Who am I and what is my job?
I'm Patrick Foley, and I've been at Microsoft for 3 months. I'm an "ISV Architect Evangelist". My job is to help independent software vendors build great software on the Microsoft platform.
Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, I work closely with about 20 large ISVs in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. My broader mission is to help ISVs of all sizes build great software, and that's one of the main reasons for blogging … to reach a broad audience.
My background before coming to Microsoft was quite varied. Over the past 15 years, I built software on a lot of different platforms in a lot of different environments, mostly as an independent consultant. I've been on many projects where I rolled up my sleeves and coded, and I've been on a few high-level architecture projects where I never even sniffed a running system.
As a Microsoft evangelist, I'm focused on "The Next Big Thing", whatever that might be. For example, we just released Vista and 2007 Office System. The launch of these two great products was enormously successful, thanks in large part to ISVs working before the release to ensure that their software was compatible with Vista/Office 2007 and to exploit the new features of these products, such as the Windows Presentation Foundation, gadgets, and the new Office UI. I've only been here for 3 months, but the team I belong to worked with ISVs around the world to help them succeed while Vista and Office succeed.
Now we're pointing toward the next releases of other important products. Some of these are still under wraps, but some are available for public review. Two that are particularly important for ISVs are Windows Server "Longhorn" and Visual Studio "Orcas". Over the coming weeks and months, you'll see many posts from me and my team about the ways these products and related technologies will help you write better software and add value for your customers.
I work with a lot of really smart people … if you have questions about building software on the Microsoft platform (or even competing platforms), please communicate with us on our blogs. We're focused on the needs of developers and companies that build software for sale, not on internal corporate software development, but many of the concepts are the same. Please let us know what you care about.
