I alluded to this the other day, but the following from Jupiter Research sums up MSFT’s marketing positioning strategy for the new Office System, which will also include Longhorn and I suspect enterprise search.

Basically, they are not selling features or services, but “solutions” to very specific business processes.

“Microsoft is putting less emphasis on individual applications and product features and more emphasis on what people can do with Office System. The strategy also synchs with other products, such as development of Windows Longhorn. Earlier, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates discussed “scenarios” the company is using to develop Longhorn. One scenario might be a teenager interested in listening to music. Microsoft has taken a similar approach to Office System, looking at information scenarios Office users confront daily.”

“The distinction between features and scenarios seems subtle, but is actually more complex. The scenario focus means that Microsoft is shifting away from adding new features simply for the sake of adding new features to looking more seriously at how people use or would want to use the products.”

Related Posts

• Rich Client Ubiquity -- Michael Sippey has a couple of good comments regarding Salesforce.com’s recently released “Office Edition,” which integrates its hosted SFA tightly with Microsoft Office: “The company that championed went overboard with their “no software” positioning is now touting their integration into...
• Enterprise User Experience -- Building on the ubiquity of Office in the enterprise, I think Microsoft is promoting a very compelling trend and something to seriously consider in regard to delivering an enterprise user experience that feels seamless or natural.   Essentially, it’s an...
• Defining .Net -- From Business 2.0’s The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business “One question might be, and I’ll be as direct as I can be about this, what is .Net? Unlike Windows, where you could say it’s a product, it sits in one...
• Microsoft Targeting Google -- Some interesting quotes from this article on CNET News.com about Microsoft new search initiatives: “The fact that Longhorn is on the horizon raises questions to whether search services will be integrated into the Longhorn experience and what the ramifications will...
• Enterprise Search Opportunity -- Among the many interesting quotes in the recent Business Week Online Article regarding Microsoft’s Midlife Crisis, I found the following quote suggesting that one of the features scrapped from the initial release of Longhorn will be in the updated file...
• Search:NG -- Fredrick Marckini talks to advertising pioneer Jack Trout about exactly how Microsoft can trump Google… Jack Trout, “says Google is dangerously close to becoming the generic in the space. Should that happen, the company would be open to brand and...
• business begin to cash in on weblogs -- From The Guardian: “The idea is that blogs can help a business present information and develop new ideas. They can bring out and spread the expertise within a company. ” “using weblogs … to promote company ideas and show off...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.