Poynter Professional Services

Microsoft have announced that the content of Service Pack 1 will mainly be updates and fixes that have already been released via Windows Update.

Traditionally, business customers have waited until the release of SP1 before upgrading to a new Operating System. Announcing the content months before the release, Microsoft are hoping to continue the momentum Windows 7 has already achieved.

If you are looking at upgrading to Windows 7 please contact the helpdesk

On Monday 9 November, Microsoft Exchange 2010 became the first product launch in the Microsoft Office 2010 system.
The first half of 2010 will see this launch wave continue with the release of Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Project 2010 and Visio 2010.

Microsoft Office 2010 provides rich and powerful new ways to deliver work. New features include enhanced tools, customisable templates, photo editing and the ability to work with multiple people from different locations at the exact same time using new co-authoring capabilities. By offering more ways to access files from virtually anywhere, Office 2010 gives users greater control.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 enables organisations to connect and empower people through an integrated set of rich features. SharePoint 2010 facilitates business collaboration in its broadest sense and helps colleagues, partners and customers to work together in new and effective ways.

Microsoft Project 2010 provides teams and organisations of all sizes with the right project collaboration tools and a pathway to step up to more advanced Project and Portfolio Management capabilities as their needs evolve.

The advanced diagramming tools of Microsoft Visio 2010 help you simplify complexity with intuitive and professional-looking diagrams, dynamic and data-driven visuals and new ways to share these on the Web in real-time.

Microsoft has now launched Windows 7, the replacement for Windows XP.

As a Microsoft partner, we have been evaluating Windows 7 for several months before it was launched and we have all been impressed by the speed, user experience and stability.

Along side the launch of Windows 7, was Microsoft’s latest server operating system – Release 2 of Server 2008. This provides a massive speed increase over its predecessor as well as other enhancements, including backend support for Windows 7.

What this means for you

For customers who have Software Assurance, we will be in touch shortly to install the free upgrade to Server 2008 R2.

We have already began testing applications within Windows 7. As usual all our engineers working with Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 will have taken Microsoft Examinations in these subjects.

Our general advise is to continue with Windows XP until the 1st/2nd quarter of next year before buyinig Windows 7 on new Desktops and Laptops. For home users we will advise on a case-by-case basis, but will mostly advise the move to Windows 7.

All our new Microsoft-based Server installations will use Server 2008 R2 unless there is a specific reason not too.

If you would like more information on Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2, or want to upgrade from Windows Vista, please contact us