Rolling out Office 2007

bryanhuddleston — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:38:23 GMT

This past week I was asked about rolling out Office 2007. The question was about holding off or rolling it out. From someone who has used the new version for well over 2 years, I’m a strong supporter of the new interface. We have not announced the release date of the next Office release. I would not wait.

Users will benefit from the new interface and features in Office 2007. Any subsequent version will have the new interface, the sooner the user base uses it, the faster they will learn it. Below are a few suggestions I have about rolling it out using the benefits our SA customers already have.

Technical Roll out

Develop a Plan. Use the desktop deployment planning services (DDPS) to devise a plan to manage the desktop and roll out Office 2007/Vista.
Using two versions together(MDOP). If users demand to keep the prior version whey they come up to speed on Office 2003, you can use Softgrid to run both at the same time . On demand Webcast for application virtualization.

User Adoption

Find leaders in groups. Have go-to leaders in groups that support their team and evangelize the use of the new version.
Begin Training. Most companies have the Home Use Program as an integral part of their training. Six to eight weeks prior to rolling Office 2007, the IT teams roll out the home use program. The users begin using Office at home. Learning on their time. Once it’s rolled out company wide, the users are already accustom to the new interface. You can also roll it out in bulk.
Training on the fluent interface. In the successful rollouts of Office 2007 (successful is defined by happy end users), the IT/training teams have concentrated on the different interface. They have not focused on how to use. Microsoft provides interactive guides and mapping workbooks.
Training on the products. Please make good use of the software assurance benefits. Microsoft E-Learning is a great opportunity to offer training to your users on their own time. There is also interactive training and Webcasts and podcasts available to all with or without SA.
Work with a training partner. I always suggest working with someone who has the skill set of training. There are several great partners in the area that can assist you with your training plan.

These are the comments I’ve heard from successful Office deployments. Let’s hear from you!!! What has success been? Please post a comment below on your experience.

Christmas in July… Order your Home Use Program in Bulk

bryanhuddleston — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:03:04 GMT

There is nothing like getting a present. When I bring home something for my wife, her eyes just beam (it’s not a very frequent occurrence). Now, you in IT can do that for your users if you have SA on Office.

IMO, one of the most underutilized benefits provided to customers by Microsoft is the Home Use Program. This allows users to install the full version of Office at their home. Several of our customers in the territory have used this as a means to deploy Office. They use it as part of the rollout. They use the Home Use Program as a means of training for the end users.

There is a bulk order option available and further discounted cost for the Home Use Program media to offer even greater savings to our customers. The costs is $8.00. The process is as follows:

these can only be placed by the customer’s benefit administrator, To help ensure such orders have proper authorization.
There is a minimum order of 20 units
Orders must be charged to a credit card or a PO.
To place a bulk order, your benefit administrator(BA) must access MVLS to obtain the necessary information (including enrollment number, program code, and local support team telephone number, which is found on the left hand side of the screen under support and feedback).
The BA will call the MVLS support team and order a “HUP Bulk Order”. The MVLS/Software Assurance Call Center can reached via phone at 866-230-0560 or email at mvlshelpa@msdirectservices.com.
A completed order form will be sent, including the SKU number, for acceptance of the Terms & Conditions and signature.
After all necessary forms are completed, they are then sent to fulfillment.

Make your end users eyes light up and happy that you provided them with this benefit.

MTK Blog : Software Assurance

Rolling out Office 2007

Christmas in July… Order your Home Use Program in Bulk