News

Muglia Presents Knowledge Worker Initiatives

• By Scott Bekker
• 05/25/1999

Muglia outlined four initiatives: digital dashboards, Web Store technology, mobile and wireless solutions and intelligent interfaces.

"We believe that the power of technology is unleashed only when it simplifies access to information and ideas. That is why we are focused on making it easier for people to access and use information, whether it sits in a database, on the Web or in the mind of a co-worker," Muglia said.

The "digital dashboard" initiative gives users one place in which to share knowledge, view critical business information and access personal information like e-mail and schedules. Built with Microsoft Office 2000 using Web standards such as HTML and XML, digital dashboards provide a display of information and enable knowledge workers to customize the information optimized for the device they are using.

The second initiative, the Exchange "Platinum" Web Store, combines the features and functionality of the file system, the Web and a collaboration server in a single location for storing and managing information as well as building and running applications. It establishes a platform for information management that includes search and data categorization. Information in the Web Store will be accessible via products available now, including Microsoft Office 2000, a Web browser, Windows Explorer and other applications.

The third initiative regards mobility. The market for mobile products is growing rapidly, and these new types of devices - phones, pagers, tablet PCs and handheld computers – make information more accessible. Microsoft is working to enable connectivity on these devices to ensure that being more mobile doesn't mean being less productive.

The final initiative is in natural language processing, as well as handwriting and speech recognition. The goal is to bring these technologies to applications, such as Microsoft Office.

The four initiatives will be delivered over the next year through a combination of new technologies, services and collaborative efforts with industry partners. – Thomas Sullivan