All about Unified Communications : Other

Exceeding expectations

markdea — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:35:18 GMT

About a week ago I popped into the Reading Audi garage to book an appointment to get my Audi looked at as I had been having problems with the back window. I booked it in for Tuesday (today) and my expectation was for them to pick up the car from work, do the work and drop it back off at work.

As well as fixing the window, they also fixed the engine cover on the underside of the car, washed and cleaned the inside and outside of the car, serviced the car including topping up the coolant which was below the minimum and finally phoned me to update me on the progress during the day. With a tiny bit of effort on their side they have exceeded my expectations and have a very loyal and happy customer.

What might you ask does this have to do with Unified Communications? I have two examples where exceeding expectation by a tiny amount can benefit your internal and external customers and create loyalty.

Deliver more than just 'telephony over IP' - One of the things I have said a number of times in the past is that when deploying IPT, don't just swap an RJ11 connector for an RJ45 as this is what the customer, your employees or users, are expecting. Instead why not replace their existing telephony system with a solution that not only delivers it over IP but also provides presence, voice, video and data collaboration, enabling them to communicate quicker and easier and ultimately spend more time with their customers and less time battling with technology. Exceed the expectations of your users by providing something extra!

Exceed your external customers expectations - I recently phoned a structural engineer to confirm an appointment and because the guy was busy at the time, the person on the phone said to me "Jim isn't available at the minute, can he phone you back later when he is around". I have heard this a number of times before and to me that means I would probably need to phone back a few hours later to chase things up, not a great experience. Instead, wouldn't it have been better if they had said, "I can tell he is on the phone the minute but has said he will be finished in a second" or "I can see he has availability to come next Thursday, is 3pm ok for you?". This tiny but extra piece of information, obtained by either IM'ing, checking someone's presence or calendar, would have made me feel more in control of the situation and would have provided me with more detail than I would have expected. Again, a little extra goes a long way!

So no matter whether your customer is an external one or an internal one, think about the way in which they communicate with you currently and how you can improve on this experience. Make it either easier to communicate with you, easier for them to do their own job and ultimately deliver more than they are expecting!

More cross platform loveliness

markdea — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:06:40 GMT

One of the things I really love about what we do a Microsoft is that sometimes we like to 'break the rules', not in the sense that we do something we shouldn't, more that we do things that should have been done a long time ago.

One of the more recent examples of this is Shadowrun, a game that you can play online across PC and XBOX ... cross platform ... how cool is that!

Well, the boys and girls at XBOX Live and Windows Live Messenger have teamed up to announce a connection between the 260 million Windows Live Messenger users to the 6 million XBOX Live users.

This means from May 7th, gamers will be able to chat with their friends no matter whether they are on the XBOX 360 or Windows Live Messenger.... this truly is another example of us 'breaking the rules' and connecting two great communities together .... lets hope they add voice and video soon after!

For more detail on the above announcement as well as other details on what will be released on the 7th, pop along to the press release.

April MMMUG meeting

markdea — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:05:56 GMT

Now that our Unified Communications technology is coming of age, there seem to be a number of communities popping up in relation to our technologies, this is great to see!.

I met with Nathan Winters of MMMUG the other day at a Quest event and I just noticed they are planning to have their April meeting at London Hilton Paddington on Thursday 19th of April.

For more information or if you want to sign up then pop along to http://www.mmmug.co.uk/forums/thread/1036.aspx

Microsoft Response Point

markdea — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:23:58 GMT

One of the problems with most telephony systems is that small business don't want to spend their time configuring and repatching phones when someone moves from desk to desk. They have enough to worry about without having to become PBX technicians as well.

To that end, a small team in Redmond has been working on a solution and today we announced Response Point and three vendors we will be working with to bring this solution to market.

This natty little telephony system has a number of features including an automated attendant, speech recognition, voicemail, voicemail to email, incoming call popup's on your desktop and integration into Outlook.

This is an interesting and exciting piece of news and it I would love to get my hands on one of these to play with :-)

IM supporting NineMillion.org ... you?

markdea — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:05:33 GMT

Today I noticed that Steve Clayton has changed his Display Name for Windows Live Messenger, it now includes an unusual looking icon so I thought I might do some more investigation to figure out what is was all about.

The Windows Live Messenger team have set up a scheme whereby you simply add a small piece of code to your display name and everytime you speak to someone in the US, a small piece of advertising revenue is donated to your chosen cause.

Currently, it only works for the US but I am sure they will branch out into other geographys as soon as they can. Until then, feel free to add the code to your display name and spread the word .... or icon rather !

Exchange 2007 taking its ideas from Star Trek?

markdea — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:48:15 GMT

Well not quite but it got you wondering didn't it ?

Hot of the heels of Exchange 2007 is the Microsoft Transporter for Lotus Domino.

This comes in a 32bit and a 64bit flavor, depending on your preference and in the words of the Exchange product team the "Microsoft Transporter for Lotus Domino configures Directory synchronization and Free/Busy lookups between Lotus Domino 6 or 7 and Exchange Server 2007 and Windows Server 2003 Active Directory. SMTP is used as the mail routing transport between Lotus Domino 6 or 7 and Exchange Server 2007.

Transporter also migrates users, mail databases and applications from Lotus Domino 5, 6 or 7 to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, Exchange Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0."

I don't think it's technical requirement but while using this tool feel free to say beam me up Scotty' at important moments. It only seems right given its unusual name!

Let Santa know your last minute present requests!

markdea — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 13:20:31 GMT

I spotted this on someone's blog today and wanted to share this with you :-)

It appears that in order to communicate with a new younger generation of kids, Santa has had a meeting with the Windows Live Messenger guys at Microsoft and has signed up for Windows Live Messenger. As you can see, I had a quick word with him myself to see if I can get a Zune and an XBOX 360, lets see what comes down the chimney !

If you want to have a quick chat with Santa then add northpole@live.com to your Windows Live Messenger list and as long as you have been good then you should find he talks back to you.

Safe in the fact that I have been a 'good boy' this year, I will be tracking my imminent Zune/XBOX 360 combination on the Santa Tracker and hopefully I should find a large Zune/XBOX 360 shaped box at the end of my bed :-)

I am now off work until the 2nd of Jan during which time I will be eating mince pies, playing with the toys/gadgets that I hope to get for xmas and generally chilling and reflecting on the busy 2006 we have all had and the exciting 2007 to come.

2006 has seen a number of events including the launch of Exchange Server 2007, Unified Communications disclosure day in June, a first look at Office Roundtable, Office Communications Server 2007 beta, Nortel & Microsoft alliance, Office Communicator Phone Experience, details on PC Peripheral devices and a number of other partnerships with organisations like Motorola, Siemens and HP and finally me getting my new job (not important for most people but a really big event for me).

That said, I think 2007 is going to be even more exciting as it will see all of this years announcements become a reality as the code is finished, the CDs start to get burnt and we actually have these technologies available to everyone and not just the beta testers. For me, 2007 is going to be the year when changes started to happen in the way people communicate and possibly how the telecoms and IT industry work together, because of the products we have coming out in 2007. I don't doubt for a minute that its going to take time for things to change but I think in years to come we will look at 2007 as the year when it all started to happen.

Finally, this week will be the last week I use my deskphone at work. In order to prove a theory I have, I plan not to use my deskphone in 2007. I will rely solely on my mobile and Communicator 2007 to make calls. Will let you know how I get on :-)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

Want to help out with the next generation of Microsoft software?

markdea — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:55:30 GMT

I was reading the MS Exchange team blog and came across this interesting Microsoft site that I wasnt aware existed.

Have you ever thought 'why does the x feature in Word work like that?' or 'why can get make Exchange do x?' then its well worth spending a few minutes taking a look at the Usability Research website and sign yourself up.

An excellent oppotunity to shape the products you use everyday and you might even be able to lay claim to your own feature in the next generation of Microsoft applications!

Battle of the titans - Family Fortunes

markdea — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:35:00 GMT

Earlier this week we ran an internal event at Microsoft in UK to celebrate the launch of Exchange 2007, Windows Vista and Office 2007. We were joined by the 'Bobby Dazzler' himself .... David Dickinson!

The theme was family fortunes and of course included the big screen, two rows of mics where the families sat and all in all was a real good event. We even had the UH-UHHHHH sound !

Thanks to Steve, Christian, Brett and Jessica for joining me as the Exchange family and well done to Darren and his Office family and Paul and his Windows Vista family.

A fun event and are really good reminder for everyone that the funs only just started for Exchange, Vista and Office!

Free Wifi

markdea — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 02:17:00 GMT

Thought that might get your attention!

Recently I went to visit the inlaws in Norfolk and you can only begin to imagine how disconnected I felt as their house had neither a mobile signal nor broadband :-(. Given that I have wireless internet access at work, home, my parents and my friends in Canterbury, I am not usually more than 1 hr away from a quick internet connection :-). Little did I know, that if I had popped into the nearest city i.e. Norwich that I would be able to experience the wonders of free and city wide wireless networks.

I learnt this little known yet interesting fact on the Gadget Show, a series recording on my MCE of course, and it looks as if Jason is pushing for the same to occur in other cities too!

I have registered by support at http://gadgetshow.five.tv/campaign/wifi/ and anyone else who would like to see this extended to other cities should do the same.

Bring on wireless-free-broadband!

Vista has released to manufacturing ... Exchange 2007 next!

markdea — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:17:00 GMT

Hot of the heels of my post yesterday, I am pleased to say that I received an email today to celebrate the fact that Windows Vista has RTM' d!

This is great news and this is what the press is saying already about Vista already

The long wait for Microsoft’s next operating system, Windows Vista, is almost over. Dramatically redesigned, the new OS features tighter security, slicker visuals and friendlier—one might be tempted to say Mac-like—applications for managing photos, movies and music. –Wilson Rothman, TIME
If all Windows users were running Vista, the world would be a much safer place. –Larry Seltzer/eWEEK
As to Microsoft (Windows) Vista, bravo. … It brilliantly and intuitively lets one use a PC with extreme efficiency and/or enjoyment. –James Coates/Chicago Tribune
One of Vista's biggest promises and one of the best inducements to want it now - is to help you regain the upper hand in the battle against information overload. –John Clyman/PC Magazine
With Vista, Microsoft has made significant investments in connecting people to information so they could work in smarter ways, which is essential for the enterprise. –Peter Galli and David Morgenstern/eWEEK
There are a lot of things in Vista for the enterprise that are compelling. You have security, management, robustness, fewer reboots…. I think a lot of people will refresh their desktops, servers and applications. –Peter O’Kelly, an analyst with Burton Group in Network World

Needless to say, even now there is a buzz in the office (for those of us that are still in the office at this hour) and over the next few weeks the excitement will build as we move closer the launch of Exchange, Vista and Office in the UK.

One of the biggest Microsoft launches ever is well under way, its going to be a busy year for us all :-)

Its starting ......... 2007 Microsoft Office System goes gold!

markdea — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:11:41 GMT

I joined the company five years ago in 2001 and a month later they launched Windows XP. I remember this being a big event both in the news as well as within Microsoft. A number of years have gone by since then and with the launch of Vista, Office and Exchange all at the same time, some are saying its one of the biggest launch events we have ever had.

The first step towards this amazing year started on November 6th with 2007 Microsoft Office System going 'gold'. I have been using it since Beta 1 and its great to see its now gone gold.

Vista and Exchange next, what beta software will I run on my laptop once they go gold?

Windows Live Local goes 3D!

markdea — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 17:00:00 GMT

local.live.com has now gone 3D and as you can see on the left hand side, its a pretty good start.

When I initially heard about this, I thought it would be pretty limited in its use as not all of the UK will be mapped in 3D, but it acutally makes 2D map easier to navigate for those that are a little, how shall I put it, spacially challenged.

Even though I couldnt find any of Reading that was 3D mapped, I tapped in the details of my house, flipped it to 3D view and flew along the A329M to work :-)

I highly recommend you take a look at local.live.com and download the small update to allpw you to view the world in 3D. It is also worth noting that in 3D view that it now jumps from location to location when you type in an address, great for those who like something that looks cool as well as works well !

Beta the devil you know!

markdea — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:35:48 GMT

Recently I found myself in the strange position of actually having fully released software on my machine. This is quite an odd experience for me as I am currently running Vista and Office 2007, connecting to an Exchange 2007 mailbox ... none of which are released code :-).

Luckily, it looks like I don't need to run the current released version of Windows Live Messenger muchg longer as we have brought out another beta :-) .... 8.1 to be precise !. There are a number of changes made in the background but the ones you will notice are redesigned contact cards and display photos and names will now roam with the you to any computer you use with messenger.

Pop along here and download the new beta of Windows Live Messenger, for your efforts you will be rewarded with two free calls to anywhere in the world. Use them wisely!

New FY, New Challenges, New Role :-)

markdea — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:08:00 GMT

Back in February, I started writing to this blog as my role was changing slightly within Microsoft. Since then I have worked with lots of great partners and in particular have worked within a team of extremely talented people who have the tough job of getting their message out to tens of thousands of partners. The PTS team has achieved this by using both blogs and PTS-TV and is a unique team not only within Microsoft UK but Microsoft globally. My time spent working in this team has been a great experience and its a shame I have to leave.

However, recently I have been given the opportunity to change my role within Microsoft and concentrate on my real passion i.e. Unified Communications. So, as of August 21st, I will be taking on a new role of Unified Communications Product Manager at Microsoft in the UK. This doesn't mean I will stop blogging, but you might see a change of focus from partner specific to all things Unified Communications. Thanks to everyone in the PTS team, you are indeed a talented bunch of guys, even Sayers, I look forward to working with you guys in my new role.

With Exchange 2007 and Office Communications Server 2007 coming out , its going to be an exciting time for customers, partners and Microsoft. I can't wait !