Where System Builders Talk Shop... : Office

Desktop Sales Accelerator Program

BOBblog — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:11:00 GMT

System Builders: Accelerate sales of Windows® Vista and 2007 Microsoft® Office system! Check out the Desktop Sales Accelerator – a Microsoft initiative to provide you with the essential training, tools, and resources to drive demand for PCs preloaded with genuine Windows® Vista and 2007 Microsoft® Office system. By participating, you will receive OEM SalesCenter vouchers along with entries to win great prizes, such as a Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 or a $500 American Express gift card. Start here: www.sellmoredesktop.com

Office Ready... Make sure you have all the pieces

BOBblog — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:15:00 GMT

Hopefully by now you have ordered your Office Ready Master Kits and are ready to get going selling new systems with Vista and 2007 Office using the new Office Ready technology to enable the 60-Day trial mode. One important thing you need to know is that the Office Activation Assistant did not make it into this initial release of the Master Kits. In order to convert these installs to trial mode you need to download a seperate application from http://oem.microsoft.com/officeaa. The good news is that it's pretty small (less than 7MB) so it shouldn't take you very long.

Cheers,

Bret Rohloff

U.S. S.B. Tech Team

DST and Launch webcasts

BOBblog — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:36:00 GMT

Hi there! My name is Juli-Ann and I work closely with the BOB team on the marketing side of things. From what we hear, many of you fill a variety of roles at your company including technical and marketing. I wanted to share with you some things on my mind.

First, daylight savings time! In March 2007 the start and end dates of daylight saving time (DST) will transition by 4 weeks to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. These changes could impact software. Are you ready? You can read more about how Microsoft will be releasing updates for affected products at this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx

Second, I know we have a slew of webcasts, but there are two coming up that you won’t want to miss.

January 25 we will be covering what you need to know to be ready for launch of Windows Vista & 2007 Office system. See what campaigns and tools are available for you. Register for “Be Ready for Launch!” at: http://www.msreadiness.com/WS_abstract.asp?eid=15005033
Then on January 29 at 1:30pm, join the celebration LIVE with Bill Gates! Plus, we will also have live training from our own Bret Rohloff, whom you may have seen at one of our Ready 2 Rock road shows last October through December. Register today at: http://oem.microsoft.com/vistaofficewebcast

Let us know what you think!

Juli-Ann (aka BOBette)

PS – For those of you who also wear the marketing hat, we’ve recently started a monthly marketing webcast the third Wednesday of the month. Thanks to the 200 who attended our first one on 1/17. Our next one is 2/21. Come join us to hear the the latest tools and campaigns we offer to help drive your business. Here’s the link: http://www.msreadiness.com/custompage.asp?pageid=1095

Need help getting that Office attach?

BOBblog — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:06:00 GMT

Did you know that over 50% of small businesses that buy new systems without Office pre-installed end up installing a copy with in 60 days? Do you need help capturing that missed sales opportunity? We have made some great changes to our licensing programs that give system builders a second chance to sell Office on a new PC! With the Office Ready PC program, system builders can now either sell Office with a new PC or pre-install a risk free 60 day trial of Office Professional! This is a huge new opportunity for system builders.

Here is how it works:

1. System Builder acquires Preinstallation Kit (OPK)

o Through Distribution
o From www.microsoft.com/oem

2. System Builder installs with a Windows and Office Ready image
3. Customer gets 60-day trial of Office
4. Customer decides they want Office and contacts the System Builder
5. System Builder purchases Product ID from Distribution
6. Customer converts Office Trial with Product ID

Five Great Reasons To Sell 2007 Office

1. Compelling new 2007 Office features and capabilities help drive Office sales on new PCs
2. Home and Student 2007 helps you compete better with a complete SKU lineup and improved consumer/business differentiation
3. Office Ready delivers better customer experiences out-of-the-box and helps you recapture lost revenue through trial
4. Simplified licensing and inventory management for Office across both branded OEM and whitebox Office Ready PCs
5. 2007 Office system helps you engage with customers to drive new hardware sales through compelling capabilities and solutions

The BOB team is presenting a webcast on OfficeReady this Thursday November 30th! Sign up for this webcast where I will go over both the Office Ready program and how to use the OPK Master Kits to pre-install it! Don’t put this off and let another sales opportunity walk away! Sign up now!

SB: Office Ready -What you need to know
http://www.msreadiness.com/WS_abstract.asp?eid=15004843

Office 2007 Training anyone?

BOBblog — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 05:21:00 GMT

WOW...This is awesome if you want to learn about the changes in Office 2007 and trust me when I say that there ARE changes!!!

Launch 2007 e-Learning Courses

Here is a comprehensive list of all the free Microsoft e-Learning courses for Launch 2007. Most of them are centered around Office, but my guess is there will be much more for Vista later on. I'm already going through the 9 hour course on .NET 3.0 (at the very bottom). They're only free for a limited time, so sign up today!

New 2007 Microsoft Office System - Home & Office Users
Free for 90 Days!

Course 4622: What's New in Microsoft® Office Access 2007
Summary: This online course introduces the new features and functionality in the latest version of Microsoft Office Access. There have been substantial changes to the user interface in this database application, and this course can help you get up-to-speed quickly.

Course 4623: What's New in Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007
Summary: This online course introduces the new features and functionality in the latest version of Microsoft Office Excel. There have been substantial changes to the user interface in this spreadsheet application, and this course can help you get up-to-speed quickly.

Course 4624: What's New in Microsoft® Office InfoPath® 2007
Summary: This online course introduces the new features and functionality in the latest version of Microsoft Office InfoPath. Designing and publishing Web-based forms has been made even easier in the latest release of this application, and this course can help you get up-to-speed quickly.

Course 4625: What's New in Microsoft® Office OneNote® 2007
Summary: This online course introduces the new features and functionality in the latest version of Microsoft Office OneNote. All of your text-, voice-, and TabletPC-based notes can be saved in one easy to manage application and shared with others, creating a collaborative work environment.

Course 4626: What's New in Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007
Summary: This online course introduces the new features and functionality in the latest version of Microsoft Office Outlook. In addition to managing e-mail, schedules, and contacts, the latest version of Office Outlook provides enhanced task-management capabilities.

Course 4627: What's New in Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® 2007
Summary: This online course introduces the new features and functionality in the latest version of Microsoft Office PowerPoint. There have been substantial changes to the user interface in this presentation application, and this course can help you get up-to-speed quickly.

Course 4628: What's New in Microsoft® Office Word 2007
Summary: This online course introduces the new features and functionality in the latest version of Microsoft Office Word. There have been substantial changes to the user interface in this word processing application, and this course can help you get up-to-speed quickly.

Course 4697: Introduction to the New Microsoft® Office User Interface
Summary: Several applications in the latest version of Microsoft Office feature a new user interface, making the most frequently-used commands just a single click away. This online course explains how the different elements of this interface are organized, and how to use them to accomplish your everyday tasks.

Course 4698: Getting Started with Microsoft® Office Groove® 2007
Summary: In this online course, you will learn how to create and manage Workspaces with Office Groove 2007. You will also learn how to share files and project information using the Workspace, as well as enabling effective team communication and collecting information using forms.

New 2007 Microsoft Office System - IT Professionals
Free for 90 Days!

Clinic 3041: Deploying Microsoft® Windows Vista™ and the 2007 Office System Client Products (Beta)
Summary: In this clinic, you explore Windows Vista deployment scenarios and the technologies and tools included in Windows Vista to simplify deployment. In addition, you explore the 2007 Office System Client deployment and migration scenarios and the tools available to simplify deployment.

Clinic 3199: Getting Started with the 2007 Microsoft® Office System (Beta)
Summary: In this clinic, you explore the 2007 Microsoft® Office System to understand how it provides many benefits to an organization including enhanced collaboration, personal productivity and an effective enterprise content management solution.
You are also provided with an overview of the server and client components that make up the 2007 Office System.

Clinic 3369: Getting Started with Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services 3.0 (Beta)
Summary: In this clinic, you explore the features and technologies new to Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services (WSS) 3.0.
You are also provided with information about deployment, configuration and migration to WSS 3.0.

Clinic 3370: Getting Started with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 (Beta)
Summary: In this clinic, you explore the 2007 Microsoft® Office System to understand how it provides many benefits to an organization including enhanced collaboration, personal productivity and an effective enterprise content management solution.
You are also provided with an overview of the server and client components that make up the 2007 Office System.

Clinic 5045: Inside Look at Developing with Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services 3.0
Summary: In this 2-hour premium clinic you will learn about the rich capabilities that Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 offers to developers. The clinic will focus on Architecture and List Management, Building and Extending Windows SharePoint Sites, and Packaging and Deploying Windows SharePoint services solutions.

Clinic 5046: Inside Look at Building and Developing Solutions with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007
Summary: In this 2-hour premium clinic you will learn about the rich capabilities that Office SharePoint Server 2007 offers to developers. The clinic will focus on Fundamentals of Building Solutions with Office SharePoint Server 2007, Building Business Solutions with Office SharePoint Server 2007 and how to Incorporate Office SharePoint Services into Business solutions.

.NET Framework 3.0 - Developers
Free for 90 Days!

Collection 5134 : Developing Rich Experiences with Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.0 and Visual Studio® 2005
Summary: This collection of 3 2-hour premium clinics teaches Enterprise Developers and Software Architects about the new capabilities provided by the .NET Framework 3.0.

This is only free for a limied time so I would try to take advantage of this wonderful oportunity!

BoB

23-City Ready 2 Rock Vista\Office Road Show!!!!!

BOBblog — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 22:45:00 GMT

The BoB Team is proud to present the system builder channel with a 23-City Ready 2 Rock Road Show offering product training and hands-on experience.

Microsoft and Intel Help System Builders Get Ready for Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office System and Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors.

Brett and I will be the Microsoft speakers at these events.

The Agenda:

Main stage Agenda

7:00am - 8:00am	Doors Open: Registration and Continental Breakfast
7:45am – 8:00am	Opening Act: Special Raffle Drawings for Early Bird Arrivals
8:00am - 9:00am	Two Technology Super-stars Rock the Digital World: Welcome and Keynote
9:00am - 9:50am	Grow your Fan base: Get Ready to Compete in Today's Marketplace
9:50am - 10:15am	Intermission
10:15am – 10:45am	Out Perform the Rest with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor
10:45am - 11:45am	Rock and Roll your Consumer Sales
11:45am - 1:15pm	Lunch and Vendor Showcase
1:15pm – 3:30pm	Pump Up the Volume through your Business customers
3:30pm - 4:00pm	Intermission and Vendor Showcase
4:00pm - 4:30pm	Tune Up Your Hardware Sales Today while Planning for the Future
4:30pm - 5:30pm	Amplify your Server Sales
5:30pm - 5:45pm	Taking it to the Streets “Ready to Rock” Action Summary and Raffles
5:45pm - 7:00pm	Vendor Showcase

Backstage Hands-on Labs Agenda

5:45pm - 7:00pm	Dinner for Backstage Pass Holders
7:00pm - 10:00pm	Experience it for Yourself: Windows Vista Hands-On Labs

To find out more inofrmation about the tour or to register, please visit:

http://www.intelmicrosoftr2r.com/

MS Press:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/oct06/10-12Ready2RockPR.mspx

BoB

Now available! Office 2007 Beta 2

BOBblog — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 23:25:00 GMT

2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2 Preview Program

http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/default.mspx

The 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2 is now available from Microsoft.com for OEM Support Organizations to download, install, test, and to begin learning about the many new features included in the 2007 Microsoft Office System, prior to launch later this year.

The 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2 Preview site on Microsoft.com provides the following resources for OEM Support staffs to utilize to begin getting familiar with 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2:

· Watch a Video of the new 2007 Microsoft Office System in action.

· View a Video Demo of the new 2007 Microsoft Office System Features.

· Take a Video Tour of the new streamlined Microsoft Office user interface.

· Get Product Information about pricing, packaging, and suite comparison information.

· Take a Test Drive of the new 2007 Microsoft Office System.

· Get educated with Free Online Training from Microsoft Learning.

· Review System Requirements of the new 2007 Microsoft Office System.

· Download the 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2

Evaluate the next release of Microsoft Office products for testing and planning purposes with 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2. The beta release contains all the functionality of the regular release, but is not the final product.

About Beta Software

Registration is required for participation.
2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2 is for evaluation and planning purposes only.
Beta software does not necessarily display the same high level of stability of shipped Microsoft products.
Beta testers may experience problems with 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 products that could potentially result in loss, corruption, or destruction of existing data.
This beta testing release is not appropriate for production use.
It is strongly recommended that you back up your existing data before you install and run this software.
Beta code is offered "as is," and does not include technical support.
Many organizations have policies prohibiting unauthorized software installation on company-owned computers. Make sure you check with your IT department before downloading and installing 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2 on your computer at work.

How to Obtain the 2007 Office System Beta 2

There are two ways to get the 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2:

Order the DVD kit and have it shipped to your home or office.
(Requires payment to cover DVD production, shipping, and handling costs)
Download the 2007 Office System Beta 2 Directly to your PC

The 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta 2 is available via free download in English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish languages at: http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview.

Jaisson Mailloux

National SB Technology Specialist

US SB Technology Team (aka BOB)