Editor’s Note: New year, new challenges

It’s time to change the calendars and finalize your plans for the coming year. How will you approach the challenges and opportunities of new technologies?

Lafe Low

It has been a busy year in the IT world. Microsoft’s largest product groups all underwent significant upgrades. Windows 8 is major change from previous versions of the venerable Microsoft OS. SQL Server 2012, the engine that keeps a lot of businesses running, also experienced a significant update. And Microsoft Office, the standard for office productivity and number- and word-crunching, has a whole new look and feel to capitalize on platforms including Windows 8, SharePoint and Lync Server.

As the year turns, many organizations’ fiscal years and general operational plans turn as well. The end of a year is always a good time to regroup, reexamine and revisit your strategies and tactics—both from a business perspective and an operational IT perspective. What are you plans around the major new releases from Microsoft this year? Is your organization an early adopter, or will you wait for the dust to settle and for the release of the first wave of service packs?

What other plans does your organization have for the new year? Will you be upgrading your infrastructure—making substantial changes such as an enterprise-wide OS upgrade, or performing selective upgrades for certain departments or offices? Will you be going more mobile or more virtual? Will you be putting in place more collaboration and communication platforms such as SharePoint or Lync Server? Now is the time to ponder all these decisions and possibilities.

Finally, with all the unrest and intolerance in the world, we hope you and your friends and family find peace and have a safe, healthy and happy holiday season—however you choose to celebrate. And let’s all hope for a more prosperous year next year. We’re facing a new year, a new set of challenges and opportunities, and a clean slate for the year ahead.

Ready for the new year?

Let us know your plans for 2013 and how we can help with our coverage in TechNet Magazine. There’s a plethora of new topics to cover to help you prepare to deploy these new Microsoft technologies, configure for upgrades and ensure compatibility with your existing infrastructure. Let us know how we can help. Let us know what you want and need from TechNet Magazine. Sign up for our LinkedIn group, send us an e-mail at <tnmag.microsoft.com> or e-mail me directly.

Lafe Low

Lafe Low is the editor in chief of TechNet Magazine. A veteran technology journalist, he’s also the former executive editor of 1105 Media’s Redmond magazine.