October 30th, 2009

Microsoft to drop Office Accounting product, services

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 7:28 am

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Network service providers, Office, Resellers, Systems integrators

Tags: Accounting, Small Business, Microsoft Corp., Office Small Business Web Site, Microsoft Office, Operational Accounting, Financial Services, Office Suites, Software, Finance

Starting November 16, Microsoft is ending distribution and sales of its Microsoft Office Accounting product. Company officials began notifying customers of the decision on October 30.

All Microsoft Office Accounting products in the UK and North America are affected by the decision, including Office Accounting Express, Office Accounting Standard, Office Accounting Professional, Office Accounting Professional Plus, Office Accounting 3-user and Small Business Accounting.

Here’s the back story as to why, according to a statement e-mailed to me by a company spokesperson:

“After evaluating the product over the past few years we have determined that other Microsoft offerings such as free templates in the Office system used with Excel and the Dynamics product are able to meet our customers’ needs. The Office Small Business web site has links to free templates for small businesses, such as invoices, expenses, time sheets, budgets and more and Microsoft’s Small Business Center is also a great resource for small businesses.”

Microsoft officials said that existing Office Accounting customers will get five years of mainstream, free support and five years of extended, paid support. Those who recently bought the product can return it for a refund within 30 days of purchase. (Details on how to return the activation key are here.)

The add-on services that are part of Office Accounting, including online sales from eBay and credit profile from Equifax, will no longer be available after December 15, 2009. The credit-card-processing services and service allowing users to order compatible checks and forms are still going to be available, however. In addition, according to a Frequently Asked Questions document on Microsoft’s Web site, “your customers will still be able to pay emailed invoices directly through PayPal.”

In the UK, as of October 30, Microsoft parter Mamut is taking over product support for Microsoft Office Accounting users. From an update sent to me by Mamut:

“In addition to receiving ongoing customer support from Mamut, current users of Microsoft Office Accounting will be offered a free upgrade to Mamut Business Software solutions. Microsoft will no longer distribute Microsoft Office Accounting in the UK as of November 16, 2009, but Mamut will continue to invest in product development and services to ensure an easy transition for the approximately 100,000 registered users of Microsoft Office Accounting in the UK.”

Update: Microsoft is not disclosing how many total existing customers it has for Office Accounting. (I asked.) I also asked Microsoft whether it has a U.S. support partner in the wings and received this response from a spokesperson:

“Microsoft is considering possible partnership opportunities for qualifying ISV partners in the US; however, we do not have anything to announce at this time. For small businesses, free templates in the Microsoft Office system can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Excel. Mid-sized businesses have the option of using the Microsoft Dynamics ERP products.”

Microsoft has discontinued a number of its consumer and small-business offerings in recent months. In June, Microsoft said it was discontuining Microsoft Money. It also has dropped its Digital Image Suite and Encarta from its line-up.

October 5th, 2009

Flash 10.1 beta coming to Windows Mobile 6.5 phones by year-end

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 5:06 am

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Google, Linux, Network service providers, OEMs, Silverlight (wpf/e), Telecommunications, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Windows client

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Silverlight, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Mobile, Microsoft Corp., Beta, Microsoft Windows, Mobile Operating Systems, Operating Systems, Mobile Applications

On October 5, Adobe did what Microsoft’s own Silverlight team still has yet to do: Pin a date on when it will bring its ad/video-display plug-in to Windows Mobile.

Adobe officials said a public developer beta of the browser-based runtime of Flash 10.1 is expected to be available for Windows Mobile — as well as Palm’s WebOs and Windows, Mac OS and Linux — before the end of the year. A developer’s beta for Google’s Android and the Symbian OS are expected to be available in early 2010. The final version of Flash 10.1 should be out for Windows Mobile in the first half of 2010, according to Adobe’s latest time table.

Adobe’s press release didn’t mention which version(s) of Windows Mobile will be getting full-fledged Flash. PCMag.com said it will be Windows Mobile 6.5, which Microsoft is rolling out officially with its phone-maker and carrier partners tomorrow, October 6. “Lower-tier” devices, meaning older Windows Mobile phones, will be Flash-enabled but not run full-fledged Flash, PCMag.com added.

Adobe announced its intentions to bring Flash to ARM-based phones a year ago, in November 2008, with the first devices supporting it available in mid-2009.

I’m betting we’ll get dates and details from Microsoft about exactly when Silverlight will be coming to Windows Mobile (and possibly other non-Windows-Mobile OS phones) in the next day or so, just in time for the Windows Mobile 6.5 launch. Will Microsoft be making the already-shipping Silverlight 3 on these devices, or will developers and users have to wait for Silverlight 4, which so far, doesn’t have a public release date? Guess we’ll find out soon.

MIcrosoft recently released to manufacturing a new version of Windows Embedded CE, which is the core platform upon which Windows Mobile phones are based, that includes Silverlight support. But officials said availability of that release (Windows Embedded CE6.0 R3) has no bearing on when Microsoft will bring Silverlight support to WIndows Mobile.

Microsoft also recently announced it is porting Silverlight to Moblin-Linux-based mobile devices. That port will be available by early 2010, according to Microsoft.

Update (October 6): I was wrong. Microsoft doesn’t have an update, re: Silverlight’s availability on Windows Mobile, to share today. Company officials said that Microsoft isn’t going to support Silverlight on Windows Mobile 6.5, which launches today on new phones. The official line is users will get Silverlight on Windows Mobile 7.  Windows Mobile 7 phones aren’t currently expected to debut before the end of 2010. I asked if Microsoft might make it available on WM phones before WM 7 and was told no comment.

July 30th, 2009

How will Microsoft fix Windows Mobile? The Softies still aren't saying

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:02 pm

Categories: Apple, Channel, Corporate strategy, Financial Analyst Meeting, Mobile services ("Pink"/"Rouge"), Network service providers, OEMs, Resellers, Telecommunications, Windows Mobile

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Mobile, Microsoft Corp., Unit Volume, Microsoft Windows, Telecom & Utilities, Mobile Operating Systems, Operating Systems, Mobile Applications

Microsoft execs speaking to Wall Street analysts at the company’s annual Financial Analyst Meeting (FAM) have been up front about the fact that Windows Mobile is a problem child for Microsoft. Unit volumes are slighly up but Microsoft’s share of the mobile-phone operating system market is down.

I thought officials might drop a hint or two about Windows Mobile 7, the company’s next big release of its mobile operating system, to show that innovation really is possible in the WinMo business. Or maybe offer up a quick demo of the Microsoft “Pink” phone.

(Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made sure to repeat that Microsoft won’t be developing its own phone; it’ll be providing the software and services, he said. But he didn’t go so far as to say there won’t be a Microsoft-branded phone, built by a third-party phone maker, which is what the “Pink” phone supposedly is.)

At the July 30 FAM event, Entertainment and Devices President Robbie Bach didn’t provide any new answers to the many questions company watchers have about Microsoft’s mobile fix-it plans.

Bach mentioned Windows Mobile 6.5, which will be showing up on the first phones this October. But beyond that, he remained vague about how Microsoft is going to fix its Windows Mobile business, beyond committing to what company officials have promised already.

“The fundamentals of our strategy are based on the idea of choice and selection. It is our view that one model, one type of phone is not going to build volume into that critical mass that we think we need to make the business successful,” Bach told FAM attendees. “We have people who are going to want Qwerty keyboard, touch keyboard, big screen, people who want small screens. People who will make trade offs on battery life to do media. So it is our view we need to work closely with Samsung, LG, HP, HTC, Sony Ericcson and others to build a broad selection of phones with different price points and different functionality.”

Bach threw in the gratuitous reference to the iPhone, but, again, no mention of Windows Mobile 7 — the first real competitor Microsoft is expected to have to Apple, in terms of multi-touch support.

“You will have a very rich browsing experience on 6.5 devices that will give you access to more Web sites than you will be able to get to on an iPhone that will work actively and work well,” he said. “It really is a much better experience.”

Bach reiterated that Microsoft will be moving to the already-announced “Windows Phone” branding with its advertising and marketing, starting this fall.

Last I heard, Microsoft is quite far along with Windows Mobile 7 and will be providing its phone partners with code this fall. The first WinMo 7 phones could show up by spring 2010, unless the Softies’ schedule slips.

July 13th, 2009

Microsoft to flesh out further its private cloud strategy

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 2:15 pm

Categories: App Compatibility, Azure, Channel, Corporate strategy, Management tools, Network service providers, OEMs, Resellers, System Center, System builders, Systems integrators, Utility/cloud computing, Virtualization, Windows server, Worldwide Partner Conference (WWPC)

Tags: Strategy, Data Center, Microsoft Corp., Data Centers, Storage, Hardware, Data Management, Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft is crystalizing its “private cloud” positioning and plans to run it by the 6,000 or so partners attending its Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) this week.

Microsoft officials previously have said that they won’t allow customers to run the Microsoft Azure cloud operating system on customers’ on-premise servers, but that they will make available to users many of the advances in Windows Server, System Center, Hyper-V and other Microsoft technologies so users can create their own “private clouds.”

Microsoft is expected to tout its Dynamic Data Center Toolkit for Enterprises at the show. The product, originally expected to ship by the end of 2009 — according to a private cloud fact sheet that was on Microsoft’s site earlier today but is gone — is now slated for the first half of 2010. It is a “free, partner-extensible toolkit that will enable datacenters to dynamically pool, allocate, and manage resources to enable IT as a service.” Microsoft already offers a version of the Dynamic Data Center Toolkit for its hosting partners.

The Enterprise version of the toolkit is available to enterprise customers, systems integrators and independent software vendors. According to Microsoft’s site,, the toolkit includes an architectural roadmap, deployment guidance, best practices, tools (to help users move existing apps to the cloud?) and unnamed technologies that will provide “interoperability with public clouds.”

Microsoft is attempting to make the distinction between its private and public cloud solutions more concrete. On its Private Cloud subsite within its wider Virtualization site, Microsoft is providing definitions of its on-premise and off-premise datacenter offerings. According to the site:

“Private Cloud - an internal service-oriented environment optimized for performance and cost that is deployed inside a customer’s datacenter. Powered by packaged server products including Windows Server and Microsoft System Center family of products, private cloud provides compatibility with existing applications.

“Public Cloud - provided by service providers and offering customers the ability to deploy and consume services. In this category, Azure is a highly scalable services platform providing pay–as-you-go flexibility delivered from Microsoft’s datacenters.”

While it may not be the Azure OS itself that Microsoft is providing to datacenter users who want to host their own data rather than having Microsoft or its partners do it for them, Microsoft is playing up the similarities between the on-premise and hosted approaches. The tag line from Microsoft’s cloud computing subsite:

“By providing tools that enable customers to manage their fabric and deliver services, Microsoft is providing customers the foundation for cloud computing.”

Do you think Microsoft is just rebranding its existing datacenter software as “private-cloud”-capable? Or does Microsoft’s private-cloud tools and software give it a leg up over Amazon and Google?

In related news, Microsoft is expected to unveil Azure pricing and licensing on Tuesday, July 14, at the Worldwide Partner Conference.

(Thanks to Oakleaf Systems’ Roger Jennings for the pointer to the Microsoft cloud information site.)

May 6th, 2009

Microsoft rethinking its Response Point small-business phone strategy

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 1:11 pm

Categories: Channel, Network service providers, OEMs, Resellers, Speech, Systems integrators, Telecommunications, VOIP

Tags: Strategy, Team, Phone, OEM, Small Business, Microsoft Corp., Team Management, Telecom & Utilities, Management, Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft’s advertising units are just one of several that were affected heavily by the second wave of Microsoft layoffs announced on May 5. Response Point, Microsoft’s small-business phone team, also took a hit.

On the Mini-Microsoft blog, several anonymous posters made it sound as if Microsoft has killed the Response Point team and product. But a Microsoft spokesperson said this is not the case.

In response to my questions about the team and its fate, here is what Microsoft is saying:

“While the Response Point group was impacted by yesterday’s job eliminations, the comments in Mini are not correct.

- We will continue to support Response Point version 1.0. and the current OEMs, Service Providers and resellers that are selling it. Customers will continue to be supported through their OEMs.
- We will also continue to promote the product online and spotlight compatible 3rd party services and add-on products.
- The team is evaluating the strategy for the next version of the product and will continue to investigate the opportunity in the small business market.
- The Response Point team has not been moved to another division.”

(According to posts on Mini-Microsoft, the Response Point team was, most recently, part of the Startup Business Accelerator incubator under Sanjay Parthasarathy.  No official word so far on whether MSN Direct and the .Net Micros Framework, which posters on Mini also identified as Parthasarathy projects that got the axe, actually did.)

Last I heard, the Response Point team was hard at work on the next version of Response Point, code-named “Austin.” Based on this new information from Microsoft, it’s not clear when and if that release still will come to market.

Microsoft released Response Point 1.0 in October 2007. The product, which offered VOIP calling and a voice-activated user interface, is aimed at companies with one to 50 phones.  Response Point OEMs — including D-Link, Uniden, Quanta Computer and Aastra, bundle Microsoft’s Response Point software with their phone systems.

“Evaluating the strategy for the next version of the product” doesn’t mean Response Point is definitely going forward (since one option could be to discontinue it).  But that’s all Microsoft is saying publicly at the moment….

April 29th, 2009

TellMe voice search ready for Windows Mobile 6.5

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:28 am

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Network service providers, OEMs, Resellers, Search, Windows Mobile

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Voice, Tellme Networks Inc., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Handhelds, Wireless And Mobility, Software, Hardware

Microsoft will begin offering phone makers a native version of its TellMe voice search technology customized for Windows Mobile 6.5 starting on April 29.

According to CNet.com’s Download Blog:

“Tellme for Windows Mobile phones will be available beginning Wednesday to manufacturers that want to load it onto Windows Mobile 6.5 phones. Come autumn, the general public will be able to find it (in English) on the phones, in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and directly from Tellme’s mobile-optimized site.”

Up until now, TellMe was not available on Windows Mobile phones even though Microsoft purchased the voice-activated-search vendor two years ago. (A beta of TellMe for the Blackberry has been available since 2008.)

TellMe’s technology will be integrated with Windows Mobile 6.5 at the network level, but will be an optional feature. CNet reports that TellMe for Windows Mobile will make use of Live Search as its only search engine, not too surprising given the Microsoft connection.

Microsoft is slated to show off Windows 6.5 in mid-May at its TechEd conference in Los Angeles. Originally, the Softies were pitching May 11 as some kind of “launch” for Windows Mobile 6.5. But the Windows Mobile Team blog crew has since modified the original post, removing any references to the word “launch.” (I have a copy of their original text on my site.) So it’s now unclear whether Microsoft will actually release Windows Mobile 6.5 to manufacturing by the middle of May, still do some kind of a “business launch” of the platform, or simply show the same Release Candidate 1 demos of Windows Mobile 6.5 they’ve shown before.

The first Windows Mobile 6.5 phones aren’t slated to be available to users until some time this fall.

February 3rd, 2009

What's Microsoft hiding in its Skybox in the cloud?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 5:30 am

Categories: Channel, Code names, Corporate strategy, Live Mesh, Network service providers, Utility/cloud computing, Windows Live, Windows Mobile

Tags: Mobile, Microsoft Corp., Skybox, Skymarket, Skybox Version 2.0, Skybox 2.0, Skyline Service, Advertising & Promotion, Microsoft Windows, Marketing

If you’ve been wondering what Microsoft’s Software+Services strategy is for its Windows Mobile platform, the answer should become a lot clearer in another couple weeks.

There have been a few leaks during the past year about Skybox, Skyline and Skymarket — Microsoft’s cloud-based service complements to mobile phones. Microsoft is set to take the wraps off these three services at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona in mid-February.

I’m not sure about the extent to which the company is planning to share its mobile-services roadmap later this month. But, thanks to some well-connected sources who’ve asked to remain anonymous, I have some details (on which Microsoft isn’t commenting).

The most interesting member of the new Microsoft mobile trio, Skybox, is a hub for user data and information — a place for storing and accessing photos, contact lists, calendar items and more on Microsoft datacenter servers. If you lose or switch your phone, all your data and contacts are saved in your Skybox. Skybox is based on the Mobicomp synchronization technologies that the Redmondians acquired when they purchased the Portuguese services company Mobicomp in the summer of 2008.

Skybox, version of 1.0  of which will go to beta in mid-February, according to sources, will be free for customers, thanks to an ad-supported Web portal. Users will be able to back-up and restore their data; manage content; and share that content with other users.

By summer 2009, Microsoft is planning to field the 1.5 version of the Skybox service, sources said. The 1.5 release will come in two flavors, if Microsoft sticks to its current plan: a free Skybox standard service and a subscription-based Skybox premium service. The 1.5 service will be available on Windows Mobile 6.1, 6.5 and a select few non-Windows-Mobile phones.

Skybox Version 2.0 is where things get more involved — and, if Microsoft can meet its goals — more integrated with other Microsoft properties.

Skybox 2.0 is designed to allow users to manage their mobile devices from the Web; they will be able to change ringtones, backgrounds and manage their mobile apps, music and video all from the cloud, sources said. Version 2.0 will integrate with Skymarket, providing users with a way to buy and store applications and application data on remote servers. Supposedly, with Skybox 2.0, Microsoft also figures out how to integrate Windows Live services and Live Mesh with Skybox.

(Why you’d still need other existing Microsoft services like Live Mesh, SkyDrive and Live Sync — the service formrly called Windows Live FolderShare — in addition to Skyline is not clear to me. The whole idea behind Skybox 2.0 is to make your file and data sharing between your PCs, other devices and phones seamless. I thought that was the goal of Live Mesh, too….)

Skybox 2.0 seems to be running on the same schedule as Windows Mobile 7. (More to come on what that schedule is looking like. Stay tuned. Here’s what sources are saying, re: the latest WinMobile ship-date schedule.)

Back to the big Sky picture. Skymarket is Microsoft’s equivalent to Apple’s iphone App Store. The second piece of the puzzle, Skyline, is a way to push your e-mail, contacts and calendar for both work and personal accounts to your mobile device. The Skyline service is aimed primarily at small-business/home-office workers who don’t have a way to handle managed e-mail at the moment.

What are your first impressions of Microsoft’s Skybox gameplan?

Update (February 6): It looks like Microsoft is going to make the real name for “Skybox” be “My Phone.”

December 19th, 2008

Microsoft puts finishing touches on updated unified-communications platform

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 11:21 am

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Network service providers, OEMs, Resellers, Speech, System builders, Telecommunications, VOIP, Web conferencing, Windows Live, Windows Mobile

Tags: Unified Communications, Microsoft Corp., Release 2, OCS Release 2, Enterprise CAL, OCS Mobile, Collaboration, Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft released to manufacturing on December 19 Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 (R2),  its core unified-communications platform.

R2 is a “minor” upgrade to OCS 2007, which Microsoft rolled out in the fall of 2007. OCS R2’s official “virtual launch” is February 3, 2009.

Microsoft is billing the R2 update to OCS as furthering its enterprise-voice, conferencing and collaboration and development-platform stories with its unified instant messaging/VOIP/conferencing product. Single-number reach and hosted audio conferencing are among the R2 update’s myriad features.

OCS R2 is a 64-bit only product. Customers for the R2 update need both server and client access licenses. According to an update I received from a Microsoft spokesperson:

“The Standard CAL has the IM and presence capabilities including new group IM and rich presence features and costs roughly $21 for the average-size enterprise. The new Enterprise CAL provides all of the new conferencing and VoIP call management features and costs roughly $97 for the average-size enterprise. For most customers, the Standard and Enterprise servers cost about $488 and $2,791, respectively.”

Microsoft is close to delivering the R2 update to Office Communicator Mobile 2007. OCS Mobile is the Windows Mobile client for OCS. Sounds like that announcement is imminent, however.

Still no word from Microsoft on Rouge, which are supposedly a set of premium unified-communications services for mobile devices aimed at business customers….

December 12th, 2008

What 'Zune Mobile' is and isn't

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:17 am

Categories: CES 2009, Channel, Corporate strategy, Mobile services ("Pink"/"Rouge"), Network service providers, OEMs, Windows Mobile, Zune

Tags: Mobile, Microsoft Zune, Zune Mobile, Advertising & Promotion, Marketing, Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft officials (finally) denied this week that the company will be rolling out a Zune phone at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. But they didn’t deny they have something called “Zune Mobile” up their sleeves.

Zune Mobile seems to be a set of Zune-specific premium services for Windows Mobile devices. These services are part of what I’ve been calling the “Pink” services for the past several months.

A few bloggers have talked in generalities about the fact it would be a no-brainer for Microsoft to move some of the Zune services to mobile devices. But Paul Thurrott was actually the first person I saw use the “Zune Mobile” name to refer specifically to this platform, after his meeting this week with the Windows Mobile team.

One of my tipsters, who requested anonymity, recently shared a bit more context on Pink/Zune Mobile.

“Your description  (of Pink as Microsoft’s forthcoming set of premium mobile-services) is fairly spot on as far as I can tell — with the caveat that Pink is a ‘customer’ of Zune services in the music space…not the other way around.  The Musiwave acqusition playing a part there.”

(When Microsoft bought Musiwave back in 2007, there was quite a bit of talk of Musicwave bringing commerce capabilities to Windows Mobile platforms.)

I wasn’t among the attendees of Microsoft’s invite-only Mobius conference this week. I’m sure those folks, who are under non-disclosure, know more specifics. But if I were to guess what kinds of “Zune Mobile” services we might see announced at CES, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more music purchase, playing, sharing and subscribing — and maybe even a little something special for podcasters/podcast listeners, too.

Any other guesses as to what Zune Mobile is/isn’t? And anyone have more thoughts on what kinds of other premium mobile services may be coming from the Pink team (from the Danger crew, especially)?

December 10th, 2008

CES: Zune phone, no. Pink, maybe

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 5:51 pm

Categories: CES 2009, Channel, Mobile services ("Pink"/"Rouge"), Network service providers, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, Zune

Tags: Phone, Mobile, Microsoft Zune, Pink, Advertising & Promotion, Marketing, Mary Jo Foley

Gizmodo has the word from the horse’s (sorry Brian Seitz) mouth: No Zune phone is coming at the Consumer Electronics Show.

What might be coming — and is likely the source of confusion — the “Pink” premium consumer mobile services.

Pink is not the codename for a phone; it is the codename for a set of services under development (of which a Zune music service is expected to be one).  Pink has a business-services sibling; that set of unified-communications mobile services is codenamed “Rouge.”

Neither Pink nor Rouge is tied to a specific Windows Mobile release, I have heard. Both are independent, the same way that Windows Live for Mobile services aren’t dependent on a particular WinMobile release.

Caveat: Microsoft isn’t telling me any of this and won’t even confirm the codenames I’ve heard. Everything I said above is what t I think Pink and Rouge are, based on information from sources who asked not to be named. If anyone has any more specifics to share, feel free to e-mail me privately or post a comment publicly here….