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 the free migration kit here.

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

Perhaps this scenario describes your desktop software situation: Half of your end users use Office 2007, and the rest are still running Office 2003. All you’ve heard from the former are “Where’s the file menu?” and “How do I save a document?” From the latter, you’ve likely listened to endless grumbling about their frustration with Office 2003-incompatible files created by colleagues.

Final post in a four-part Office 2007 migration series.

It needs to be said: Finish what you started.

In June 2009, PC Helps partnered with CIO.com to communicate the myths and realities of an Office 2007 migration and eight service levels needed to prove migration ROI. Since the recent release of Windows 7, We have updated the Office 2007 myths and realities white paper to include actual call statistics and adoption considerations for Windows 7 as well.

IT leaders cannot afford to approach an Office 2007 or Windows 7 migration blindly. The user interface is radically different and guarantees that your employees will flounder just trying to perform basic tasks. Separate the facts from the myths, and learn how to get the most return on your investment. Download the free, updated white paper now.

Read the series: Finish What You Started.

MORE INFO IN: Office 2007 Migration Case Study | Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program | Migration Readiness Checklist | Migration Competitive Analysis | Contact PC Helps

admin Finish What You Started, Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program CIO, migration, Office 2007, white paper, Windows 7

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

Migrating to Windows 7 and Office 2007 is a massive undertaking, no matter your company size. Preparation is vital to a successful transition. Using the information and data points we’ve culled from many successful migrations with our mid- to enterprise-size clients, we have organized this collection of best practices and common occurrences:

Most Common Support Calls

Many corporate workers have been using Windows XP for some time now, so a learning curve with Windows 7 is inevitable. Below are some factors that will affect your employees’ productivity with the new operating system:

• Elimination of the Quick Launch toolbar and the Vista sidebar (if applicable)
• A new taskbar with icons only
• Changes to auxiliary apps like Windows Movie Maker and Windows Mail
• New features like Federated Search, Windows Mobility Center, Aero Peek, Jump Lists

Best Practice – Provide consolidated training on these features before deployment or make sure Windows 7 experts are standing by and are readily available the day of deployment. Downtime is costly.

As for Office 2007, its radically different interface will result in an even steeper learning curve. The design is such a departure that your employees will hit snags just trying to figure out how to perform basic tasks like saving and formatting. Here are some issues that may cause problems: Read more…

admin Office 2007, Windows 7 migration, Office 2007, Windows 7

We have lists on the brain, largely due to the recent debut of Twitter’s new “lists” feature, which enables users to create and share lists of people to follow. Twitter lists are like Follow Friday on Red Bull, and are the microblogging service’s logical next step.

Mashable.com’s Pete Cashmore writes this of lists on CNN.com: They cut down Twitter’s noise and arguably make it more useful.

Indeed, lists — and “how-to” guides and the like — enable you to break down large amounts of information into easier-to-use bits. And that’s the essence of what we do in software support. Some of our more list-like posts continue to get ample clicks, perhaps because of their utility. Among them:

4 BlackBerry Tips Every Manager Should Know

7 Productivity-Boosting iPhone Tips

5 Microsoft Word Formatting Tips

Windows 7: What IT and End-Users Need to Know

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

admin Lists BlackBerry, cnn.com, Follow Friday, iPhone, Pete Cashmore, Red Bull, Twitter, Windows 7, Word

On the drive into work this morning, I heard a pundit on the radio discussing the upcoming launch of Microsoft’s latest OS, Windows 7.

“People just aren’t very excited about operating systems anymore,” he lamented.

A speedy, less buggy OS is still a headache if a user doesn’t know his way around it. It’s just a quicker, smoother headache.

Indeed, they aren’t, and especially not after the doozy Microsoft unloaded on the world the last go-around.

But it’s more than just Vista aftershocks. While Windows 7 is a welcome release, the average worker doesn’t care what he’s using, as long as it works.

And for it to work, it takes commitment on a company’s part, not just a superior product. Here’s my take on how to get average working folks excited about technology: Read more…

admin Training, Windows 7 Office 2007, Windows 7, Windows Vista

Computerworld.com reported that during a Windows 7 web conference on Tuesday, Charles Songhurst, GM of Microsoft’s corporate strategy, described the Vista operating system as a “less good” product.

Either that’s genius doublespeak, or a disturbingly chipper view of the world.

“Less good”?

Either that’s genius doublespeak, or a disturbingly chipper view of the world. We suspect it’s the former.

Doublespeak is everywhere (although it’s hardly a new concept), and it’s not just Microsoft that’s doling it out. Here are two more examples that warrant mention:

1. “Doing More with Less”: This is a phrase that has been used in business almost daily for the past year (I know I’m guilty of having thrown it around a bit). Its cousin, “Getting Back to Basics,” deserves a mention as well. Is this a softer way of saying you must work harder for the same pay, or just a way of fooling workers into thinking they are contributing to some greater purpose?

2. The latest iPhone update and its enterprise implications: A handful of industry mags wrote about a security flaw in iPhone software that was revealed when the 3.1 release came out last week. Read more…

admin Tech Babble doublespeak, iPhone, Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7