Road map 2012: Microsoft’s big bang of new releases

Last year, I complained about the drought of new Microsoft product releases. Each week, I had to search the corners of the digital universe to come up with something unique and interesting to say for this column. But this year (and next) is bubbling over with new releases from Microsoft, so there will be plenty to discuss.

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Microsoft’s 2012-2013 lineup

Starting at the top, what major releases are coming our way and when can we expect them?

• Windows 8: The rumors are that we’ll have a summer launch of this before the kids start buying computers for school in the fall. Others are saying it will need more time to bake.
• Exchange 15, SharePoint 15, and next-gen Lync: These are all anticipated for Q4 2012 and might well be released on the same day.
• Office 15: Also anticipated (according to Redmond Magazine) for Q4 of 2012; from the buzz on the wire, the next flavor of Office is more tightly integrated with the Office servers (Exchange and SharePoint) and sports a new Metro skin to match the new Windows 8 OS.
• SQL Server 2012: It looks like this one will be coming in Q2 2012.
• System Center 2012: Also slated for Q2 2012, the upgrades to the System Center family have been gaining a good deal of praise, especially the Configuration Manager and Data Protection Manager tools. I’ll dive into these soon enough, and I’m looking forward to the sessions coming up at Microsoft’s TechEd conference in Orlando this year.

There are other new releases to look forward to as well: a Windows Phone upgrade (“Apollo“), a new Visual Studio, and Windows Azure enhancements.

Microsoft is hoping you’ll upgrade across the board — but should you? Why is everything being released in such a short period? If you’re getting a new PC with Windows 8, you probably want the latest Office on it too. And if you’re rolling out new desktops with the latest version of Office, you may want to give your people the latest enhancements in SharePoint as well. These are no longer separate products but instead rely on each other to create a singular — and awesome — experience.

I realize the prospect of upgrading all your Microsoft software at once is daunting, both logistically and financially. Rest assured that you can deploy some of the new Microsoft products without the others. For example, you can run Windows 8 clients in a Windows Server 2008 organization. You can also install Office 15 on PCs running Windows 7.

With the road map clear, businesses should start asking the hard questions of what new Microsoft products to deploy and on what schedule. Now that’s a minefield!

I’ve worked with some of the new products in beta form, such as Windows 8. Some upgrades are obviously worthwhile to me, whereas I’m still waiting for more compelling features and functionality to greenlight a full-on deployment with others.

Right now, the only two I’m ready to commit to based on their betas are Windows Server 8 and System Center Configuration Manager 2012. These two upgrades are worth adopting immediately. Windows Server 8 has a ton of great new features, and I’m already impressed in the beta — despite the fact it’s difficult to take a product like Windows Server and impress a guy like me. Based on what I’m hearing from admins who are deploying it in release-candidate form, SCCM 2012 is absolutely amazing.

If those two are any indication as to the rest of the server lineup coming, it will be a great year for the Microsoft server teams. As for the client side with Windows 8 and Office 15, my initial reactions are not so positive. But there is still time to wow me, and I really want to be wowed.

This article, “Road map 2012: Microsoft’s big bang of new releases,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of J. Peter Bruzzese’s Enterprise Windows blog and follow the latest developments in Windows at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.