2012: Year of the Dragon or the Year of Microsoft?

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

However, when looking at the pace Microsoft brings out new technologies this year, like but not limited to:

• Windows Server 2012,
  
• Windows Client 2012,
• System Center 2012 Product,
  
  • Orchestrator;
  • VMM 2012;
  • SCCM 2012;
  • OM 2012;
  • SCSM 2012;
  • DPM 2012;
  • AppControl
• Surface Tablet
  
• Windows Phone 8,
  
• New versions/editions of
  • Windows Azure,
  • Office 365,
  • Windows Intune
• And new versions of these products about to come out as well:
  • Exchange
  • Lync
  • Office

I personally call 2012 The Year of Microsoft!

It’s really awesome what they bring out. Guess Google and Apple are blown totally out of the water just by the sheer volume of new products Microsoft brings out this year. Compared to Apple who releases a couple of ‘new’ products every year, Microsoft shows them their tail lights and what REAL innovation is all about…

And it’s not only just the new products it goes way much further. It’s more about the vision and long term strategy behind it all. Sometime ago almost every Microsoft employer signed their e-mail with the slogan ‘We’re all in’, referring to the cloud.

And this time it wasn’t just marketing mumbo jumbo! No way! Microsoft is transforming from a pure software developing/selling company to a cloud service provider model (simply look at Office 365, Azure, Windows Intune, System Center Advisor) combined with an ‘Apple’ taste (Surface Tablet, even though a CEO of a certain company says it’s just a marketing stunt, IMO Microsoft is really going to pull this one off).

I wouldn’t be too surprised when Microsoft will also bring out their own Windows phone built on Windows Phone 8 technology, just like the Surface Tablet and Xbox, a pure 100% Microsoft product.

Overnight Microsoft became sexy! And this year has still more then six months to cover. Makes me wonder what Microsoft is going to announce in the months to come…