Woody Walton

We all know it whether we like it or not; he rise of Social Networking has infected hit the enterprise.   I crossed out the word inflected partially as a joke, but also as a mechanism to portray the lack of comfort or seriousness with which we take social networking and its very real transcendence into the workplace.

When speaking of Microsoft technologies, the first “work” related social networking tool that tends to come to mind is SharePoint.  We at Microsoft have been marginally successful at integrating social networking capabilities into the SharePoint platform over the last few versions, but most would say it has not been until the current release of SharePoint 2013 (or the newest service release of SharePoint Online) that we have really been serious.

Certainly the acquisition of Yammer less than a year made it very clear that Microsoft is VERY serious about enterprise social.  In its own words Yammer is:

The First and Most Powerful Enterprise Social Network

Yammer brings the power of social networking to your company. Yammer is as easy to use as great consumer software like Facebook and Twitter, but is designed for company collaboration, file sharing, knowledge exchange and team efficiency.

This is great and all, but if you are like many (including myself to a degree), maybe you are not bought into this enterprise social thing.  Maybe you never really  looked at what SharePoint had to offer, and you have never even heard of or perhaps seen Yammer.  Maybe you are too busy doing your day job to explore what this phenomenon is all about.

I would caution you not to delay to much longer.   Similar to the shift to cloud computing, customers will end up driving the demand for these capabilities and partners who are uneducated or complacent will lose out to partners who “know the deal”!

I find that I learn best in a classroom environment where I can ask questions freely of “experts” who know much more about technologies or solutions than I do.   I make a point of getting exposure to “new stuff” whenever I have the opportunity.

Do you have customers that are serious about enterprise social, but you don’t know where to start?   As it turns out Microsoft has a turn starting in a few days reaching over 15 cities in the US catered specifically at Microsoft & Yammer enterprise social technologies.   …Invite a Customer and tag along to:

Microsoft Transform Tour13

What I like most about this tour, other than the content of course is that it is hitting many cities that routinely fall by the wayside! …They even have my home town (Kansas City)!  Just check out this List:

• WASHINGTON DC
• PHILADELPHIA
• MINNEAPOLIS
• DES MOINES
• NEW YORK
• OMAHA
• KANSAS CITY
• ATLANTA
• ST. LOUIS
• LOS ANGELES
• DENVER
• CHICAGO
• PHOENIX
• CHARLOTTE
• HOUSTON
• SEATTLE
• SAN FRANCISCO

Tour Description:

Join Yammer and Microsoft as we usher in a new era of the enterprise — one that turns both internal and external business collaboration into a social, mobile, and engaging experience.

You’re invited to see and hear the latest in social technology solutions that will transform the way business gets done. Transform Tour13 provides you with an in-depth look at these solutions and how to implement them in your own organization.

See exclusive presentations and hands-on demonstrations, network with like-minded peers while gaining direct access to industry experts. And as a Transform Tour13 participant, you’ll gain practical advice and invaluable guidance on how to customize adoption for your company.

Join business and IT leaders across the U.S. for this unique half-day event:

Space is limited for these events so you will want to have your customer register ASAP.  Find out more at http://www.transformtour13.com/

Cheers,

Woody