Microsoft Collaboration Strategy: Industry Brief

Microsoft Collaboration Strategy: Industry Brief
Expected Publication Date: December 15, 2003

Analyst/Authors: Michael Sampson and David Coleman

[you can purchase this report on-line at the CS Store]

This brief but insightful report looks at Microsoft’s strategy for collaboration. The evolution of Microsoft from collaboration experiments like NetMeeting and Team Manager to a serious player in the collaboration market. With the recent acquisition of PlaceWare, the formation of the RTC group at Microsoft and a $50B war chest, Microsoft is poised to dominate another market. This 40-50 page report summarizes Microsoft’s strategy for collaboration, and coupled with the 15 years of insight offered by Collaborative Strategies analysts, not only gives us a glimpse of the collaborative future, but the role Microsoft expects to play in it. Recommendations for collaboration vendors trying to craft a strategy that accounts for Microsoft entering and commoditizing this market as well as recommendations for end users considering collaboration technologies flesh out this innovative and highly valuable report.

Topics and Figures:

1. Microsoft’s evolution into a collaboration vendor
1. The evolution of NetMeeting (1-3)
2. Where and how will NetMeeting be incorporated into MS Office?
3. The evolution of Team Manager and SharePoint Team Server
4. Bringing together communication technologies (IM, e-mail, discussions)
5. The evolution of Exchange Server as an enterprise messaging backbone
2. What are Microsoft’s Goals in Collaboration
1. Domination of the desktop and collaborative infrastructure
2. Own content lifecycle
3. Own interactions around content
3. Microsoft’s Domination of the Collaboration Market
1. The role of Exchange in e-mail markets
2. The role of MSN in the IM and EIM markets (MSN and the new Live Communications Server)
3. The role of SharePoint in the portals and virtual teams markets
4. The role of collaboration in MS Office 2003 (and forward)
5. Exchange vs. Notes… still a battle
4. Microsoft’s Strategy for Collaboration
1. Stage 1- Department or process applications
2. Stage 2- Enterprise Application
3. Stage 3 Moving collaborative functions into infrastructure (Servers)
1. Integrate collaboration into Office 2003 (and forward)
2. Own the enterprise infrastructure for collaboration (IM, e-mail, etc.)
3. Microsoft’s role in DTV (desktop video conferencing)
4. Microsoft’s role with SIP and VoIP
5. How is Microsoft integrating MS Project with Collaboration?
6. Is Microsoft driving the emerging standards for collaboration?
7. What resources is Microsoft marshalling for its collaboration strategy?
4. The Microsoft Collaboration Puzzle
5. Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
6. Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003
7. Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003
8. Microsoft Office Live Meeting
9. Microsoft Office 2003
10. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 w/ Windows SharePoint Services
11. Offline access to some parts via third-party products, i.e., Groove Workspace as the offline delivery mechanism for SharePoint Services
12. How the puzzle pieces fit together
5. What effect will Microsoft’s Strategy have?
1. How will it effect other collaboration vendors
1. Web conferencing service providers
2. Web conferencing product providers
3. E-learning providers
4. DPM providers
5. Virtual Team tool providers
6. KM providers
7. Collaborative document/content providers
8. EIM and IM providers (product and service)
9. Collaborative and mobile infrastructure providers
1. MS PC Phone 2003
2. MS Pocket PC 2003
3. SIP partners (Siemens, etc.)
6. Collaboration… the brave new world?
1. CS analysis of Microsoft Strategy
1. What pieces is Microsoft missing?
2. Who is their major competition?
3. What critical collaboration factors/standards does Microsoft not control?
4. What are Microsoft’s collaboration revenue goals?
1. Does CS believe they will reach them with this strategy?
2. What value will collaboration have when MS takes a chunk of the market?
2. Survival in the Brave New World
1. How will other collaboration vendors survive?
1. What is their time line for survival
2. What is their best strategy for survival?
2. Collaborative end-users in the age of Microsoft
1. Content, context and process
1. Paying for content
2. Collaboration provides common context (low cost)
3. How critical is collaboration to process?
1. List 6 critical collaborative business processes
2. How can end users get the most out of Microsoft?
3. What other vendors will they need?
4. What will they be able to do (scenario)
7. Summary and Resources

This industry brief is estimated to be 40-50 pages in length. If purchased before December 15 the price is $345, after December 15 the price is $395.

you can purchase this report on-line at the CS Store