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

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“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

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.

In an article in Computerworld magazine, writer Gregg Keizer reports the findings and notes that the percent of IT buyers who said their company plans to increase its spending during the first quarter of 2010 jumped up four percentage points since August 2009. What’s more, 26 percent of respondents said their company plans to increase Microsoft product spending in particular.

In all, 93 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with Windows 7.

That’s enough Microsoft froth for one post. On to 2010’s challenges…

The greatest challenge for CIOs, at least according to TechRepublic, is BYOT, or “bring your own technology.”

In an article published January 4, writer Patrick Gray warns CIOs of the growing demand among workers to use their own devices. Coming up with a plan to manage the resulting hodgepodge of operating systems, platforms, antivirus programs and service packs will prove maddening for any CIO.

Here’s a graf from Gray that cuts to the core:

“… [A]n environment that’s locked down and ruthlessly controlled by IT simply will not cut it anymore. As computers and phones have gone from exclusively business tools to a means of personal expression, IT dictating make, model and application selection will be just as anathema as the CEO dictating what color shirt, shoes and pants to wear. Users are going to demand an ability to use devices of their choosing to interact with corporate infrastructure, and I believe this trend is irreversible. IT organizations can choose to fight a losing battle and maintain their walled kingdom, or adopt a BYOT approach.”

Whoa.

Does your IT department have a plan in place? Tell us about it in comments.

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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.

I’m on this kick because I recently had the opportunity to spend a few hours with a half-dozen senior citizens teaching them basic computer skills*. We covered a range of topics, including search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo; e-mail, including attachments, replies, forwards and address books; and how to avoid being scammed.

While explaining e-mail, I mentioned in passing the utility of spam filters. Spam naturally led to mentions of phishing, malware, spyware and CAPTCHA programs. But I was way ahead of myself. I had to stop, back up. I realized they didn’t know what spam was. The challenge was explaining in a way that was jargon-free, and not condescending.

In a post I wrote last week, I talked about the importance of help desk staff knowing how to explain technical terms in plain language, and how such a skill can can encourage IT/business alignment.

Here’s what I think should be mandatory for all IT personnel: Spend a day or two teaching people who have never, ever used a computer. It would do wonders for IT/business alignment — plus give staff some much-needed perspective.

*I found the opportunity through the nonprofit Greater Philadelphia Cares, which uses volunteers for dozens of projects. For information, visit the organization’s web site (www.philacares.com).

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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?

It seems the original Mozilla documents on which Computerworld writer Gregg Keizer based his story were “worded kind of poorly” (that came from Mozilla’s mouth, and was reported by Computerworld).

Keizer simply reported what he read, which is what reporters do. Mozilla, however, was unprepared for the backlash.

According to Keizer’s second piece, Firefox users voiced their opposition with Mozilla, and on the Computerworld comment boards. (A sampling: “Has Microsoft sent Jim Jones type enforcers around squirting Microsoft Kool-Aid down the throats of the Mozilla folk?”)

Mozilla is standing behind its promise not to ribbonize. It will, however, “streamline” the popular browser. Expect a minor upgrade in the March 2010 release.

Browser Soup: (noun, derogatory): A stew of browsers in one “frame,” where each browser has its own set of features, etc., that behave differently.

On Sept. 28, former Mozilla CEO and current Mozilla Foundation chair Mitchell Baker panned Google’s new Chrome Frame plug-in as “browser soup.”

“For many people,” Baker wrote in her blog, “Chrome Frame will make the web even more unknowable and confusing.”

Comments in response to her post were abundant. One reader asked Baker if she was “jealous much?” Another comment accused her organization of hypocrisy: “You’re doing exactly the same thing (possibly even more so). Google just beat you to the punch, and Google has a lot of really popular websites that will help the widespread acceptance of this plug-in.”

I will keep checking back. Soup is always better a few days later. (Jen Darr)

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“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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