CAN MICROSOFT 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 user interface (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 Windows 8 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 smartphones. 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 Metro 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, Windows Phone 7 in- troduced the UI. At the time, Microsoft wanted to create an interface that worked well on touchscreen 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 email messages received. The interface used in Windows 8 is based on Windows Phone 7’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 Windows Phone 8. 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 Windows 7 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 Surface 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 Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office 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 Microsoft Surface tablet) include Microsoft Office 2013, but the Surface Pro (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 smartphone. 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 app store 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, group policy 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 Microsoft account or a Windows Live 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, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter 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 Google 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.