Conversation Starter

Finally, all the debates about Vista and its value as an operating system can be aired, uncensored and unfettered. I, for one, couldn't be more relieved.

I'm certainly not naive enough to think there'll be an avalanche of sales before the end of the year—in fact, the phased corporate/consumer launch timing sort of precludes this. But I do believe Vista's debut last week will be like the product launches of yore in that it's a great dialogue starter for your sales team. Which means 2007 will be awful, awful busy, and that you need to coach your staff both on how to handle objections and how to tout the business innovations made possible by the Vista-Office 2007 combination.

Certainly, the biggest pushback you'll get from customers and prospects will surround the hardware requirements necessary to run the new client OS. This includes, at a minimum, a dual-core processor, 1 Gbyte of memory and a high-end graphics card. Some of you have anticipated this need and suggested Vista-ready hardware upgrades. Others, however, will need to ready compelling ROI arguments to inspire that spending. Considered alone, the Vista upgrade offers several different openings in this regard, including significant improvements from the system management standpoint and accommodations in file organization and search tools that build on what I'll call the Google phenomenon—which, Microsoft fully admits, has reshaped the average computer user's expectations in these areas. Advances in security will definitely get an airing and an ear in midsize and enterprise accounts. On the downside, there is a tremendous amount of anxiety about application compatibility although this, too, is a great conversation starter.

For those inclined to listen, however, the best conversation opener will be the innovative new solutions enabled by the Vista-Office 2007 combo, especially in the areas of collaboration and content management. Those opportunities are explored in greater depth in this week's cover package.

Regardless of whether your customers decide to take the plunge now or later or never, Vista will open the door for a whole new set of conversations for which you need to prepare a whole new sales script. And I, for one, couldn't be happier.

What's your Vista sales pitch? HEATHER CLANCY, Editor at CRN, appreciates your feedback at [email protected].