The announcement (Thursday 17th July) by The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) that Google Apps will replace Microsoft Office as the productivity suite for its 1400 employees should send a warning call to Microsoft. In my mind it’s a bombshell! Not that Microsoft will mourn the loss of 1400 business users (a drop in the ocean of its installed customer base), but for what the move represents. Read more

It threatened the worst. Yesterday saw a month’s rain fall in the space of 24 hours. Today…Death by PowerPoint - slow and painful. What’s more all this taking place in an economic climate bleaker than yesterday’s British Summer.

I’ve just returned from a Sage Software Business Partner event in central London. Read more

As of June 30, large PC makers will no longer be able to sell Windows XP-based PCs, at least on mainstream notebooks and desktops. Retailers will also have only until their current supply is exhausted to sell boxed copies of the operating system. Despite a brief “Save XP” movement (and continued criticism of Windows Vista from many corners), it appears that Microsoft is not going to change the deadline, which is now just 10 days away. Read more

Surely, there are two words which describe how the Google search engine has caught the imagination of the global village- simple and brilliant! Read more

Ahhh, the wonders of technology! I can sit and write this blog whilst waiting for an RAC man to fix my broken down car, stranded as I am, on a London arterial car park. Whatever happened to the boast that we would all be rescued from roadside boredom within 40 minutes? Read more

What do power cuts and shortages in South Africa have to do with computing in the UK? 

An odd comparison you might think. But consider the situation where electricity is rationed, or at least in short supply, as is the case in South Africa. How would you handle keeping household and office equipment functioning under such conditions? UPS’s don’t generally work for a two hour stretch. How would you ensure that your workforce maintains a semblance of productivity without functioning tools?  Read more

This week I attended a meeting within the offices of one of the UK’s largest software houses.  Having never been there before I was struck with how impressive the building appears as you approach by road.  It is an imposing and formidable structure, very angular and much glass.  This feat of modern architecture is in stark contrast to the barren “wasteland” that surrounds it.

Even before entering the building, everything about the construction speaks size.  Read more

“The biggest decision we’ve made is to push into business applications,” declared Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Dynamics-based Convergence conference in Florida last week. “I still get asked “is Microsoft a serious player in business applications?’” The answer it seems is, yes. “This is mission-critical for us,” thundered Ballmer.  (myCustomer.com 18/03/08)

The question of whether Microsoft is serious about business software is really a non-starter. Read more