Slashdot | Microsoft Pays Bloggers to Tout MS Slogan
Apparently Microsoft paid some high-profile bloggers to post what they felt the phrase "People-Ready Business" means to them. Since I'm not a high-profile blogger, nor am I paid by Microsoft, I feel uniquely qualified to discuss what a people-ready business means to me.
People-Ready Business means when a person needs to get their job done, they have the tools at hand to make things happen. They translate their thoughts into productivity for the business. It means when they need a particular software package, they don't have to think about whether or not their company can afford it or if they have enough licenses to distribute it, they just use it. Gone are thoughts of activation codes and IT personnel breathing down their neck about unsupported software. If someone in your business needs to take work home with them, they can easily transfer their documents and data home and use the exact same software on their own home PC, with their own fully legal copy of the program. They can give a copy of their software to their friends, who can help them collaborate on projects outside of the business and help foster that persons usage of the software (not all learning is in the training classroom). The business can also be assured that when it comes time to either change or upgrade the software based on business needs, there isn't an issue with older documents becoming unintelligible masses of data goop on their hard drives. There is the ability to incorporate new tools as required by the workers, without requiring a purchase order. Machines in the company can be upgraded silently, and repurposed with little fanfare or interaction from the users. And no-one talks about obsolescence and code licenses if and when the company folds the product, because the code is out there, in perpetuity, as long as someone is interested in developing it.
But the people-ready business won't come from Microsoft, it will come from a community of developers that treat their users not as customers, but as peers.
Welcome to your people-ready business.