Executive summary
The project report is on the planning of new features and applications for the mobile device especially MS office on mobile. Hand held devices (pocket PC and smart phones) are increasingly being used by information worker, high level executives and businessmen as it provides assistance and convenience of a conventional computer, in environments where carrying one would not be practicable. With enhanced features and tools it satisfies the business need on the go. But there are still many obstacles in the way of its usage. The fidelity in viewing is not complete and user finds some losses in the documents when he sees on the mobile device. Moreover the user many a times cannot make required changes because those edit features are not available. The increased popularity of share point and exchange in corporate require some new service to cater their needs. This is becoming important as most of the files are now on the share point, OWA (Outlook Web Access, WAC (Web Access Companion). Downloading attachments and then viewing on the mobile phone is very painful because of the bandwidth limitations and the file size. There are other factors such as limited user input capabilities, screen sizes, limited data storage and so on. In order to overcome this problems and limitations many solutions were proposed. To enhance viewing and editing many features were incorporated based on feedback from marketing and internal analysis. There were some new and creative solution provided to overcome the screen size and downloading files. To view files on share point /WAC/OWA several suggestions were discussed with their advantages and limitations which included a dedicated mobile server or enhancing browsing capabilities to hook to the web service provider.
Content
. Introduction
2. Related Work/Previous Similar Study
3. Implementation
4. Evaluation
5. Conclusions and Future Work
6. About the company
. Introduction
The internship project was part of a real OM7 (Office Mobile Seven) planning by Mobile Office team. This required end-to-end planning of one module on my behalf. It was expected to learn and provide feedback and suggest some new applications or improvement which can be implemented for the Windows Mobile user.
Office mobile is mostly used by information worker, top level executives and businessman. Due to the constraints in the processing speed and storage capacity many features of MS office are not available in the hand held device (Pocket Pc and mart phones). The planning team needed to prioritize the needs from the customer point of view and then depending upon the technical capabilities of the design team execute those plans. The major problems faced in the development of mobile applications were:
a) Intermittent connections - Unlike on the web, the wireless network connection is relatively unstable and is affected by factors such as coverage (you lose the connection in a tunnel) etc
b) Bandwidth limitations - For example - even when 3G coverage is available, the actual bandwidth is far less
c) The need for data storage on the client: If the device has no (or little) local storage, all data has to be downloaded every time. This is not optimal given intermittent and expensive bandwidth
d) Finally, and most importantly - A local application provides a richer user experience - especially for applications such as games and office.
There are other factors such as limited user input capabilities, screen sizes and so on. Some of the above factors are getting better (for example coverage black spots are decreasing) - but the overall user experience remains one of the most important factors.
Thus, the new release should try to find out solution to at least some of these problems. The plan should include proposals to develop mobile applications in such a fashion that the end user should not feel the need of personal computer or laptop on the move especially while using the office files. The architecture of browsing applications is changing and it can be used in such fashion that the user cannot distinguish distinctions between the browsing and downloading applications.
Based on the market research and other sources it was clear the viewing of office documents was more important than editing on the mobile device by the user. Hence lot of emphasis was given to get as close as 100% fidelity in viewing and then include some editing capabilities which are high in demand and usage. It is anticipated that there will be an increasing trend to use hand held device (pocket pc and smart phones) for accessing, viewing and editing files from different sources(exchange , SharePoint, internet). This is of great use for the user who is always on move and needs to be in touch with all the developments in his work domain. The main problems were of the fidelity in viewing and slow downloading speed. To overcome this problem several suggestions were discussed to provide user with high fidelity viewing and high performance.
2. Related Work/Previous Similar Study
There is not much work done in this segment which is publicly available and MS initiative in this domain is very new. Though there are lots of third party applications which provide similar service as office with even more number of features than office mobile. But there is no player for web based viewing of attachment on mobile device.
Some initiatives in the server based scenarios for mobile device are:
* 3i Consulting Group has rolled out the Mobile Workplace Server, which extends the SAP Business Workplace to any web-enabled mobile device from BlackBerry, Palm Pocket PC to a host of others. SAP users can access SAP Workflow to execute any decision-based deal.
* The Google Personalized Home, which lets people access Gmail, news, RSS feeds and other information from their personalized Google home page on mobile phones and PDAs. The service is free in the U.S. and works with any phone that contains an XHTML-capability.
Many of the solutions provided are very new in the industry and some applications are results of creative thinking (e.g. Ribbon features and collapsing columns in table are discussed later in the report).
3. Implementation
To start with the project, a detailed comparative analysis was done to see what all features are provided and supported in the mobile device. This would help in narrowing down the features which should be incorporated or improved in the next release. The comparative analysis is presented in tabular form:
General feature comparison (MS Word)
Feature Category
Feature Subcategory
Feature
Support Notes
Word-Standard
Word-Professional
Document Viewing
General
Consume a Information Right Management protected Document
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
General
Smooth Scroll
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
General
Comments
No
No
Document Viewing
General
Macros
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Font Formatting
Courier New ,Tahoma ,Font effects supported
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Alignment Formatting
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Textbox
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Header/Footer
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Signature line
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Object
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Show/Hide
For Excel their columns hide/unhide. In Word hidden text is not displayed on the device and there is no option to unhide it.
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Picture
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Clipart
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Shapes
No
No
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Text
Header/Footer
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Signature line
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Object
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Show/Hide
For Excel their columns hide/unhide. In Word hidden text is not displayed on the device and there is no option to unhide it.
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Picture
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Clipart
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Shapes
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Smart art
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Symbols
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Tables
In excel no table formatting is supported. Pivot tables are not supported.
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Charts
For details refer to sheet named "Charts"
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Margins
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Orientation(Landscape & Portrait mode)
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Zoom
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Page Break
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Page Background
No
No
Document Editing
General
New Document Creation
No
Yes
Document Editing
General
Create a Information Right Management protected Document
No
No
Document Editing
General
Comments
No
No
Document Editing
General
Macros
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Spell check
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Cut/copy/paste within the application
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Insert Date
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Font Formatting
Courier New ,Tahoma ,Font effects not supported
Partially
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Alignment Formatting
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Redo/Undo Edit changes
Yes
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Find/Replace
On Standard only Find is supported
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Show/Hide
For Excel this is Column Hide/Unhide
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Symbol
No
No
Document Editing
Table ,Chart ,Hyperlinks
Tables
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Charts
For details refer to sheet named "Charts"
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Cut/copy/paste within the application
No
No
File Activities
Save As
Yes
Yes
File Activities
Rename/Move
No
Yes
File Activities
Revert to Saved
Yes
Yes
File Activities
Delete
No
Yes
File Activities
Send via Email
Yes
Yes
File Activities
Beam
No
Yes
File Activities
Progress Bar while file load
Yes
Yes
General feature comparison (MS Excel)
Feature Category
Feature Subcategory
Feature
Support Notes
Excel-Standard
Excel-Professional
Document Viewing
General
Consume a Information Right Management protected Document
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
General
Smooth Scroll
No
No
Document Viewing
General
Comments
No
No
Document Viewing
General
Macros
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Font Formatting
Courier New, Tahoma, Font effects supported
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Alignment Formatting
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Textbox
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Header/Footer
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Signature line
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Object
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Show/Hide
For Excel their columns hide/unhide. In Word hidden text is not displayed on the device and there is no option to unhide it.
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Picture
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Clipart
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Shapes
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Smart art
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Symbols
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Tables
In excel no table formatting is supported. Pivot tables are not supported.
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table ,Chart, Hyperlinks
Charts
For details refer to sheet named "Charts"
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Margins
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Orientation(Landscape & Portrait mode)
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Zoom
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Page Break
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Page Background
No
No
Document Editing
General
New Document Creation
No
Yes
Document Editing
General
Create a Information Right Management protected Document
No
No
Document Editing
General
Comments
No
No
Document Editing
General
Macros
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Spell check
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Cut/copy/paste within the application
Yes
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Insert Date
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Font Formatting
Courier New, Tahoma, Font effects not supported
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Alignment Formatting
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Redo/Undo Edit changes
Yes
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Find/Replace
On Standard only Find is supported
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Show/Hide
For Excel this is Column Hide/Unhide
No
Yes
Document Editing
Text
Symbol
No
Yes
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Tables
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Charts
For details refer to sheet named "Charts"
No
Yes
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Cut/copy/paste within the application
No
No
File Activities
Save As
yes
Yes
File Activities
Rename/Move
No
Yes
File Activities
Revert to Saved
Yes
Yes
File Activities
Delete
No
Yes
File Activities
Send via Email
Yes
Yes
File Activities
Beam
No
Yes
File Activities
Progress Bar while file load
Yes
Yes
General feature comparison (MS PPT)
Feature Category
Feature Subcategory
Feature
Support Notes
PPT-Standard
PPT-Professional
Document Viewing
General
Consume a Information Right Management protected Document
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
General
Smooth Scroll
No
No
Document Viewing
General
Comments
No
No
Document Viewing
General
Macros
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Font Formatting
Courier New, Tahoma, Font effects supported
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Alignment Formatting
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Textbox
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Header/Footer
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Text
Signature line
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Object
No
No
Document Viewing
Text
Show/Hide
For Excel their columns hide/unhide. In Word hidden text is not displayed on the device and there is no option to unhide it.
No
No
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Picture
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Clipart
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Shapes
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Smart art
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Illustrations
Symbols
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Tables
In excel no table formatting is supported. Pivot tables are not supported.
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Charts
For details refer to sheet named "Charts"
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Margins
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Orientation(Landscape & Portrait mode)
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Zoom
Yes
Yes
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Page Break
No
No
Document Viewing
Page Layout
Page Background
Yes
Yes
Document Editing
General
New Document Creation
No
No
Document Editing
General
Create a Information Right Management protected Document
No
No
Document Editing
General
Comments
No
No
Document Editing
General
Macros
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Spell check
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Cut/copy/paste within the application
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Insert Date
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Font Formatting
Courier New, Tahoma, Font effects not supported
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Alignment Formatting
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Redo/Undo Edit changes
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Find/Replace
On Standard only Find is supported
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Show/Hide
For Excel this is Column Hide/Unhide
No
No
Document Editing
Text
Symbol
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Tables
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Charts
For details refer to sheet named "Charts"
No
No
Document Editing
Table, Chart, Hyperlinks
Cut/copy/paste within the application
No
No
File Activities
Save As
No
No
File Activities
Rename/Move
No
No
File Activities
Revert to Saved
No
No
File Activities
Delete
No
No
File Activities
Send via Email
No
No
File Activities
Beam
No
No
File Activities
Progress Bar while file load
No
No
Application specific comparison
Application
Feature Category
Feature
Support Notes
Standard
Professional
Excel
Document Viewing
Function library
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Defines Names
Defined names across sheets is supported too
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Sort/Auto filter
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Cell Borders
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Freeze panes
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Cell content Alignment
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Number Formatting
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Split sheet/Remove Split
No
Yes
Excel
Document Viewing
Merge cells
No
No
Excel
Document Editing
Add rows, columns, cells
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Editing
Delete rows, columns, cell
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Editing
Number Formatting
No
Yes
Excel
Document Editing
Function library
Yes
Yes
Excel
Document Editing
Defines Names
Yes
Yes
Word
Document Viewing
Word Count
No
Yes
Word
Document Viewing
Bulleted list
Yes
Yes
Word
Document Viewing
Paragraph
Yes
Yes
Word
Document Viewing
Page Numbers
No
No
Word
Document Editing
Bulleted list
No
Yes
Word
Document Editing
Paragraph
No
Yes
Word
Document Editing
Page Numbers
No
No
PowerPoint
Document Viewing
Play Back options
Yes
Yes
PowerPoint
Document Viewing
Animation/Transitions
Yes
Yes
PowerPoint
Document Viewing
Paragraph
Yes
Yes
PowerPoint
Document Editing
No
No
Graph types supported on office mobile:
Chart Type
Supported
3D
Stacked
00% 2D
2D Clustered Column
Yes
2D Stacked column
No
Yes
Yes
2D 100% Stacked Column
No
Yes
3D Column- All types
No
Yes
Yes
Cylinder Column
No
Cone Column
No
Pyramid Column
No
2D Line
Yes
2D Stacked Line
No
Yes
Yes
2D 100% Stacked Line
No
Yes
2D Line with markers
Yes
Yes
2D Stacked Line with markers
No
Yes
Yes
2D 100% Stacked Line with marker
No
Yes
3D Line
No
Yes
2D Pie
Yes
2D Exploded Pie
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
2D Pie of a pie
No
Yes
2D Bar of a pie
No
Yes
3D Pie
No
Yes
3D Exploded Pie
No
Yes
2D Clustered Bar
Yes
Yes
2D Stacked Bar
No
Yes
Yes
2D 100% Stacked Bar
No
Yes
3D Bar - All types
No
Yes
Cylinder Bar
No
Cone Bar
No
Pyramid Bar
No
Area
Yes
Stacked Area
Yes
00% Stacked Area
No
Yes
3D Area
No
Yes
Scatter with only markers
No
Yes
Scatter with smooth lines and markers
Yes
Doughnut
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Based on this analysis and discussion with the marketing team and other program managers it was decided on what new features to be incorporated. The next level was the scenario analysis and suggesting solution and application for the same.
High Fidelity Viewing and High performance
This was part of the vision to use hand held device (pocket pc and smart phones) for accessing, viewing and editing files from different sources. This is of great use for the user who is always on move and needs to be in touch with all the developments in his work domain. The main problems were of the fidelity in viewing and slow downloading speed. To overcome this problem several suggestions were discussed to provide user with high fidelity viewing and high performance.
. Support for exchange only
2. Support for Share-point
3. Support for Exchange and Share-point.
4. Wrapper (office mobile server) providing common interface.
. Support for Exchange (OWA)
User Experience:
Will have to switch between view and edit and switching will take time as the file needs to be downloaded to the device.
2. Support for Share-point
User Experience: Different feel and experience for the same file format depending on the source (Exchange and SharePoint).
Minor edits will be fast (as the whole file does not need to be downloaded).
3. Support for Exchange and Share-point.
a. Files on exchange can be viewed through OWA and Files on SharePoint can be viewed and edited through WAC. i.e. Both 1 and 2 needs to be implemented simultaneously.
User will have different feel and experience for the similar file format depending upon the source from which it is opened.
b. Get the link to the attachment/document and pass it to the WAC server.
Pain points:
* Needs to write pretty much an Outlook client, which can work with the user's credentials and talk to the Exchange Server.
* Feasibility of directly asking Exchange server to send the document to WAC server and get back the converted file.
* How easy it is to upload a document to the WAC server.
Advantages are similar to the Option2 and user will not have different experience for different sources.
Points of Concern/Consideration:
Whether performance will really increase as transcoded files are large and it is possible that the desired level of performance is not achieved even after streaming.
Fidelity on the mobile device will be dependent on the fidelity provided by OWA/WAC..
At present major documents are in the form of attachments (exchange based) which is likely to change to links (WAC).Need to align short term goal with long term vision.
4. To incorporate Office mobile server:
Present:
Proposed:
It is possible to enhance the user experience in several ways if a mobile server is incorporated in the system. To postulate few of the features that can be provide to windows mobile users are given below in a very user friendly manner. (For e.g. the mobile server will convert the attachment into HTML which can then be streamed and will not require the whole document to be downloaded before the portion of it is available for user to see. This will greatly enhance the user experience.)
a. Viewing attachments (Ensuring enhanced fidelity and performance)
The server will have algorithm which will be able to collect and compile the relevant statistics of the attachments. The server will also make a table of content of the attachment even if the original document does not contain any table of contents. This can be made possible by including the header or the underlined bold sentences in the attachment.
There were also some features suggested and incorporated to overcome the screen size constraints while viewing the documents in the mobile device. Ribbon as in office 2007 can be implemented in the mobile office to ensure familiarity and bringing in more features. It was also suggested that they can give an option to collapse the columns in tables and excel file which will help the user to compare different columns in table as per his requirement. As the screen size is small, the user cannot see all the columns simultaneously. Hence this feature will be of great use in viewing anything in tabular forms.
4. Evaluation
The proposed solution was evaluated by peers and top management. The solution was open for critical analysis and objection in the Office mobile team. The design team and testing team were also consulted for the feasibility of the solution. The features were evaluated on the acceptance and ease which it brings to the user. The other consideration was how to make the new feature discoverable. Other methods that were used for evaluation:
* Viewing fidelity being checked after converting the file in local server (as would be done by mobile server) and downloading the converted file to the mobile device.
* Evaluation done by different departments familiar with the hand held devices.
* Evaluation to be done by TAP (Technology Adoption Program) a select program for beta software releases, but that can happen only when the beta version is ready.
5. Conclusions and Future Work
The challenge in hand was to improve the performance and fidelity in viewing of office documents on mobile device. With the constraints of screen size and technology a lot of creative and innovative approach was applied to come out with application and features to enhance customer experience. To have a uniform feeling and to overcome the downloading speed and fidelity loss in viewing, it was suggested to have a mobile server.
The future is toward a convergent device and mobile device will have to support a lot of other application as well. Mobile device will not need to download attachment as it is projected that the future usage of OWA (Outlook Web access) and WAC (Web Access companion) will increase. A good browsing technology on the mobile device will be able to solve the problem of accessing the files from different sources. New methods of interacting are also developed like voice to text and action is in the development stage. This can lead to increase in usage of mobile even for editing the office documents.
6. About Microsoft
6.1 Organization Profile
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft was founded in 1975 with a dream of helping people realize their true potential through technology. That vision has ultimately changed how people around the world communicate, work, learn and play.
6.2 Mission and core Values
Microsoft's corporate mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. Microsoft is committed long term to the mission of helping their customers realize their full potential. "Just as we constantly update and improve our products, we want to continually evolve our company to be in the best position to accelerate new technologies as they emerge and to better serve our customers". The Mission reflects Microsoft's six core values.
• Integrity and honesty.
• Passion for our customers, our partners, and technology.
• Openness and respectfulness.
• Taking on big challenges and seeing them through.
• Constructive self-criticism, self-improvement, and personal excellence.
• Accountability to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees.
6.3 Business Operations
Microsoft does business all around the world. We have offices in more than 90 countries, grouped into six corporate regions:
• North America
• Latin America
• Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
• Japan
• Asia Pacific
• Greater China
They also have operational centers in Dublin, Ireland; Humacao, Puerto Rico; Reno, Nevada; and Singapore.
6.4 Microsoft Businesses
Microsoft business is motivated and inspired every day by how its customers use its software to find creative solutions to business problems, develop breakthrough ideas, and stay connected with what's most important to them. Microsoft runs its business in much the same way, and believes that its seven core business units offer the greatest potential to serve its customers in the coming decade. They include:
* Windows Client: - including the Microsoft Windows(r) Vista, XP desktop operating system, Windows 2000, and Windows embedded operating system.
* Information Worker: - including Microsoft Office, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Visio(r), Microsoft Project, and other stand-alone desktop applications.
* Business Solutions: - encompassing Great Plains and Navision business process applications.
* Server & Tools: - including the Microsoft Windows Server System(tm) integrated server software, software developer tools, and MSDN(r).
* Mobile and Embedded Devices: - featuring mobile devices including the Windows Powered Pocket PC, the Mobile Explorer microbrowser, and the Windows Powered Smartphone software platform.
* MSN: - including the MSN(r) network, MSN Internet Access, MSNTV, MSN Hotmail(r) and other Web-based services.
* Home & Entertainment: - including Microsoft Xbox(r), consumer hardware and software, online games, and our TV platform.
6.5 Vision and strategy
From the beginning, Microsoft has worked to ensure that all employees and applicants are provided equal employment opportunities. In 1989 Microsoft was one of the first companies to expand its nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation. In 1992 the Diversity Team officially formed to concentrate on Microsoft's affirmative action efforts and community outreach. "Over the years, our diversity programs have become more strategic in nature, with added concentration on training and awareness, supplier diversity, targeted recruiting efforts and integration of diversity and inclusion into every level of the company and into everything we do". The pillars of Microsoft's diversity and inclusion strategy are:
• Driving leadership accountability and ownership
• Attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce
• Creating a culture and climate of respect and inclusion.
6.6 Business Groups
At Microsoft, people are motivated and inspired every day by how the customers use the software to find creative solutions to business problems, develop breakthrough ideas, and stay connected to what's most important to them. The three core business divisions that offer the greatest potential to serve the customers are:
* Platform Products and Services Division: Includes the Client Group, the Server & Tools Group, and the Online Services Group
* Business Division: Includes the Information Worker Group, the Microsoft Business Solutions Group, and the Unified Communications Group
* Entertainment and Devices Division: Includes the Home & Entertainment Group and the Mobile & Embedded Devices Group
6.7 Microsoft Corporate Citizenship
Microsoft is committed to being a responsible industry partner. They work with businesses, communities, and governments to help advance social and economic well-being and to enable people around the world to realize their full potential. Microsoft's commitment and responsibilities as a global corporate citizen are grounded in the company mission and values, manifested through the business practices and operations, and carried out by thousands of Microsoft employees and suppliers worldwide.
6.8 Responsible Business Practices
Our commitment to responsible business practices is absolute-in our core values and in our daily work. That means being open about our business operations, transparent in all of our dealings with stakeholders, and compliant with all laws and regulations that apply to our business. It also means having the honesty to acknowledge when we fall short of those goals, and having the integrity to set things right. As Microsoft continues to grow, we will continually strive to exceed expectations regarding the responsible manner in which we conduct our business.
6.9 Responsible Industry Leadership
As an ICT industry leader whose technology products are used by millions of consumers, businesses, and organizations worldwide, Microsoft has a responsibility to develop technology that is based on commonly used standards and to make sure our products work well with those of other companies-including those of our competitors. To help promote innovation, enable greater security throughout the industry, and foster new economic opportunities, we also have a responsibility to share the source code of our leading products.
6.10 Microsoft Research
In 1991, Microsoft Corporation became the first software company to create its own computer-science research organization. Microsoft Research has developed into a unique entity among corporate research labs, balancing an open academic model with an effective process for transferring its research to product-development teams. Microsoft recognizes that to create the foundation for future technology breakthroughs, it is necessary to maintain independence from product groups, which enables Microsoft Research to focus on long-term (10-15 years out) computer-science research and vision that is not bound by product cycles. Today, the world-renowned scientists of Microsoft Research constitute one of the largest, fastest-growing, and most highly respected software-research organizations in the world-one that will help define and redefine the computing experience for millions of people for decades to come.
6.10.1 The Goals of Microsoft Research
"We're focusing more on research than ever. We're building the technology that will enable computers to see, listen, speak, and learn so people can interact with them as naturally as they interact with other people." - Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect
For 15 years, Microsoft Research has been pivotal in helping fulfill Microsoft's evolving vision for the future of computing: a new era of personal, business, and intellectual communication supported by computers that are always available, vastly easier to use, and far more powerful than those of today.
The computers of tomorrow will employ a unified interface that moves transparently between smart devices, software, and systems that people use, forming a connected, unified system that works on their behalf and under their control, and creating an environment of seamless computing. Seamless computing enhances personal and business connections through rich communication and powerful, flexible collaboration tools; helps diverse technologies, groups and organizations work together; and are flexible and intuitive enough to adapt to the ways people and companies want to work.
Current research projects range from inventing more intuitive, productive ways of interacting with computers to improving programming languages, enhancing software-development tools, and applying sophisticated mathematical theories to as-yet-unsolved computational challenges. No matter what end of the spectrum they inhabit, all Microsoft Research projects focus on advancing the state of the art in computing, from increasing programmers' productivity and helping enterprises operate more efficiently to enriching people's experiences with technology at work and at home.
6.10.2 Breakthroughs, Large and Small
While some people believe that being innovative or making a breakthrough means "getting there first," Microsoft takes a much broader view. A technology breakthrough or innovation can take years to evolve, and its impact may not be fully realized until years later-as in the case of Internet technology or even e-mail. Microsoft believes that a combination of invention and popularization makes a technology or product innovative, so today's researchers must have the freedom to advance computer science and invent new technologies over the long term.
Microsoft researchers work across more than 55 disciplines in an atmosphere with minimal bureaucracy and broad opportunities to exchange ideas. Although most of them pursue long-term goals that extend far beyond current product cycles, they also work closely with other groups at Microsoft to transfer knowledge and help turn their discoveries into functional offerings. Nearly every Microsoft product in the marketplace today - including Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT), Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Windows Server(tm) 2003, Office 2003, MSN(r) 8, SQL Server(tm), Windows(r) XP, Office XP, Vista and Windows Media(r) Player 9 Series-has been influenced by Microsoft Research. Occasionally, researchers involved with a project even transfer to the product-development group to assist as their initial ideas take shape.
No matter how far-reaching or abstract their projects might be, Microsoft researchers consistently strive for results that eventually will solve computer science's grand challenges. In many cases, their results are shared and applied across multiple research areas. Examples of the challenges Microsoft Research is dedicated to solving and some of the current projects that target these challenges.
