CAN MAP THE FUTURE OF IT?

Microsoft’s Evolving App Strategy Microsoft is trying to better align its applications through a new interface and improved cloud connectivity. Is this the right strategy? BY BRIEN M. POSEY

THE NEW INTERFACE WHERE RT AND OFFICE FIT CLOUD CONNECTIVITY CAN MICROSOFT MAP THE FUTURE OF IT?

ver the past two decades, Microsoft’s strategy for desktop and mobile ap- plications has remained relatively static. Microsoft devoted much of its energy to creating operating systems and allowed applications to develop almost as an afterthought. THE NEW Even today the company adheres to this haphazard approach to applications. INTERFACE O At the same time, the company’s most recent product-release cycle demonstrates that Microsoft’s support for desktop and mobile apps is evolving. WHERE RT AND OFFICE FIT When it comes to application support in the company’s latest releases, two major themes have emerged: the new tile-based (UI) and cloud con- nectivity. While both of these technologies benefit a segment of Microsoft’s cus- CLOUD CONNECTIVITY tomer base, they have also created numerous challenges for IT professionals. In particular, the new interface has been an impediment to adop- tion among business users, but it is part of a concerted effort on Microsoft’s part to build consistency throughout its application set. Despite this imperfect strat- egy, there are signs that the approach is pointing Microsoft in a direction that al- lows business users to productively use Windows, Office and other applications on PCs, tablets and .

2 MICROSOFT’S EVOLVING APP STRATEGY THE NEW INTERFACE

WINDOWS’ NEW INTERFACE The most well-known element of the Windows 8 operating system is the new user interface (which at one time was called the interface and is now known as the Windows 8-style UI). This tile-based interface has merits and liabilities, but it has ultimately proven to be a thorn in Microsoft’s side. Although the interface gained notoriety in Windows 8, 7 in- troduced the UI. At the time, Microsoft wanted to create an interface that worked well on devices, while also delivering a level of intelligence not found in Microsoft’s earlier graphical user interfaces. The fresh interface fit the bill because of its touch features, and because the live tiles allowed applications to convey data in real time. For example, live tiles might display the number of phone calls that have been missed or the number of new THE NEW INTERFACE messages received. The interface used in Windows 8 is based on ’s interface, but

WHERE RT AND with a few enhancements. For example, Microsoft has added the ability to resize OFFICE FIT live tiles, which was impossible on Windows Phone 7. One of the main reasons Microsoft brought its new interface to Windows 8 was

CLOUD to create consistency among its desktop and mobile operating systems. That’s why CONNECTIVITY the interface is being incorporated into Windows 8, Windows RT and . But the interface has met resistance. While the absence of the familiar Win- dows Start button has received the lion’s share of attention, it’s hardly the only problematic issue. Another major complication is that Windows 8 requires users to constantly switch between the new user interface and Desktop mode, because the tile-based interface is the default mode. By contrast, desktop mode provides backward com- patibility and the ability to run legacy Windows applications. Today, switching back and forth between the two modes is frustrating because users can’t run new apps in desktop mode, nor can they use the desktop applica- tions in the Windows interface mode (although legacy Windows applications can be launched from the new Start screen). Users will likely spend the bulk of their time working in Desktop mode. Presumably this will change over time as legacy desktop applications eventually give way to newer-version apps. Despite the hassles of switching back and forth between the two modes, Micro- soft got Desktop mode right. Desktop mode looks nearly identical to

3 MICROSOFT’S EVOLVING APP STRATEGY WHERE RT AND OFFICE FIT

(aside from the missing Start button). Nearly all the applications that run in Win- dows 7 also work in Windows 8 Desktop mode. Another source of frustration for users is the lack of cross-platform compat- ibility. While Microsoft decided to use its new interface for Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8, there is no easy way to move an application from one platform to another.

WHERE RT AND OFFICE FIT Windows RT (Windows Run Time) is nearly identical to Windows 8 but is de- signed to run on devices with ARM processors, such as the Microsoft

THE NEW tablet. INTERFACE Although Windows RT includes the new Windows 8 mode and Desktop mode, it does not support running legacy Windows applications. Legacy Windows ap-

WHERE RT AND plications are designed to run on x86/x64 processors. These applications simply OFFICE FIT cannot run on ARM processors. The only Desktop-mode applications compatible with Windows RT are the

CLOUD built-in copies of and 2013. CONNECTIVITY Most of the new interface’s apps will run on Windows 8 and Windows RT de- vices. These apps, however, are not compatible with Windows Phone 8. Even though Windows Phone 8 devices use ARM processors, they will not run apps that are intended for Windows 8 or Windows RT. Another sometimes-frustrating inconsistency between the three platforms involves Microsoft Office. Windows RT devices (such as the tablet) include , but the (which costs nearly twice as much and runs Windows 8 rather than Windows RT) does not include Microsoft Office. Windows Phone 8, meanwhile, includes Microsoft Office, but the version of Office that’s included with Windows Phone is so watered down that it is barely recognizable. Even so, it is convenient to be able to open, edit and compose Microsoft Office documents on a . In fact, the inclusion of Microsoft Office is one of the areas in which Windows Phone surpasses the competition. Another concern is that Windows 8 includes an that allows users to download and install apps. While the presence of such a store might be welcome for consumers, corporate environments tend to be highly managed and users are

4 MICROSOFT’S EVOLVING APP STRATEGY CLOUD CONNECTIVITY

not typically allowed to install applications without approval from IT staff. Fortu- nately, settings disable access to the Windows store. But what about the different versions of the various Windows applications and devices? Are users left in a state of confusion by seeing certain similarities but also many differences from app to app and device to device? To an extent, yes. From an end-user standpoint, Windows 8 and Windows RT are basically identi- cal. Users often perceive the lack of support for desktop applications as being re- strictions imposed by the IT department, rather than being a limit to the device’s capabilities (which it actually is). Windows Phone 8 may not be able to run apps that are intended for desktops, but it offers a more consistent end-user experience than organizations would be able to provide if they gave their users some other kind of phone. THE NEW INTERFACE

WHERE RT AND CLOUD CONNECTIVITY OFFICE FIT For years Microsoft has pushed organizations toward the cloud. And in the com- pany’s latest round of product releases, that cloud strategy is alive and well. The

CLOUD way in which Microsoft has included cloud integration into its products works CONNECTIVITY well, though it is not without problems. Windows 8 includes an option to log in with a connected account (which is sometimes referred to as a or a account). The advantage of doing so is that Microsoft treats connected accounts as a single sign- on (SSO) portal. Connected accounts can be linked to Hotmail, , Flickr, and LinkedIn (among others). When a user logs into Windows with a con- nected account, the device is automatically configured to accept feeds from any services that have been set up within the connected account. The use of a connected account is consistent among Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8. Each of these OSes fully supports the use of a connected account. By using such an account, users gain access to SkyDrive, which is Microsoft’s cloud storage service. SkyDrive accounts include 7 GB of free storage space; addi- tional space is available for a fee. SkyDrive storage is such a big deal because Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, Win- dows RT and Office 2013 are all designed to take advantage of it. One of the biggest changes in Office 2013 is that users now have the option of

5 MICROSOFT’S EVOLVING APP STRATEGY CLOUD CONNECTIVITY

signing in. Although the idea of logging into Office might seem odd, it isn’t com- pletely unprecedented. After all, apps such as Docs have long used a sign- in process, as has Microsoft’s own Office Web apps. Office 2013’s sign-in process connects Office to SkyDrive. This allows a user’s documents to be accessible from a desktop copy of Office 2013, a Microsoft Sur- face tablet, a Windows Phone or from Office Web Apps. Using SkyDrive to store Office documents works well for users who run Office on a variety of devices, but the concept has also received criticism. One problem with SkyDrive accounts is that it has always been aimed at consumers. Conse- quently, there is no centralized administrative control over SkyDrive accounts (or over connected accounts, for that matter). If a user copies an important Of- fice document to SkyDrive and then forgets THE NEW INTERFACE the password, an administrator has no way to reset the password. Additional concerns Although the center on the possibility of data leakage when WHERE RT AND idea of logging OFFICE FIT using SkyDrive, as have concerns about main- taining regulatory compliance. into Office might

CLOUD In some organizations, the solution to seem odd, it CONNECTIVITY these problems has been to simply prohibit isn’t com­pletely workers from using SkyDrive or connected accounts. In fact, there is a group policy set- unprecedented. ting so organizations can disable the use of connected accounts on computers running Windows 8. A similar setting does not exist on Windows RT or on Windows Phone 8, but this is not likely to be an issue for most organizations since Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 devices cannot be domain-joined. SkyDrive connectivity for Windows and for Office 2013 offers compelling -ben efits, but the lack of centralized management makes SkyDrive impractical for use in corporate environments. Microsoft’s solution to this problem is called Sky- Drive Pro, which, while based on SharePoint, offers similar functionality to Sky- Drive. SkyDrive Pro can run in an on-premises SharePoint 2013 deployment or in the cloud as part of an Office 365 subscription. SkyDrive Pro is designed to replace SharePoint MySites. While it might be easy to think of SkyDrive Pro as a corporate alternative to

6 MICROSOFT’S EVOLVING APP STRATEGY CLOUD CONNECTIVITY

SkyDrive, the two applications are quite different. SkyDrive Pro benefits from SharePoint’s rich content-management capabilities. More importantly, SkyDrive Pro supports local synchronization. Users can sync SkyDrive Pro (or any other SharePoint Online document library) to a local folder. This allows documents to be accessible even when a user works offline. Despite several inconsistencies between Windows 8, Windows RT and Win- dows Phone 8, the three platforms work quite well together. Each of the platforms supports applications that the other platforms do not, but Microsoft has done a good job of making the end-user experience relatively consistent across devices. The three platforms all offer a similar (though not identical) look and feel that should allow users to move from one device to another without shouldering a significant THE NEW INTERFACE learning curve. Even so, Microsoft desper- Microsoft ately needs to create a more seamless way for despar­ately users to switch from one Windows 8 mode to WHERE RT AND OFFICE FIT the other. needs to create Just as all three of Microsoft’s end-user a more seamless platforms use the new interface, all three CLOUD way for users to CONNECTIVITY also support Microsoft Office. The fact that SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro makes a user’s Of- switch from one fice documents available regardless of which Windows 8 mode device he uses should go a long way toward to the other. helping users remain productive. It would be preferable, however, if Windows Phone 8 offered a version of Office that was more like Office 2013. The Windows Phone ver- sion of Office has changed little since Windows Phone 7. The best thing about the Microsoft Office/SkyDrive integration is that the lat- ter is integrated seamlessly. Users don’t have to worry about mapping network drives or setting up synchronizations. SkyDrive is always available (assuming that Internet connectivity is available), and in many cases it is the default option for opening or saving documents. These improved capabilities demonstrate that Microsoft is refining its applica- tion strategy and recognizing that an integrated approach is the way to keep busi- ness users productive. n

7 MICROSOFT’S EVOLVING APP STRATEGY ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BRIEN M. POSEY is an eight- time Microsoft MVP for his work with , Internet Information Ser- Can Microsoft Map IT’s Future? is a vices, Exchange Server and SearchWindowsServer.com e-publication.

file system storage technolo- Margie Semilof gies. He has served as CIO Editorial Director Lauren Horwitz for a nationwide chain of Executive Editor hospitals and health care Phil Sweeney THE NEW Managing Editor INTERFACE facilities, and was once re- Eugene Demaitre sponsible for IT operations Associate Managing Editor WHERE RT AND Laura Aberle OFFICE FIT at Fort Knox. He has also Associate Features Editor Linda Koury served as a network adminis- Director of Online Design CLOUD CONNECTIVITY trator for some of the nation’s Neva Maniscalco Graphic Designer largest insurance companies. Rebecca Kitchens Publisher [email protected]

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8 MICROSOFT’S EVOLVING APP STRATEGY