Microsoft SA: Windows re-imagined and great new devices

South African consumers can expect “Windows Re-imagined” and great devices from Microsoft in 2012.  This is according to Melanie Botha, marketing and operations lead at Microsoft South Africa.

Botha says that it is a very exciting time with new hardware innovation afoot and the ability to mix and match solutions for clients based on their needs. “We’re all in. Nearly every one of our products has or is developing features and/or services that support the cloud,” says Botha.

“Another focal area for us will be devices, devices, devices, it’s going to be an interesting year for device innovation and I think we will see some very interesting form factors,” predicts Botha.

Botha predicts that we are going to see cloud starting to become a little more mainstream this year, enabling some interesting integration across devices and media. “Applications will be the order of the day, both on devices and in the cloud,” says Botha.

An interesting observation is that despite the rise of tablet PCs globally, there is still strong growth in the PC market in South Africa and other developing markets.

Microsoft is however not neglecting the tablet PC market. “We’ve already previewed Windows 8, which is a massive step to changing the way that Windows customers experience the power of technology.”

Melanie Botha - marketing and operations director at Microsoft South Africa

And 2012 is obviously the year of Windows Phone. “Windows Phone is set to change the smartphone landscape with the announcement of our partnership with Nokia and the introduction of the Lumia device,” says Botha.

Both highlight that the trends of ‘consumerisation of IT’ is one of the reasons why it is so important for Microsoft to stay ahead of both consumer lifestyles and emerging work patterns.

“The blurring of boundaries between desktop PCs, enterprise servers, web and online services and devices is creating a new way of doing business,” says Botha.

“We’re unshakeably optimistic about the future of technology, and we spend a vast amount of time and resources delivering future technologies, today.”