A lot can happen in ten minutes, just ask Dane Coles who thought he’d sealed another All Blacks win in Johannesburg on Sunday.
But as the world champions lick their wounds for the first time in 22 matches, Computerworld NZ spent 10 minutes more productively - understanding what Microsoft Windows 10 means for Kiwi businesses.
“It signals a new approach for how Windows is going to be released,” says Dean Edwards, Windows & Surface Business Group Lead, Microsoft New Zealand.
Unveiled last week, Microsoft provided a first look at Windows 10 via an early technical preview for the PC, which became available on October 1.
In released the next generation operating system however, Redmond has came in for criticism regarding the omission of Windows 9, a move Edwards says represents a shift in how Microsoft will deliver its Windows platform going forward.
“This is not an incremental upgrade, it’s a new way of approaching the Windows business, especially around how it’s going to be delivered.
“We’re moving away from three year major releases to a regular cadence of updates.”
Traditionally releasing chunks of releases separated by months not weeks, Microsoft says it will be now releasing Windows feature updates as often as every month, which many speculate will allow for greater responsiveness and agility within the Microsoft Windows team.
Mouse and keyboard…
In better aligning the software to mouse and keyboard users, Edwards says Microsoft is bringing back a much more familiar Windows 7 style experience to help drive uptake.
“We’re making the transition a lot easier,” says Edwards, speaking exclusively to Computerworld NZ. “We’re doing a lot of work to make it much more feasible to take a device as it stands and configure it for enterprise without having to implement a wipe and replace system.
“We believe this will be a huge driver for business as what happens today is enterprises wipe devices and try to set up from scratch. But we’re doing a lot of work through Windows 10 to take an existing device off the shelf and configure it to work with your business from the outset.”
Redmond also introduced the Windows Insider Program, an open collaborative development effort no doubt designed to avoid the past struggles of the early Windows 8 rollout.
“This is the earliest we’ve ever released a preview of the next version of Windows,” Edwards adds. “It’s always been traditionally but we are seeking valuable feedback from enterprises around the features such as what’s working and what isn’t?”
Targeted directly at enterprise customers focused on mouse and keyboard, not touch, Edwards says the Microsoft story around mobile devices, smartphones, Windows RT and the consumer experience will be told in the future.
“We’re aiming this preview at enterprise,” he adds. “We’re working hard on improving enterprise security through features such as two-factor authentication and providing greater flexibility in how enterprises can rollout updates.
“Effectively we’re leaving down to individual business decisions. Enterprises must ask themselves if they wish to follow down the consumer path and experience the latest and greatest, or implement more of a lockdown experience.
“We’re trying to provide enterprise with greater flexibility and make Windows easier to manage through existing management tools.”
Billed as the biggest release of Satya Nadella’s tenure of CEO so far, Redmond has been quick to remind enterprise that the Windows 10 preview still has many rough edges.
But during this crucial period of feedback they’ll no doubt hope enterprises can help uncover the diamonds in the rough, and with it, banish the memories of Windows 8 to the annals of history.
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