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Defining The Business Value Of Technology
February 14, 2000
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icrosoft is counting on its largest technology training investment ever-$40 million this year-to drive deployment of Windows 2000. The new operating system, which starts shipping this week, includes a technically dense set of features such as the much-touted Active Directory for network management.The differences in features and implementation between Windows 2000 and Windows NT, 95, and 98 are significant, say industry analysts and IT trainers. In addition, Windows 2000 isn't the sort of operating system that users can learn on the fly. "It's not about just dropping in an operating system," says Elliott Masie, who heads the Masie Center for research in technology learning in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "It's about infrastructure and staged deployment."
About 147,000 IT professionals have already received some form of Windows 2000 training, according to Microsoft. The vendor is working to increase that number by subsidizing costs for its network of authorized training providers during the rollout phase so they'll be able to offer attractively priced courses. For example, Harcourt General Inc.'s IT training subsidiary, NETg, is offering New Features, a $75 course that shows IT professionals how to use Active Directory and Microsoft Management Console, and how to install and upgrade the operating system. The course is offered online or on CD-ROM.
Microsoft will continue to make its own instructional offerings available. On Feb. 17, thousands are expected to take part in a one-day training blitz at San Francisco's Moscone Center as part of the launch. Microsoft-certified trainers will teach 45-minute sessions over an IP network; each session will focus on a specific aspect of Windows 2000, and Microsoft will distribute CD-ROMs with comparable content from regional offices nationwide. These mini-sessions primarily serve as an introduction to the operating system and aren't in-depth IT training.
Those seeking more-detailed technical training can take free online courses, called TechNet, that Microsoft has made available from its regional offices for more than a year. IT pros who have completed most of the coursework through TechNet should be able to deploy Windows 2000, according to Microsoft.
| Training For Windows | ||
| What Leading Providers Offer | ||
| Company | Best For | Format |
| Digital Think | Independent IT pros or IT organizations that don't require custom curriculum | All courses are online, including interaction with other students |
| ExecuTrain | All IT professionals, especially those working towards Windows 2000 certification | Instructor-led classrooms and online training; customized course development |
| IntelliNet | IT organizations that oversee customized systems; IT pros working toward Windows 2000 certification | Customized course development includes classroom and lab work; systems integration services and consulting also available. No online training. |
| Learn2.com | Nontechnical desktop users | Online and CD-ROM; includes video and customized learning agents |
| NETg | Large IT organizations; IT pros working toward Windows 2000 certification | Online and CD-ROM; businesses can mix and match training nodules for customization |
| DATA: VENDORS | ||
For Beers, the chance to participate in the beta program provided the company with a head start on the technology, which it views as a competitive advantage. Beers is eager to build an IT infrastructure that supports project information flow among its 10 regional offices in the Southeast, and it's using Windows 2000 as the platform. The operating system is more stable than Windows NT and better able to support Beers' need to manage data for up to 400 concurrent construction projects.
"Project management in construction is very complicated," says Ortez Gude, VP of IT at Beers. "There are so many players in the game-general contractors and hundreds of subcontractors. We have to use IT to unite these geographically dispersed resources and tie communications back to headquarters."
Beers sent 13 regional IT professionals to its headquarters last year for a five-day training session from Microsoft. When final deployment is under way, IT consultant Philip Greninger of systems integrator IntelliNet Corp. will identify key Beers employees who will educate co-workers on specific technologies and set up online training programs.
Companies just beginning to prepare for Windows 2000 training can expect the broadest range of offerings from Microsoft-authorized training companies, known as Certified Technical Education Centers. Microsoft has endorsed 2,000 of these companies worldwide, 800 in the United States.
Microsoft estimates that 20,000 IT professionals worldwide will take one-day courses this month from certified training centers at a Microsoft-subsidized cost of $99, far less than the $300 to $350 typically charged for one-day IT training courses. Delivery methods will include online, CD-ROM, or classroom instruction, or a combination of those formats.
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