Office 12 Launches

What a jam-packed week this has been. I’ve been neglecting the site in my effort to pump out a ton of work and somehow maintain some semblance of a work-life balance. The week has been one hectic blur. Between completing several major deliverables, trying to rev some sales and marketing materials, a wide assortment of customer meetings, the drafting of a business plan for my org, and the announcement that my direct manager is leaving our group — it’s been a long week.

For those of you within Microsoft, you’re probably aware that my group, Microsoft Managed Solutions, has gone through another reorg of sorts. We were moved from IT over to the Server and Tools business unit under Bob Muglia, our named was changed from Solutions to Services, and the question was answered once and for all about whether we are a platform group or a product group. We are a platform group. We offer services. We do not create – we work with the product teams. Happy to clear all of that up. Let’s move on. There was another announcement from Anoop Gupta over in the Unified Communications Group about part of his org also moving over to MMS. The more the merrier.

And here we are at the end of the week with the official signoff on Office 12 (2007) by IT and MMS. Our larger org had a small celebration in our lobby (I supplied the fog machine and disco lights), where a man-sized bottle of champagne was uncorked and consumed (though not by me), and much shrimp was partaken of (guilty). After that, people started to meander over to the soccer fields and over by Building 16 for the “official” Office launch parties…which is still going on, I suspect. Video below:

Video: Microsoft Office 2007 Launch Celebration

I’ve always enjoyed the Microsoft launch parties — always happy to eat mass quantities of shrimp. It’s great to be a part of this very important milestone. I’m a big fan of the new Office, so get out there and buy it when it ships to the public in January 07.