Here at Silicon Avenue we’re essentially software geeks. However, most of us have either managed or been managed in some kind of project , so we understand all the typical frustrations: the mad panic first thing on  Monday morning when the project manager clogs everyone’s inbox with queries about progress, the team member spending too much time babysitting a demanding client, the unscheduled absences, tricky double-handling of invoices, and late notification of delays. This forum is an opportunity to share our thoughts on these problems, and how they can be resolved.

But first, the Microsoft World Partner Congress (WPC). A newbie to Microsoft conferences, WPC was exactly how I expected a Microsoft event to be: run like a precision instrument, with 15,000 attendees, choosing from hundreds of sessions and culminating in a colossal trade event. Microsoft are very attentive to their partners, and the people at Microsoft NZ provided us with a “Microsoft buddy”, frequents texts with information on where to be, and even a really cool jacket that I plan to wear to the Rugby World Cup final (unless the wrong teams are playing, in which case I’ll be trying to sell my ticket). But coming from the serious world of medical equipment software, I found the keynote presentations from Ballmer and Turner almost theatrical. And when the country prize winners began prancing around the stage accompanied by rousing patriotic music, I realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore…

Here are 5 key observations from my time at WPC:

1. The Cloud is big. Think strato-cumulus! As an owner in a company that has a pure-play cloud product, you sure hope it’s going to be big. But even as a cloud convert, the depth and breadth of cloud offerings and cloud evangelism was surprising. There is a clear warning here to companies (and countries) that have poor or expensive network infrastructure: ultimately your competitiveness will be affected as the solutions you are looking for become available only in the cloud. Those who advocate bandwidth improvements are needed for video-conferencing, online backup, and zippy access to entertainment are really missing the point: ability to conduct business efficiently and competitively will be at stake when critical applications are available in cloud-form only.

2. SharePoint is everywhere. There seems to be a huge number of companies providing SharePoint consulting and SharePoint training. Our fellow NZ attendee Debbie Ireland has a whole business around SharePoint, and she’s not the only one. People are using SharePoint for everything, including project management. Take a look at Dux Raymond Sy’s site if you are interested in PM using SharePoint.

3. Microsoft is sprinting to catch up in the mobile space. At one of the vision keynotes we saw all sorts of fantastic integration between Windows Phone 7 devices and pretty much the whole product line. Although Steve Ballmer said Microsoft mobile went “from very small to very small” in this market, clearly they don’t want to stay there. Rollout of Windows Phone 7 on Nokia devices in the coming year may start to change opinions.

4. Microsoft is sick of people who still have Windows XP, or Office 2003, or IE6. As well as not making them any money, those guys can’t easily participate in the Microsoft vision of a seamless, integrated environment.

5. The role of a traditional Microsoft partner is also changing. Although Microsoft were careful to reassure their existing channels that life will go on, many partners are clearly a little destabilised by how their profits may be affected. We are moving from a conventional on-premise money-up-front model to a subscription model where Azure Marketplace and Dynamics Marketplace are potentially in competition with the traditional partner-client relationship.

Air New Zealand were kind enough not lose my bags on the way home. Back to executing the plan for a great product in Microsoft’s new world. And a visit to WPC has made that plan a little clearer.

Dave Murray