14 DAY TRIAL // Even before the launch of its latest operating system, Windows Vista, Microsoft was inviting the software developing community to stand out of the crowd in the environment of products built around its operating system. In fact, concomitantly with the release to manufacturing of Windows Vista, Sven Hallauer, release manager and director of program management at Microsoft, offered details about the "Works with Windows Vista" and "Certified for Windows Vista" software logo programs. Getting applications Vista certified was a way for software developers to have a piggyback ride on the professed success and rapid adoption rate of Windows Vista. And in this context, Microsoft was trying to get the environment to support Vista as much as possible with dedicated software.
"When building their next generation of Windows applications, ISVs should build towards the "Certified for Windows Vista" software logo specification. By certifying their software for Windows Vista, ISVs can differentiate their products and communicate to customers that their software has met explicit standards of quality and reliability. We currently have more than one thousand ISVs engaged in our Windows Vista early adopter programs and developing the next-generation of Windows applications," Hallauer stated at the time.
Well, despite the fact that among the top complaints related to Vista, application compatibility is featured at the foreground, the fact of the matter is that the logo certification program was not without success. Hallauer explained that simultaneously with the Vista RTM, Microsoft was collaborating with over 1,000 ISVs. Well, at the Financial Analyst Meeting 2007 in mid July, Kevin Turner, Microsoft Chief Operating Officer revealed that the actual number of applications labeled with either the Works with Windows Vista or the Certified for Windows Vista logos passed the 2,000 milestone in the operating system's first six months on the market, indicating significant progress since launch when there were only some 650 logoed pieces of software.
But at the same time, it is important to understand that the logos are by no means just Microsoft propaganda or smart marketing support for software developers. If you take a look at the image included on the left, you will be able to see Microsoft's own comparison of the user benefits inherent with the two logos. While products marked with "Works with Windows Vista" will offer "baseline functionality, marketing benefits-PR templates, guidance, and discounts, support via the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor and Developer support forum", the "Certified for Windows Vista" logo will additionally deliver 10 hours of e-mail support and inclusion in the Multimillion Dollar Marketing Campaign by Microsoft for developers.
"For your next-generation applications built on Windows Vista, the Certified for Windows Vista program lets customers know that your solution meets a higher standard of quality and exploits the best of what Windows Vista has to offer. For your existing Windows XP applications, the Works with Windows Vista program lets customers know that your product supports baseline functionality on Windows Vista," reads a message on the Microsoft partner program website.
