Q&A: Mike Nash, corporate vice president, Windows Product Management, discusses how the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Ecosystem Readiness Program will give partners a clear picture for the future.

Windows is the choice of more than 1 billion customers worldwide. Its broad appeal is based on Microsoft Corp.’s efforts to make Windows a platform of innovation for thousands of software developers, device manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, and others who form the Microsoft Windows partner community.

These partners are a key ingredient to the success of Windows innovation ultimately delivering new possibilities and choice for customers.

Today Microsoft unveiled the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Ecosystem Readiness Program designed to help Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), developers, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Original Device Manufacturers (ODMs) achieve compatibility and innovation with Windows 7.

The program provides partners with access to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 beta builds, development and test toolkits, technical documents and application testing labs through Microsoft Connect. Software partners can join by going to: www.msdn.com/windows.

Meanwhile hardware partners can go to the Windows Hardware Developer Central (WHDC) site to access the program: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/win7/default.mspx.

PressPass spoke with Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Windows Product Management, to learn about the opportunities for partners and what they can do to prepare for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

PressPass: How are you engaging Windows 7 partners differently from past editions of Windows?

Nash: When we’ve discussed new versions of Windows in the past, we typically shared ideas as if they were final. Sometimes things would shift, which could make it difficult for partners to plan when they should begin developing products.

We’ve learned a tremendous amount from these experiences. In response we changed our approach to Windows 7, engaging with our partners early and planning with them in a more systematic way. We had the opportunity not only to watch how our partners were using and developing for Windows, but also to get their input on what was important to them.

Based on this approach, we were able to prioritize the things that developers cared about, and share an application programming interface (API)-complete version of Windows 7 at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC). We held the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in November as well, and took the event to Asia to reach our partners in Beijing, Taipei and Tokyo.

We followed this momentum by delivering a solid and stable beta version at International CES earlier this month. What this means for partners is that they can confidently invest and start testing now because the Windows 7 beta will have the same API set that they will see in the final release.

PressPass: Can you outline some of the partner opportunities with Windows 7?

Nash: We're focusing on making sure partners have a great experience on Windows 7 and can create opportunities based on the new features we developed.

For example, as digital cameras, smart phones, and other consumer electronics become more common, we have an opportunity to help customers get more out of their devices. Device Stage is a Windows 7 feature that will enable partners to create new experiences for customers while better meeting their needs through a new visual interface. With Device Stage, it is easier for customers to find and use applications and services for their hardware devices.

The multitouch features built into Windows 7 also provide an excellent platform for software developers. The platform enables access to multitouch data and provides manipulation APIs for stretching, rotating, or moving objects. Partners can build from this to create an innovative, natural way to interact with Windows PCs.

PressPass: What additional partner opportunities do you see with Windows Server 2008 R2?

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