Microsoft offers free software update for SMBs

MANILA, Philippines -- Microsoft Philippines and its partners are urging small and medium-businesses (SMBs) in the country to modernize their IT infrastructure before the end of support for Windows XP and Office 2003 on April 8, 2014 through a beneficial promo called Get2Modern.

The software giant said the move shows its commitment to empower SMBs through relevant and accessible technology.

The Get2Modern, which runs from May 1 to June 28, 2013, entitles qualified SMBs to a special 15 percent discount on Windows 8 and Office 2013 through the Open License volume program, as well as Windows 8 Pro notebooks and tablet hardware upgrade offers.

Issa Aviles, SMB and Enterprise Marketing Lead at Microsoft Philippines, said SMBs serve as the key driver for economic growth but many are stuck with old technology and processes which do not address today’s needs for increased collaboration and higher productivity for a multi-generational workforce and security.

"Our goal through this effort is to help SMBs to modernize by moving away from old technologies like Windows XP or Office 2003 so they can truly realize new levels of productivity, experience stronger security and take advantage of cloud services cost effectively," Aviles said.  

At present, Aviles said there are still around 3.8 million users of the Windows XP in the Philippines.

"This is our way of making sure they'll have the ability to update. We are making them aware now that there are offers they can take advantage of," Aviles said.

In a recent study by the International Data Center (IDC), 75 percent of Asia Pacific companies have adopted or are planning to adopt enterprise social tools to increase collaboration and reduce operation costs .

New collaboration and communications features found in the new versions of Office and Windows have been designed to support the needs of the fast growing population of mobile workers. IDC expects mobile workers in Asia Pacific to grow from 601.7 million in 2010 to 838.7 million in 2015.

Among the Windows 8 apps for SMBs include the Loan Payment Calculator, Captain Dash, Simple Inventory Control, PushBi, Invoice360, Money, DocuSign Ink, Cashflow Manager, and Business Analyzer.

The Loan Payment Calculator is used to estimate payment for mortgage, home equity, credit card, auto, student or any fixed interest loan.

The Captain Dash enables one to aggregate data from Google Analytics, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Microsoft Atlas—with more sources to come—to a single platform and produce on-demand, interactive dashboards and KPI to optimize marketing decision making.

Yet the Simple Inventory Control is an inventory control and stock management app, while PushBi gathers all metrics into one place and makes it accessible on any device.

The Invoice360 is an e-invoice software and app designed for people on-the-go. The Money app lets users see a summary of their income, expenses and savings.

As for the DocuSign Ink, the app allows a user to electronically sign, send and store documents from anywhere at anytime.

The Cashflow Manager app is made for use with the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 environment. And the Business Analyzer displays business intelligence information for one's Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution.