Considering that small and medium-sized business (SMBs) currently make up a large chunk of the Canadian business landscape, it stands to reason that these organizations represent the backbone of our economy.

This brings to mind something Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned with he was in Toronto last month during the kick-off of The New Efficiency Tour. He noted that SMBs are the ones that are currently having to “do more with less” – which includes having to reduce IT spending while increasing its impact.

This isn’t exactly a newfound revelation, but with the availability of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange 2010, the three products were specifically designed to help increase productivity and deliver a strong value proposition. And under the umbrella of The New Efficiency, the solutions can be integrated to help organizations streamline support costs, enhance security and reduce IT risk.

Check out are some great resources – expert blogs, news, whitepapers – on The New Efficiency in action and how these tools can help businesses reduce IT costs.

Kickstarting your IT career.

Many IT professionals looking to grow the business often have the same initial question: How do I get started?

This week sees the launch of the inaugural Ignite Your Career - Business Series. It’s intended to be a forum for ISVs and start-up businesses and is an excellent way for companies to connect with IT experts and local technology partners.

This series is an initiative from the Microsoft Canada Partner Network and delves into how companies – including growing and established businesses – can better compete using emerging technologies such as SaaS. This Thursday, for example, features David Ossip, President & CEO of Microsoft technology partner Dayforce Inc. along with David Crow, Platform Strategy Advisor, Microsoft Canada.

The theme, ironically enough, is “Starting a New Business” and they’ll be discussing in-depth about the steps companies should take towards growing a flexible business that can be competitive in today’s global marketplace.  The Ignite Your Career Business Series starts this Thursday Nov. 12 and runs weekly until December 10.

All the details can be found at www.microsoft.ca/igniteyourbusiness.

Managing the life of a software application from concept through retirement can be a mix of art and science.  Requirements management, design, coding, testing, and deployment are just a few of the critical areas to govern.  In top performing IT organizations, these changes are managed through a holistic Application Life Cycle Management (ALM) program.  ALM combines people, tools, and process to optimize application evolution.  To explore why ALM matters, how it’s being applied today, and what it might mean to your application development practice, register for an upcoming ALM webinar by Microsoft and Forrester Research @ 12pm EST on November 5^th.  (Also feel free to shoot pre-event ALM questions to John Bristowe, Senior Developer Advisor, Microsoft Canada).

-Sean Graglia, Marketing Manager @Microsoft Canada

It’s likely you already have a first impression of Windows 7, whether based on actual, hands-on experience or by reading all the recent launch coverage.

Many reviews focused on new or enhanced features – information that’s useful but that on its own may not necessarily be enough to justify an upgrade.  For that, you need answers, and I know that one of the most trusted sources of advice comes directly from peers. So why not tap them again?

 A number of organizations have been quietly engaged in early deployments in recent months, and we’ve profiled their experiences in case studies.  Here’s a summary of what they had to:

·         The City of London has realized several security and performance enhancements with the move to Windows 7. The Windows Firewall Client, improved in Windows 7, together with Microsoft AppLocker and Group Policy improvements, help provide a stronger level of PC security for the city without incremental cost. 

·         Ricoh Canada likes the native support for virtualized environments in Windows 7, and especially the BranchCache feature, which allows a file requested over a WAN to be cached locally for subsequent use and distributed across PCs in a branch.

My favourite quote is from Ricoh’s manager of network solutions, Bashir Khokar: “Everyone thinks the PCs running Windows 7 are fabulous – from the CEO to my IT colleagues. They tell me it’s even faster, more stable and more intuitive than previous versions of Windows, and that it helps people get more done,” says Khokhar.

Check out the Windows 7 TechNet forum

See what other IT pros have to say about Windows 7

 Heads up to IT pros in Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

It’s not too late to check out TechDays 2009. My colleague Joey deVilla aka Global Nerdy has a  great overview of the Toronto and Vancouver show, and why the show is so valuable.  But in a nutshell - if you want to get more value out of, or want brush up your skills on:

·         Windows 7

·         SharePoint

·         SQL Server

·         Windows Server/Hyper-V

·         System Center

·         Visual Studio/Silverlight

…then this show’s for you. Plus, those who attend walk away with a Learning Kit packed with goodies with an estimated value of $700.

Visit the TechDays 2009 homepage to register

Autumn is an exciting time for businesses. It’s the season when 2009 campaigns enter the home stretch, and new projects planned for 2010 begin moving into high gear. The upside is that everyone is working toward a common goal. The downside, however, is that time is suddenly an even-more valuable commodity.

With that in mind, we’ve put together a sampling of some our favourite articles and webcasts from recent months. Each is designed to give you the information you need to make fast, informed decisions on a wide variety of business and IT issues.

Licensing. Can’t decide what licensing model is the best fit for your business? Check out our fast and easy volume licensing decision tool. Or, perhaps you’re already taking advantage of Software Assurance. If so, are you aware of how the Home Use Program can make your people even more productive?

Finding a Consultant. Sure, you’re getting good advice on products and a skilled set of hands. But what you should reasonably expect from an IT "partner" goes well beyond that.

Upgrading. For those mulling an upgrade to Windows 7, check out what other IT professionals are saying about it. Also, if you’re a SharePoint user - or are thinking of becoming one – be sure to watch one of our customized Momentum webcasts, hosted by industry veteran Erik Moll.

You. Interested in strengthening your IT skill set, connecting with trusted resources, or building a better personal brand? Be sure to visit our Ignite Your Career Webcast Series site and dive into the on-demand archives.

Came across an interesting article eChannelLine.ca the other day, and it got me thinking.

It looks at the results of a new survey from research firm AMI-Partners. The company recently polled small and midsize businesses in 11 different countries – including Canada – and found that interest in managed services and software-as-a-service has grown by a whopping 100 per cent over the last three months. This, according to the article, represents a “substantial” change in thinking when it comes to how businesses seek to drive value from technology.

Business decision makers seem less concerned about how technology is delivered, focusing much more of their time and effort on making sure that it’s delivered in a way that gets the job done cheaply and effectively.

That brings me to an application we all know and rely on – email. Online email services are widely seen as the original killer application, even if it has a lot more company these days (everything from CRM to office productivity software). So it’s safe to say that as Canadian businesses take a closer look at the hosted or cloud model of software delivery, the will continue to take into account how they deliver email.

If that’s the case at your organization, then I highly recommend downloading this great whitepaper from The Collaborative Strategy Guild (CSG), “Gauging the Real Value of Software as a Service (SaaS) E-mail for Small and Medium Businesses.” In the Summary the authors state:

“Determining the value of SaaS e-mail offerings starts with considering how e-mail supports business processes and user productivity. In most cases it’s impossible to know the true value of e-mail without knowing how information workers manage, communicate, and leverage e-mail to do their work.”

That’s why The Collaborative Strategy Guild (CSG) recommends that customers evaluate e-mail against an E-mail Productivity Framework and define a strategy that addresses the current e-mail market and competitive situation. Details on how to conduct one are contained in the whitepaper.

Looking for more messaging and Software Plus Services resources?

• For IT Pros: Exchange 2010 and why you should care or, read more about Exchange Online
• Go here to learn more about Microsoft’s Software Plus Services vision

You just might have heard about a new Windows operating system called Windows 7  that many are talking about.

Of course, I’m being a bit facetious here, but as National Security and Privacy lead for Microsoft Canada, it’s important to note that when it comes to today’s organizations, IT security is no joking matter. It’s a major reason why the features of Windows 7 are designed to help mitigate many of the security concerns faced by Canadian IT professionals.

Windows 7 builds upon the strong security foundation of Windows Vista and has been designed and developed using the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL).  This includes fundamental security features such as:

 AppLocker: a flexible, easy-to-administer mechanism that allows IT to specify exactly what is allowed to run in the desktop infrastructure and gives users the ability to run applications, installation programs, and scripts)

BitLocker and BitLocker To Go: BitLocker Drive Encryption (BitLocker for short) helps prevent a thief who boots another operating system or runs a software hacking tool from breaking Windows 7 file and system protections or performing offline viewing of the files stored on the safeguarded drive.

Along with features like Kernel Patch Protection, Service Hardening, Data Execution Prevention and Address Space Layout Randomization, Windows 7 is designed to help deliver enhanced protection against malware and attacks.

Windows 7 also introduces a number of security enhancements to give users the confidence that Microsoft is continuing to find better ways to safeguard users’ IT investments as well as data. Businesses will benefit from enhancements that help protect company sensitive information, that provide stronger protections against malware, and that help secure access to corporate resources and data.

Finally, all users will benefit from the flexible security configuration options in Windows 7—options that will help users achieve the unique balance of security and usability to meet their specific needs.

Have questions or comments relating to Microsoft and IT security? You can reach me at cdnsec@microsoft.com.

Securely yours,

Mohammad Akif

National Security and Privacy Lead, Microsoft Canada

Security Tip of the Month: Protect Your Computer: Firewall Security, Security Updates and more.

Learn how to protect your computer by keeping your firewall turned on, keeping your operating system up-to-date, and updating antivirus and antispyware software.

To remain updated about the threat landscape and prevention best practices, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/canada/protect.

If recent indications are correct, Canadian business executives have good reasons to be optimistic only a year after the economic crisis took centre stage. Two items in particular stand out:

·         In June, American Express released the results of a study, which found that while 56 per cent of small business owners surveyed are experiencing a downturn in their business, nearly the same number, 55 per cent, have accelerated their innovation efforts, developing new offerings to capitalize on opportunities.

·         Two months later, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its latest Global Competitiveness Report. The WEF ranked Canada 11th out of 133 countries on its Global Competitive Index - up one spot from 2008 and four spots over 2007. Canada’s strong financial markets were cited as a key strength, as was our efficiency, overall business sophistication and use of technology.

However, although Canada leads the world in use of personal computers and fares well in Internet usage (12^th) and overall availability of technology (9^th ), according to the WEF, “firm-level” technology absorption ranked a distant 21^st. That number is less encouraging.

For Canadian businesses to remain as competitive as possible, they must look for ways to make their people productive, remove barriers to collaboration, and to operate more efficiently. Technology makes all of this possible. Gartner‘s John Mahoney and Tom Berg describe  predict that, by 2012, IT‘s contribution will be cited in the top three success factors by at least half of top-performing businesses, and that IT barriers will be cited in the top three failure factors by at least half of the lowest performers.

Granted, it’s been a difficult year, but Canada’s business and technology executives remain more focused on growth and prosperity than ever. Over the next 12 months, as we roll out the new releases of Exchange Server 2010, Windows 7 and the Windows Server, we welcome your input on how Microsoft can help you realize your business goals.

Greetings from Microsoft Canada's Momentum Community. We appreciate the opportunity to connect with you and share our thoughts on the changing landscape of business and technology matters that touch of all us as Canadians.

We sincerely hope this forum to be a conversation amongst colleagues, peers and friends. We believe, at Microsoft Canada, that the best ideas come from collaborating, sharing and interacting. We know that the road to delivering you the best value for your buiness does not happen overnight; but together we can get there sooner.

 Let us know what you think. we're always listenting.

 The Microsoft Momentum Community