It;s that time: Time to begin plotting the journey schedule and penciling within the Microsoft events (that we learn about thus far) for that new 12 months.CES 2011: CEO Steve Ballmer may be the kick-off CES keynoter on January 5 at six:30 p.m. PT. Microsoft execs are remaining tight-lipped about what;s around the agenda,
Office Ultimate 2007, but early leaks have indicated that Ballmer is going to speak about Microsoft;s and its partners; programs within the slate/tablet space (once more, like he did last year). Although some are expecting Microsoft to share details about options to port Windows to ARM and/or about Windows 8, I;m considering Windows Embedded is a a lot more likely subject — and possibly the operating system that will undoubtedly be behind whatever kind of new slates/tablets the Softies unveil at the show this year. The Windows Embedded team has posted a CES press preview article, making it seem as although Windows Embedded Standard devices will probably be one of the big pushes for your company at CES.
Dynamics CRM 2011 launch: The virtual (Webcasted) launch event is January 20, 2011, for Microsoft;s “CRM 5″ release. The Online version of the product will likely be available in January; the on-premises version inside the first quarter of 2011.
Mobile World Congress 2011: In February (14-17 in Barcelona), Microsoft is expected to speak up some of its future update strategies for Windows Phones at the show. Maybe we;ll hear a bit about “Mango,” the next release of the Windows Phone OS (possibly 7.five) that some of my tipsters have said will deliver in-browser support for HTML5 and Silverlight.Microsoft MVP Summit: This 12 months,
Office 2010 Home And Business, the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) invite-only summit is slated for February 28 to March 2 in Bellevue, Wash.Game Developers Conference 2011: Could Microsoft be ready to share far more about its future programs for Kinect by February 28? (GDC runs from February 28 to March 4 in San Francisco in 2011.)Microsoft Management Summit 2011: In Las Vegas from March 21 to 25,
Windows 7 Enterprise, MMS will likely be dedicated to the latest on all products and services management-related. Expect possible updates on Windows Intune, the various System Center products, virtualization and a lot more.Convergence 2011: The annual confab for Microsoft Dynamics ERP/CRM customers and partners is April 10 to 13 in Atlanta. There will undoubtedly be news about the upcoming versions of Microsoft;s four ERP suites, no doubt — and maybe even some very early CRM six talk (?).Mix ‘11: A beta of Silverlight 5 is one of the expectations for this 12 months;s Mix, which is happening (sadly once more) in Las Vegas from April 12 to 14. Maybe we;ll see the last Internet Explorer 9 release at Mix, as well.TechEd 2011: Microsoft;s annual educational conference, where the talks (typically) focus on already-announced products, is happening from May very well 16 to 19 in Atlanta this 12 months. Who knows: Maybe we;ll hear far more in regards to the Office 365 rollout (which my sources are hearing will happen around the first week of June).E3 2011: This year;s game extravaganza is June 7 to 9 in Los Angeles. As usual, lots of Xbox, Xbox Live,
Office Standard, games and game peripherals should be on the agenda.Worldwide Partner Conference 2011: It;s off to Los Angeles once more this year for Microsoft;s annual partner confab,
Office Pro Plus 2010 Key, taking place from July 11 to 14.Professional Developers Conference 2011: No dates or location on this one (yet), but many Microsoft watchers are expecting this 12 months;s PDC to be where Microsoft rolls out a public beta (or at least a Community Technology Preview) of Windows 8.Any other Microsoft-specific events already in your calendar?