Watch out VMware, we've arrived: Steve Ballmer

HYDERABAD, INDIA: ‘Global economy is currently in reset mode, and if the economy has to grow, it cannot be done with debt, but with innovation and productivity’. These were the opening remarks of CEO Steve Ballmer at Microsoft TechEd India 2009, which kicked off a short while ago at the Hyderabad International Convention Center.

At a rather ‘down, which is not usually my style’ tone of introduction by Steve to the three-day jamboree for developers, he stressed that non-IT innovation will be fueled by IT innovation at times of slowdowns like these.

Echoing the Microsoft sentiment that the mantra to tide over the current economic reality is 20 per cent maintenance and 80 per cent new innovations, Steve seized the opportunity to provide a sneak peek at Windows 7, with home-office features like Direct Access which simplifies management of Firewalls and authentications, and Home Group, which amalgamates the home entertainment offerings of the Operating System.

Unlike the current version of the OS, Vista, which according to a rather down-to-earth Steve, was ‘popular but much talked about’ (with extra emphasis on the ‘talked about’ bit), Windows 7 hopes to be more popular and widely accepted. With a version 2 of the Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft’s Cloud offering, Azure, which can be built and deployed, Microsoft hopes to give VMware a run for its money – ‘we have come from scratch to 27 per cent in a phenomenally fast pace, and that must suggest something’, said Steve.

The Visual Studio Team System 2010 is much awaited by the developer community, with emphasis on increased capabilities in Project Management and Test case management. At a broader level, Microsoft has set the roadmap for innovations in new technologies broadly classified as Social Computing, data Center management, Mobility, Business Intelligence and more.

The three day event will have back-back sessions ranging from virtualization to best practices in team-based software development to unified communications and everything else in between – all echoing the theme song of TechEd India, which was performed by popular rock band Agnee that goes:

“Mastiyon ki application tu abhi bharde;

Apni saari mushkilon ko shift delete kar de;

Choole choole sabki khwaishein

Apne system ko badal de”