Mike Gotta gives comprehensive comments to Bill Gates’s recent speech at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum (GLF) Europe 2006 in Lisbon :
…Bill Gates recently made a speech at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum (GLF) Europe 2006 in Lisbon, Portugal. ..
….The vision that Microsoft has when it comes to integrated communications is non-linear and important to understand in terms of its derivative impact on hardware, networks and software trends across many markets (e.g., consumer, gaming, home entertainment and enterprise). It surpasses the so-called vision of most communication vendors who simply are failing to think more innovatively in terms of the transformational impact the next generation of real-time communication software, services and platforms will have on how people are connected, whether it’s in regard to work practices, personal lifestyles or the myriad of social interactions that increasingly crisscross both worlds. ….
[Via Collaborative Thinking]
I remember when I was selling office equipment back in ’92 (no not the Klondike) and Billy G. was publishing “position papers” on the seemless- end to end integration of office business process (and machines)…it still remains a very fragmented world in the office (check the sales dept.). Henry Ford staked the family jewels on BP improvement and LINE collaboration on $5/day netting a 20fold productivity +gap in HIS favour. PIONEERS get the arrows (so Enterprise will be slow to charge into MSofts UC) BUT which SMB sector will SEE the strategic advantage of perhaps gaining a 1fold productivity improvement in 100 Engineers (or MBA’s) x $90,000 salary. Where is Msoft qualifying this to justify TRIALS to the early adapters? thks
Stuart,
You are completely right productivity is a very important if not *the* goal in this game. We’ve come a long way and still got ways to go.
In recent speeches / papers Gates mentioned ’the last mile of productivity’.
1. You point is taken
2. Your point is being addressed
I do not so much agree on your statement that Enterprises will be slow in adopting UC. THe adoption of technology goes way faster than it did 15 years ago. The hard and software is readily available, people are far more used to using technology for more than their wordprocessing or spreadsheet …
About the scale of the improvement. You have to understand that microsoft builds software for a broad reach in consumer and business markets. This reach allows for a much broader usage and therefor productivity gain than the 100+ engineers you mention. Look for example at what Microsoft is doing wrt BI and ECM .. this scales …
Just like you I wish things would move faster 😉