Guest Blogger: Carol Dullmeyer, Director of Application Platform Communications

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Today we have a guest blogger to share some insights - Carol Dullmeyer, Director of Application Platform Communications

In my role on the Microsoft Application Platform team, I spend a lot of time speaking with industry analysts and customers. I have a favorite question I like to ask. “What industry challenges are top of mind for you. And, why?” Interestingly, the feedback is very consistent. It reduces down to a simple list:

  1. Globalization of business introduces additional complexity and competitive pressures.
  2. Compliance and risk management requirements amplify the need for deeper business operations visibility and controls.
  3. Pressure to increase the speed and cost-effectiveness of IT innovation.
  4. Above all, the need to deliver a highly secure, reliable and interoperable IT platform for more predictable business outcomes.

These challenges may sound familiar to you. They did to me. Although, they are not new to the industry they remain critical for today’s business climate. What did I really learn from these conversations? More than ever, businesses want to become more dynamic or agile so they can transcend these challenges and seize new growth opportunities.

In addition to these important industry conversations, the Microsoft team thinks deeply about upcoming trends, how businesses will be impacted and how our future platform innovations could help customers address the next wave of challenges. Our intent is to help customers become more dynamic through IT solutions. We use the term “Dynamic IT” to represent this thinking which greatly shapes innovation within the company. These innovations are then delivered to market through our flagship products and technologies.

In fact, we are in the final stages of preparing for the largest Developer and IT Professional launch in the company’s history. We recognize that IT and Development organizations are critical in building and running powerful and agile technology solutions that open the door to new opportunities and let people do their best work. So, why not host a series of global events to celebrate the unsung heroes of business, the Developers and IT Professionals? At these community events, we will officially usher in the 2008 wave of innovation from Microsoft Server and Tools business including Visual Studio 2008, Windows Server 2008, and SQL Server 2008. Once our technology is in the hands of the Developers and IT Professionals, watch the real innovation begin.