Microsoft hits home run in NYC: Willie Randolph helps launch Vista
Microsoft was in full force in the Big Apple today for “the most significant product launch in Microsoft Corp.’s history.” Microsoft made the rounds to technology retailers in New York City in conjunction with the release to consumers of the Windows Vista operating system and Microsoft Office 2007.
One of the Microsoft stops was RCS Computer Experience in midtown Manhattan for joint Microsoft-Lenovo-Intel all day demos of Vista and an evening celebration featuring New York Mets Manager Willie Randolph and Microsoft corporate vice president for Windows Client Marketing, Michael Sievert.
Photo by Donna Bogatin
Randolph put forth that he and his Mets team look forward to the “next generation of computing.”
Sievert underscored how Vista enables a digital world experience “like never before with safer, easier and more enjoyable technology.”
I spoke with Sievert to discuss Microsoft’s New York based Vista launch.
According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer:
Microsoft is touting a dramatic impact on computing in New York in particular, as I present in “Microsoft or Google: Who helps economy more?”:We designed Windows Vista and Office 2007 as springboards for our partners, for realizing the next generation of computing, for a whole new wave of innovation in devices and software that offer better graphics, better connectivity and communications, and a more productive, more enjoyable experience all around. The launch will have a dramatic impact on computing long-term.
In New York, each dollar of Windows Vista-related revenue earned by Microsoft in 2007 will generate more than $19 in revenue for the ecosystem beyond Microsoft. We expect that in the first year of Windows Vista shipments, this ecosystem will sell more than $7 billion of Windows Vista-related products and services in New York.
I asked Sievert why Microsoft chose NYC as the official launch pad for both the business and consumer launches of Vista.
Sievert told me that “so many” of Microsoft’s partners, customers and beta testers are in New York metropolitan area. He also cited a robust local computer reseller and retail sales and support infrastructure.
Sievert underscored the Microsoft retail platform is 39,000 stores strong worldwide.
Photo by Donna Bogatin