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Avoiding Office 2010 Upgrade Pitfalls

January 21, 2011 By

In case you missed it, Forrester Research Group released a report in December warning of the pitfalls when upgrading to Microsoft Office 2010. And it’s what we here at PC Helps have been saying all along — as far back as Office 2007 upgrades.

We think the FAQ is a wonderful thing. But a FAQ cannot stand on its own.

As reported on recently by CIO.com’s Shane O’Neill, the Forrester report outlines four pitfalls to avoid during upgrades: underestimating compatibility issues, leaving workers to figure out the migration with no assistance, assuming workers will use the software’s new features, and neglecting to emphasize peer-to-peer learning.

Here’s what we’ve been saying: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Office 2010 Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Migrate the Right Way

May 3, 2010 By

Tech publications are abuzz about Windows 7. One article in particular, written by CIO.com’s Shane O’Neill, offers smart ways to use your migration as an opportunity to increase IT department efficiency.

Look for case studies of companies that have already migrated successfully. Use them as a guide.

Good stuff, all around. If there was one loud-and-clear point in the piece, it was that planning is vital to a successful (and not exorbitantly expensive) migration — no matter the operating system or software suite.

And it happens to be this company’s mantra. We know from experience that, whether it is a small firm switching over a few hundred users from Lotus Notes to Outlook or a Fortune 500 company upgrading to Office 2007 en masse, a successful migration depends largely on preparation.

In addition to the four points mentioned on CIO.com, I’d like to add a few more migration tips for CIOs:

1. Seek out proven migration successes: Look for case studies of companies that have already migrated successfully. Use them as a guide. Read up on Windows 7 trouble spots (that is, where users will likely experience productivity loss. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Windows 7 Tagged With: , ,

This Week in Comments: Office 2007 with a Side of Vitriol

February 25, 2010 By

Way back in April 2009, I posted a piece on CIO.com titled “Office 2007 Doesn’t Really Suck; It’s Just Misunderstood.” Little did I know it would create such a fuss.

Over the past 11 months, the piece has received a smattering of comments, many of which are tinged with vitriol. Office 2007 doesn’t just suck, according to CIO’s readers; it’s reviled, despised, detested, loathed.

Taking a stand by sticking with an earlier version of Office is hardly a political move.

Here’s a sampling of the comments:

“I’m a longtime Office user (since its inception). Office 2007 is an abomination and shows just how out of touch those developers are with real world use and workflow.”

“Thought my suckage meter was just already broken or something, it being beyond the warranty period, but as the 10 or so days went by from having installed this step backwards in software development, and having not latched onto what I had assumed was some kind of groundbreaking innovation in GUI, I started to suspect that Microsoft’s product itself had gone beyond the limits of my suckage meter and broken it… and everyone here has affirmed that.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Office 2007, Rants Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

“Mumbo-Jumbo and Smug Conceit”

February 2, 2010 By

If you read only one article this week (not counting this blog post), make sure it’s this one by CIO.com’s Thomas Wailgum – “Enterprise IT’s Top Enemy: Its Own Arrogance.”

An IT department that points and laughs is hardly encouraging learning and business alignment.

The piece highlights the fact that the help desk, despite the growing importance of IT/business alignment in the enterprise, remains in the “condescending gatekeeper role.”

As evidence, Wailgum includes a video that features Andy Bitterer, co-chair of Gartner Group’s BI Summit, doing Jay Leno-style “man-on-the-street” interviews in London. Among Bitterer’s questions to the masses: “Do you use a database?” “Do you know what Business Intelligence tools are?” “Do you know what OLAP is?”

Honestly, does this Gartner bloke really expect everyday people to know what these things are? As Wailgum asserts, Gartner conference attendees may find it amusing (ha, look at the stupid users!), but it really demonstrates how out of touch IT is with its customers. [Read more...]

Filed Under: FAIL, Help Desk Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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