjecture

"The invisible law that makes it impossible for a company in the computer business to enjoy pre-eminence that spans two technological eras"; as described in the NYTimes article, "The Computer Industry Comes With Built-In Term Limits". While I think the article did not articulate the precise reasons why Microsoft won't stay on top through a major paradigm shift (other than focusing on where Google is succeeding and where Microsoft isn't), the question is still valid.

Reason being, cloud computing itself represents a migration from distributed client-server and on-premise software models, to a more centralized model (though logically centralized and physically distributed). Eric Schmidt said, "What [cloud computing] has come to mean now is a synonym for the return of the mainframe... and the mainframe is a set of computers... They're in a cloud somewhere." And this everything-as-a-service (in the cloud) model directly conflicts with what people most commonly identify Microsoft with - software for people to use (and most visibly Windows and Office - client O/S and desktop software).

More specifically, various trends in the past 10+ years have also influenced this paradigm shift. Just to list the obvious ones:

Consumerization of the Web, and use of browsers
Application development efforts shifting towards thin clients and server-side programming
Improvements in network bandwidth, anywhere wireless access, etc.
Increased maturity in open source software
Proliferation and advancement of mobile devices
Service Oriented Architecture
Software-as-a-Service
Utility/Grid Computing

Effectively, the shift towards browsers as the primary channel of access for consumers and deployment target for organizations, has reduced the need to use locally installed software. And this directly impacts Windows and Office, plus server software traditionally acquired and installed on-premise; perceivably the entire Microsoft product portfolio.

Plus arguably, Microsoft's investments in online services so far have not won leadership positions and profitability. Recent deliverables such as Windows Live have made significant progress, especially Live Search where the technology has closed some gaps with Google, but still trails behind in terms of adoption. And the gap seems to be widening still.

So it seems the "Single-Era Conjecture" must be true, and that Microsoft is walking towards its impending downfall? That would certainly be the case if Microsoft completely ignores the market and not see the need to change, or is incapable of change.

However, Microsoft does see the need, and has been working on many significant changes to shift towards the cloud.

But, then, why does it seem so difficult for Microsoft to make any significant progress in this area? A couple of thoughts:

Microsoft still has a $60B/year and consistently growing business in software
As a publicly traded company, Microsoft cannot simply abandon the current software customer base to fully pursue the new services model
Microsoft's own culture has to shift as well, but that won't happen overnight given the size and complex environment
As a software platform company, Microsoft's focus has been delivering innovation-enabling capabilities to IT customers, not massive scale and speed and multi-tenancy in Microsoft's own technical infrastructures
Software is a complex business, and Microsoft has built extensive processes and organizations to deliver secure and robust software, compared to Google's rapid release and perpetual beta model. It will require significant changes in Microsoft to compete on the same grounds as Google, or achieve a similar level of agility
If the bottle is half-full, Microsoft actually has made very significant progress; but Google has set the bar very high for anyone to be compared against
General mindshare shift towards open source software

What About the Other Guys?

So much attention has been focused on the perceived "war" between Microsoft and Google. But what about the rest of the IT industry? This shift towards cloud computing also in many ways presents challenges to their existing businesses. I'll bet many organizations are also thinking that they missed the opportunity to land grab some market share in online search.

But from a corporate strategy perspective, the seemingly different approaches are very remarkable. Microsoft is pursuing the path of organically build towards the cloud. Oracle is starting to build data centers, but seems to in general prefer acquiring its way into the cloud once the market begins to mature; as they have done with the major acquisitions in the past decade. IBM is also building data centers, but seems to leverage and build upon pure cloud players such as their partnership with Google; as they have done with open source software. Similarly, Intel, HP, and Yahoo have teamed up to build towards the cloud as well. Very distinct strategies, but do seem to be the sensible approaches for each organization.

However, not everyone will be able to afford building massive data centers and establishing clouds. Yahoo Research Chief Prabhakar Raghavan said, "In a sense, there are only five computers (clouds) on earth." He listed Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon. Well, may be not exactly, but that view of the world is also not entirely implausible, and imagine the kinds of changes everyone will undergo in order to achieve that state.

That view also underscores a complete commoditization of the entire IT industry. While unfathomable by today's standards, it is conceivable that a paradigm shift such as cloud computing could exact such sweeping changes from us. Reason being, cloud-based services have the benefit of the economies of scale, which allows the services to be provisioned at a lower cost. Existing IT shops, which increasingly face the need to reduce maintenance costs and deliver innovation, may very well favor switching over to cloud-based utility-like services; often compromising quality for lower cost.

Nicholas Carr said in his book, The Big Switch - "In the long run, the IT department is unlikely to survive, at least in its familiar form. It will have little left to do once the bulk of business computing shifts out of private data centers and into the cloud." Plus a very contrarian and sensational blog post "Your new IT budget: $10".

Which means, IT shops will increasingly need fewer investments on in-house technology and resources to support operations. And that also translates to needing fewer in-house technical specialists. As demand for technology and technical skills decreases, so does their value, which marks the trend of complete commoditization. Scary thought no?

Of course Nick Carr's view has generated a lot of controversy, as well as an ample amount of vehement disagreement. But in that light, doesn't Microsoft's scramble towards the cloud seem reasonable, and whoever is not doing so may need to be a bit concerned?

Microsoft's Perspective

In a nutshell, Microsoft does see the importance of cloud computing, and is actively building towards the cloud. But Microsoft's approach to shift towards the cloud, is based on a considerably pragmatic perspective that the world will not completely move into the cloud. We think that on-premise and local/client software still has value in the future, but the cloud will undoubtedly be a major component as well.

The moniker that best describes Microsoft's approach is "Software Plus Services".

Basically, we expect that the world will remain in a hybrid state, where commonly used services (like today's outsourcing of payroll services to ADP) may move into the cloud, but many differentiating capabilities will continue to be implemented and delivered towards the edge. Some potential factors:

User experience - browsers tend to constrict differentiation; client software is still best at delivering high-fidelity and robust user experiences
Not one-size-fits-all - not all things are suitable for the cloud; many capabilities are still best delivered on the client or on-premise
Organizations' need to innovate and differentiate from competitors using the same or similar commoditized services in the cloud
Advancements in human-device interface will drive a new class of clients (i.e., Surface, Sphere, 3-D displays, multi-touch, etc.) which may drive entirely new ways to interact with information (and browsers become the legacy mode)
Merits of distributed computing may shift attention back towards the edge again, as certain tasks are more suitable for smaller and more distributed units than a few massive centralized clouds (such as disaster recovery, defense-in-depth, data privacy, etc.)

So what is Microsoft doing to shift towards cloud computing? To list some interesting points:

Microsoft's recent surge in investments on building massive data centers around the world (for example, Quincy, WA; Chicago, IL; San Antonio, TX; Des Moines, IA; Dublin, Ireland; Siberia, Russia, etc.). Some of these data centers cost more than $500M each
Every one of Microsoft's server products will eventually be offered as subscription-based services in the cloud; though licensing-based on-premise versions will also continue to be offered to provide the full range of choices for customers (reinforcing "Software + Services")
For example, Exchange, SharePoint, and Office Communication Servers are already part of the Microsoft Online services offerings; Biztalk and SQL Servers are also being delivered as Biztalk Services and SQL Server Data Services; and Dynamics CRM Online
One publicized case is Coca-Cola Enterprises moving 30,000+ knowledge workers to Exchange Online (from on-premise Lotus Notes)
Significant investments in advertising solutions; both on-line and off-line
Significant investments in leveraging open source software
Research efforts in multi-core and massively distributed parallel processing capabilities
Closing the gap in online search is just one component of the overall services strategy which includes a full spectrum of target audiences, and different types of services (i.e., infrastructure/building blocks, complementary/attached, consumer/finished services, etc.)

Thus Microsoft definitely aspires to become a major player in the cloud. What remains to be seen is just how well Microsoft executes towards the cloud.

Interesting times ahead. One thing is certain - more changes to come, and we can expect Microsoft to ramp up activities in this area very aggressively the next few years. Don't count Microsoft out, just yet. :)

This post is part of a series of articles on cloud computing and related concepts.

PDC2008 - A Futures Look at the Microsoft Platform

dachou — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:27:56 GMT

Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference (October 27-30, 2008) is coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center again!

2005 was the last time PDC was held, also in LA. That event unveiled the pieces that make up of what we know today as .NET Framework 3.0, as well as Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, etc. Things such as Windows Communications Foundation (WCF; then-called "Indigo"), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF; then-called Avalon), and Windows Workflow Foundation all represented significant advances in the .NET Framework, and how they impact application development efforts on the Microsoft platform today.

Unlike the TechEd events held annually at Orlando, Florida, PDC is focused on the leading-edge technologies and platform components and has usually been held once every two years. So Microsoft spent 3 years in hibernation this time (arguably for a number of reasons), and it certainly is a much different world today.

Today we live in an environment where cloud computing has obtained mainstream status, and developers & organizations have a larger number of platforms to consider, and new & viable vendors to partner with. However, cloud computing also brings along a set of new concerns, models, and architectures.

As a platform company, Microsoft has also been spending time to shift towards cloud computing. Our approach is to provide a platform that spans the cloud, enterprises, desktops, and devices; a full spectrum of choices that, we think, are relevant for the foreseeable future. And the Microsoft platform is designed to bring all of those previously silo'ed areas together, in a seamless and consistent manner, that fully addresses the wide range of concerns, models, and architectures in this new environment. Thus at PDC we can expect to get an inside look at how Microsoft's platform for the future has evolved, and how we can leverage existing skillsets to build applications for the future.

PDC2008 features more than 160 sessions covering a wide range of topics for professional developers and architects. These sessions provide an in-depth technical understanding of Microsoft’s future platform and offer practical guidance to help plan the evolution of your own products.

The topics include:

Cloud services - SQL Server Data Services, messaging and identity services, Live platform services, etc.
Live Mesh - Mesh services, FeedSync, device P2P, Mesh Operating Environment, etc.
Silverlight - mobile, deep dives, business apps, etc.
Cloud synchronization - Sync Framework, ADO.NET Data Services (Astoria), SQL Server project Velocity, etc.
.NET Framework - F#, C# futures, VB futures, dynamic languages, COM interop advances, WPF futures, WF futures, Workflow Services, etc.
Windows 7 - touch computing, native Web services
Windows Mobile - location-based services, Web development

And many, many more as more details emerge.

Visit the Microsoft PDC website for up-to-date information.

For registration details, see http://microsoftpdc.com/Registration/. $200 early bird discount before August 15.

Hope to see you there! Please say hi if you happen to run into me. :)

Is Open Source Ready for Prime Time?

dachou — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:41:14 GMT

Well that's an obvious question. And you'd be surprised if you were expecting Microsoft to say no to it. :) Fact is, Microsoft has learned / adapted to embrace and support open source communities and models.

I had the opportunity to speak at the UCLA Anderson School of Management's IS Associates event, titled "Is Open Source Ready for Prime Time".

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My esteemed fellow speakers included Dan Frye (VP Open Systems Development, IBM), Robert Kabat (Senior Counsel, Twentieth Century Fox), and Howard Wright (IT Strategist, Stradling Globl Source; formal head of IT at Dreamworks). Our discussions were moderated by Maryfran Johnson (Editorial Director of Executive Programs, CXO Media; former Editor in Chief of Computerworld).

Some people at the event had anticipated that Microsoft would be very vocal against open source. But in general, all of the speakers, including myself, were in agreement that many open source software products have gained sufficient maturity to meet many enterprise needs.

Microsoft's Perspective on Open Source

So what exactly is Microsoft's perspective on open source? Basically, the IT environment today is a mix of open-source and private source software (or proprietary commercial software), and Microsoft recognizes that it needs to be an active participant in that environment, in order to continue to provide value to customers.

Microsoft does this via a number of efforts:

Partnerships with open source software vendors - such as SugarCRM, JBoss, Xen Source, MqSQL, Novell, Zend, Mozilla, etc. For example, Microsoft's engineering teams worked closely with the FireFox team to make sure FireFox will run well on Windows. Similarly, ensuring platform compatibility and interoperability with many open source software products
Engaging communities - participating in community events, open source conferences, forums and alliances such as the Open Source Interoperability Initiative, Open Source ISV Forum, Interoperability Forum, Interoperability Vendor Alliance, etc.
Code contributions - including technology open sourced by Microsoft through the Shared Source initiative, or developed through sponsorship or community project partnerships
Support for research efforts - relationships and collaborative projects with the academic research community in computer science, sociology, and economics

Essentially, Microsoft is now leveraging open source development models and approaches, and supporting open source business models. By embracing diverse application development and business models, Microsoft seeks to participate successfully and responsibly in a world of choice in which individuals and organizations can pursue their goals based on what uniquely inspires them, including open source.

However, as a software company, Microsoft does compete with open source software products (i.e., Linux, Open Office, MySQL, FireFox, Java, Apache, PHP, etc.). But this does not represent a conflict of interest. Microsoft focuses on supporting the people working on and with open source.

And many open source software products today do present significant challenges to Microsoft's competing products. So does that spell the end of Microsoft, now that conceivably free software that are "good enough" are available? Well, not really. But they do force Microsoft to innovate and add value. In fact I think open source from this perspective is actually a good influence on Microsoft; it requires us to work harder and try to do what's right for customers.

Take for example, Microsoft Office. Does Open Office or other conceivably free applications like Google Apps mean that Microsoft should open source Microsoft Office as well?

Microsoft's response is two-fold.

First from a product suite perspective, Office today is no longer just a bag of desktop clients used to create documents. Office 2007 is a bona fide user collaboration and business productivity platform that integrates high-fidelity client components on the desktop, free and subscription-based services in the cloud, enterprise servers, and mobile devices. It provides sophisticated capabilities, and a range of choices in terms of how users want to leverage the capabilities. It's not a one-size-fits all solution compared to the current open source and freeware counterparts.

Second, from a development perspective, the entire suite of Office products consists of multiple project teams. Microsoft's vision for the user collaboration and business productivity platform requires a closely managed and well-orchestrated effort across these teams. And the question is, is it more effective to make it open source so that the community can contribute to its future development, or to continue leveraging Microsoft's closely knit full-time development resources? In Microsoft's opinion, keeping Office private still makes more sense.

And of course, this gives Microsoft the ability to continue using traditional licensing means to generate revenue from Office. But I think Office does offer great value to customers at commodity-level pricing points.

Users' Perspective on Open Source

Granted, Microsoft is not a major user of open source software products, even though it actively participates in the open source communities. Thus for everyday users of software products, the perspective on open source software is different from Microsoft's. Ultimately, the best way to look at open source software products, is that they are software products just like proprietary commercial software products.

In general, neither open source software or private source software, is inherently or naturally better than the other. Advantages claimed on one side for some products, can also be claimed as advantages for some products on the other side. Same holds true for disadvantages.

For example, concerns for product support has been cited as the biggest challenge for open source software products, as it is unclear who owns accountability and support responsibilities when no one owns the software (the community owns it). However, that doesn't mean products like Linux has inferior support. Customers can get support from established vendors like Red Hat that leverages the support services model.

For the most part, trade-offs are quite unclear between both sides. As benefits claimed by one side are not always true. For example, one will say "zero cost", and the other will say "lower long-term cost", or "good enough" vs. "cheap enough", etc. The list goes on, but none of these claims are consistently true.

Thus for users evaluating to adopt open source software products, the decision should be made based on specific requirements, and evaluated against a list of options which may include both open source and private source software products. The evaluation process should focus on value, which can be a combination of short-term acquisition/deployment costs, long-term ongoing support and maintenance costs, and sometimes hard-to-quantify benefits and costs like productivity gains/costs.

Some Final Thoughts

Having said the above, there are still some inherent differences between open source and private source software. One major difference is how these software products are developed. In general, open source software products are created by mostly highly technical people, whereas private source commercial software products often are combined multi-disciplinary efforts that include, for example, marketers, analysts, researchers, usability experts, creative designers, user experience experts, mangers, architects, engineers, etc. Consequently, we can see that the most successful open source projects today are products (true community-driven projects; not vendor products that do open source) that address technical and infrastructure issues. But this is not necessarily good or bad; just different. And the likelihood is higher that open source projects and development processes will continue to mature, and may at some point integrate additional types of communities to collaboratively create products.

How does one measure the viability of an open source software product, when evaluating financial viability of vendors (as a business partner)? There is no good answer for that question today, but the best way to look at that is to look at the size and activeness of the community around a project. The larger and more active the community, the more viable the project is from a long-term perspective. For example, one study indicated that over 2,000 developers contributed to one year's worth of changes into the Linux kernel (just the kernel!), which is one indication on the likelihood that this project will not be abandoned anytime soon.

And not all software projects should be moved to open source models. Some projects are very well-suited to leverage open-source development, but some would benefit more remaining private. Again, there are differences between truly community-driven open source projects like the Linux kernel, and vendor-driven products like Eclipse and MySQL that do open source. But in general, we do find that technical products have a higher likelihood of building a strong community to maintain the product from a long-term perspective. Thus there is still plenty of room for proprietary/commercial software vendors like Microsoft and IBM to innovate and add value. For example, IBM is building on top of open source products, and Microsoft is focusing on user experience and innovative capabilities.

Licensing in open source products, such as LGPL, GPL v3 and the ongoing debates around that, and the proliferation of different flavors of open source licenses, are still sources of confusion for users. For example, who is responsible to provide indemnity from a legal perspective? Our recommendation is, end-users of open source software products don't really have to worry about this, including developers who build applications using open source software. However, if open source software components are embedded and/or distributed as another commercial product, then the organization needs to engage its legal counsel to identify legal risks and map out mitigation requirements.