By offering a formula for performance, Microsoft is doing nothing more than beating the old drum of people-ready businesses. In the Redmond company's vision, people-centric technology is a crucial aspect of gaining a competitive advantage. This perspective is supported by a research carried out by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Microsoft. At the center of the people-ready strategy is the concept that people are the most important asset of a business. But at the same time, no resource is sufficient itself, needing a structure, the necessary processes, information and tools to enable carrying out the organization's goals.

"The research demonstrates a clear link between enabling people and business performance, be it in profitability, revenue growth, tangible assets or strategic success. The message is clear: Enable your employees as it can very well improve the performance of your organization. But, despite this encouraging finding, the research also reveals a disconcerting enablement gap. While many employees are given the license to be enterprising, they lack the technology to actually deliver on the value proposition of enablement. For example, just 53 percent of respondents reported having the IT tools they needed, and only 52 percent said they had the "necessary information to feel truly enabled," revealed Betsy Frost, general manager, Microsoft Information Worker Product Marketing Group.

As an example of the efforts Microsoft has poured into enabling people-ready businesses, Frost offered the Office 2007 System. From the completely overhauled Ribbon/Fluent interface of Office 2007, to the added functionality, the suite is the result of Microsoft's intimate studies in how users work with the product. On top of this, the company also made sure that Office 2007 integrates seamlessly with management solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The Ready, Willing and Enabled: A Formula for Performance is available for download here.

"Microsoft recognizes that it is people who ultimately make companies tick. That's why we describe our vision of a software-enabled company, the "people-ready" business. We've invested heavily in user studies to understand the practical scenarios and overall context in which people actually use technology to ensure our products are intuitive to use, configured around real-world needs and can be folded into business processes," Frost added.