Feb. 18, 2010
Microsoft Windows Phone 7 is out of the bag, and not since the Apple iPad have enterprises felt so blasé.
Mobile phones with slick multitouch interfaces are everywhere and have been for quite some time except at Microsoft. Even buttoned-down
Research In Motion and struggling Palm have them. But is the Zuneization of underlying Windows CE enough to keep Microsoft relevant for
enterprises?
Enterprise Mobile consultant Don Sorcinelli, who also runs the Boston Pocket PC user group, says Microsoft needs to be realistic in its goals. "I
think it will be a success but I'm taking the most conservative of metrics. Success for Microsoft in terms of market share has to be to stop the
bleeding," he says.
The Microsoft Mobile MVP also notes that a modern user interface is important in that people don't want to feel left out or prescribed to when IT
managers hand them a stodgy Windows Mobile device. "What we've learned in the last year or so is user satisfaction is king," he says. "From that
perspective, if you start there at the high level, there's going to be some traction" for Windows Phone 7.
However, "You still have to be concerned about those things that really matter to enterprises," Sorcinelli explains. "Number one, what do I do for
those companies that have custom apps and line-of-business apps?"
There's only a small data set available to solve this problem. Microsoft officials acknowledge that this week's announcement only highlighted user
interface elements. They're assuring everyone who asks that questions about application development will be answered at their Mix developer
conference next month in Las Vegas.
A top question is, where will software be placed? Will ISVs and enterprises be forced to use Microsoft's widgets ("Live Tiles") or will they be able to
create custom menus ("Hubs")? "The primary place that we would expect people to do a lot of customization is those live tiles," Microsoft
spokesman Casey McGee said. But he declined to say if tiles will be based on World Wide Web Consortium standards or if they'll use proprietary
Microsoft techniques. He also declined to discuss Office Hub customization, or the ability to build new Hubs. Oddly, the Office Hub shown this
week only included OneNote, Outlook, and SharePoint.
The ability to run legacy applications, or at least to easily port them, is also a major unanswered question. There is sentiment among industry
analysts that if it's not easy, then Microsoft shops will treat Phone 7 just like any other major Microsoft upgrade -- they'll take it seriously if it proves
viable after a couple of service packs. Documents posted on the Dutch blog Tweakers.net and translated into English by Chainfire.eu indicate that while application code will smoothly transition from
Windows Mobile 6.x versions, the user interfaces will obviously require much more work.
Meanwhile, questions about systems administration will probably be addressed at the Microsoft TechEd conference in June. "Microsoft System
Center will be upgraded to work with Phone 7, I have their word," industry analyst Rob Enderle said. That means businesses can, among other
tasks, disable entertainment functions such as Phone 7's music and Xbox Live aspects.
Another well-known independent analyst, Jack Gold, wrote this week that the Windows Mobile 6.x-to-Windows Phone 7 transition may even test
some companies' loyalty to Microsoft, but that Microsoft had little choice except to fight or surrender. Microsoft did recently issue a toolkit update for
Windows Mobile 6.5.3, however, "This is likely Microsoft's last chance to get it right," he wrote.
"The change will not endear Microsoft to its existing base of corporate users who will have to redesign and redeploy their apps if they are to utilize
this new platform. We don't think Microsoft can count on many enterprises making such a transition/upgrade, and most organizations will likely stay
with older Windows Mobile versions," especially for rugged devices, Gold continued. "Enterprise users should start evaluating end of life strategies
for existing WinMo devices."
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