Microsoft Responds to
“Just-in-Time Learning”
Needs With Introduction of Seminar Online
REDMOND, Wash., May 27, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today officially launched Microsoft® Seminar Online, which provides IT professionals, developers and the channel with instant access to technical education via the World Wide Web. The free service delivers a virtual seminar experience on the Web with presentations given by Microsoft product development teams and field systems engineers. Seminar Online is designed to help users gain a better understanding of a wide range of Microsoft technologies, solutions and programs and to maximize their investments in information technology by teaching ways to use products to their fullest capacity.
The site, located at http://www.microsoft.com/seminar/ , offers seminars with both overview and in-depth content using PowerPoint® presentation graphics program-based slides and synchronized audio. The user is in control of the learning experience with the ability to watch a full-length presentation or to select specific content. Topics include security in the Windows NT® operating system, e-commerce with Site Server 3.0 and data access with the Microsoft Visual Basic® development system 5.0.
Virtual Events
Virtual Events combine a grouping of seminars on a particular topic and enable the user to e-mail questions to a Microsoft engineer at any time while viewing a seminar; answers are guaranteed within 24 hours of the user’s inquiry. The recent Windows NT Server seminar attracted more than 40,000 participants who submitted almost 800 technical sales questions. The next Virtual Event, in mid-June, will focus on the Microsoft Windows Terminal Server ( code-named
“Hydra”
). The event will offer three seminars and will cover cross-platform opportunities, application compatibility and scalability.
Channel Use and Delivery of Seminars
The Microsoft Seminar Online program provides Microsoft channel partners with access to an exclusive secured Web site that offers channel-specific seminars and information. The content provides Microsoft Certified Solution Providers (MCSPs) with prerelease product information, enabling them to anticipate the needs of their customers and offer customer solutions on the latest technology from Microsoft.
“I pull up Seminar Online when I’m working late at the office and just let it run. I then take the seminars that would be most useful to my staff and send the URLs around the office,”
said John Rucker, president of Horizons Consulting, an MCSP.
“It’s a great way to get the most current information on Microsoft products, and my employees don’t have to use up their limited daytime bandwidth.”
Demand for Just-in-Time Learning
The Seminar Online service, optimized for 28.8Kbps modems, has met with overwhelming response. In both March and April, more than 100,000 participants accessed online seminars via the beta site, with 40 percent of the participants located outside the United
States. More than 300,000 users have participated in seminars since the Seminar Online beta version launched in January.
“Microsoft developed the Seminar Online service so that customers could access Microsoft information when and where they needed it,”
said Brad Brunell, group manager, Internet distance learning at Microsoft.
“So far, the feedback we’ve received from the customers about the beta version has been everything we could have wished for. It’s providing individual learning choice, removing time and location challenges, and getting the latest information out quickly. Seminar Online meets the need for ‘just-in-time’ learning.”
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, PowerPoint, Windows NT and Visual Basic are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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