Although most tech publications are reporting on Microsoft Office 2010, the reality is that a significant number of U.S. companies have yet to finish the Office 2007 upgrades they purchased before the recession hit.

Windows 7 is upon us. New operating system, new Office suite. Let the games begin.

According to a leading industry source, about 50 percent of enterprise-sized IT infrastructures are running mixed Microsoft Office end-user environments. That’s a whole lot of wasted investment.

Then there are companies who waited for that whole Vista debacle to blow over. They kept XP and Office 2003, with the aim of upgrading when Windows 7 was released.

Windows 7 is upon us. New operating system, new Office suite. Let the games begin.

We have compiled a list of the most common Office 2007 user questions and issues, and it was recently published by IT World. You can read it here. Take notes, and happy migrating.

PC Helps also recently published a white paper on the subject, titled “The Myths and Realities of an Office 2007 and Windows 7 Migration.” Download it for free http://www.pchelps.com/html/o2007mythsrealitiesroi.asp

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

admin Office 2007, Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program, Windows 7 ITworld.com, Microsoft, Office 2007, ROI, Windows 7, Windows XP

Weather the storm by enlisting the help of Microsoft migration experts like PC Helps. PC Helps has successfully assisted in the Windows 7, Office 2007 and Office 2010 migration efforts for thousands of corporate end-users. The PC Helps Migration Assurance Plan is designed to minimize the learning curve and reduce downtime which allows end-users and internal IT staff to quickly regain the confidence and knowledge necessary to remain productive.
Learn more >> www.pchelps.com/emailweb/sd/O2K10_deplmnt/O2K10_lp.html

admin Uncategorized Help Desk, Microsoft, migrations, Office 2007, Office 2010, ROI, Windows 7

According to an article in Bloomberg Businessweek, published May 12, 2010, Microsoft Corp. expects customers to adopt the new version of Office at the fastest pace in the software’s 20-year history.

“The version will be the best ever in terms of adoption speed, both because of the interest we are seeing and the Windows 7 adoption curve,” Chris Capossela, a senior vice president in the Office group, said in an interview last week.

As a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner and an industry leader in supporting corporate end-users through Office and operating system migrations, this news is exciting for PC Helps Support. For an IT leader needing to prove ROI on this Microsoft upgrade investment to the company CEO and CFO, in addition to maintaining service and productivity levels throughout the actual migration period, ‘exciting’, might not be the most accurate term.

If you are planning on deploying Office 2010, combat any anxiety by enlisting the help of Microsoft migration experts.

PC Helps has successfully assisted in the Windows 7 and Office 2007 migration efforts for thousands of corporate end-users. The PC Helps Migration Assurance Plan was designed to minimize the learning curve and reduce downtime which allows end-users and internal IT staff to quickly regain the confidence and knowledge necessary to remain productive.

PC Helps will deliver a similar migration assurance plan for all phases of an Office 2010 deployment. Download the PC Helps Windows 7 and Office 2007 Migration Readiness Kit for a preview of what can be expected for Office 2010: http://www.pchelps.com/emailweb/sd/O2K10_deplmnt/O2K10_lp.html?v=0035000000dgGR1AAM&s=8649A6D22C&rg=1

admin Uncategorized Microsoft, migrations, Office 2010

You didn’t think you’d ever read the following: Reports are in and Windows 7 is proving easier to handle than its detested predecessor, Vista.

Coming up with a plan to manage the resulting IT hodgepodge will prove maddening for any CIO.

According to a recent article by Ina Fried in CNetnews.com, Microsoft is experiencing fewer support calls since it launched Windows 7 – about half of what it expected. It’s attributable in part to the new version’s higher quality, but also, writes Fried, to Microsoft’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of self-service with an experts’ forum called Microsoft Answers and its @MicrosoftHelps Twitter feed.

As if that wasn’t good enough news for Microsoft, here’s another report to add to the Windows 7 love fest: According to market research firm ChangeWave, Windows 7 satisfaction has stimulated corporate IT spending. Read more…

admin This Week in Tech News, Windows 7 CNET, computerworld, Gregg Kaizer, Ina Fried, Microsoft, Patrick Gray, Vista, Windows 7

If someone asked you explain exactly what a computer mouse is, what would you say? A “pointing device”? But how does it actually point? With infrared sensors, of course. But what is “infrared”?

Not everyone knows what a mouse is, or what a gigabyte is, or how the Internet works.

To people who have used computers since the 1990s, this is an unnecessary dialogue. Doesn’t everyone know what a mouse is?

No, not everyone does. Nor does everyone know what a gigabyte is, or how the Internet works, or what a virus does, or the difference between Office 2003 and Office 2007. It’s called the digital divide, and it’s still an issue.

Granted, the digital divide really isn’t an issue in most office environments — you can expect your colleagues to have experience with computing and the Internet. But the fact that it still exists, even when computers are so inexpensive and ubiquitous, should remind us that we are not all at the same level, and it’s not always for lack of interest or aptitude. Read more…

admin Computer Literacy Bing, CAPTCHA, digital divide, Google, Greater Philadelphia Cares, lingo, Microsoft, Office 2003, Office 2007, spam, Yahoo

The tech world’s knickers have been in a bunch these past few weeks. While Mozilla (makers of the Firefox browser) and Google (makers of everything else) are sniping at each other over Google’s new Chrome plug-in, the anti-Microsoft camp is warning of the dangers of the Ribbon. There is an upside: Out of all that griping we have two new tech terms (new to us, at least). Read and enjoy.

One reader asked Baker if she was “jealous much?” Another comment accused her organization of hypocrisy.

Ribbonize: (verb, derogatory) To remove universally familiar software menus and put in newfangled, Microsofty ribbons.

On Sept. 22, Computerworld magazine ran a piece titled “Mozilla plans to ‘ribbonize’ Firefox.” A week later, the magazine ran another piece, this one with the headline “Mozilla denies it will ‘ribbonize’ Firefox.”

What gives? Read more…

admin Tech Babble computerworld, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, the Ribbon

Some of our customers are so surprised that our consultants are friendly, they send us letters like this:

“Now I must tell you that I’m not the brightest when it comes to technical-type stuff. I’m sure I asked a lot of ‘silly’ questions, and probably had to ask them more than once. [Your consultant] never made me feel stupid and demonstrated the utmost patience and kindness when dealing with me. I have had to call back on a number of occasions and requested to work directly with him because he was so knowledgeable, helpful, personable, and, oh, did I mention patient?”

While we welcome praise like that, it does make us wonder why dreadful customer service is the accepted standard — at help desks for sure, and in business in general.

It’s a fact that if customers are treated poorly, they will hesitate to call back the next time they have an issue.

In a recent piece in Information Week magazine, staffer Art Wittmann argues for a more customer-friendly future. In IT, Wittman says that interest in end-user satisfaction needs to increase. Help desk techs need to learn soft skills, and how to use them.

Wittmann’s piece was a response to Microsoft’s move to open Apple-like stores in the near future, complete with digital media walls and a space fit for birthday parties (!). It seems Microsoft wants in on the good-customer-service game.

The lesson to be learned from Microsoft’s efforts, Wittmann writes, is that the drive to create customer loyalty is something all enterprise CIOs should have on their minds.

“If you still have pockets of technologists sitting around swilling Red Bull and laughing at ‘lusers,’ wake up and smell the clouds rolling in,” he writes.

We couldn’t agree more. It’s a fact that if customers are treated poorly, they will hesitate to call back the next time they have an issue. Instead, they’ll ask a colleague for help and waste the time of two employees, devise clumsy workarounds, or do nothing at all. Morale will suffer too.

Who is losing money now? The company, that’s who. (Jen Darr)

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admin Customer Service Apple, Art Wittmann, CIO, Help Desk, InformationWeek, Microsoft, productivity, soft skills