Windows Vista Springboard is a micro site on the Microsoft Web site dedicated to helping IT Pros get Vista deployed into their environments.

Now before going any further with regards to Vista Springboard, I want to say that I am a strong supporter of Windows Vista. Their are some big benefits, and some big steps forward with Vista. The most important aspect of Vista is that it helps me be a lazy admin.

Now I'll also be honest and realistic, there are a lot of people that don't like Vista. There are many reasons why people won't like Vista, some of the reasons are legitimate, however most reasons tend to be rooted in a haze of bad perception. What I mean by that is Vista has a perception of lacking value, or in other words people will ask "What is my compelling reason for upgrading to Vista?" This goes for Home users, Office users,  IT pros, and especially IT managers and decision makers.

This is where the Vista Springboard program comes into play. IT people are busy people, and even though we would all like to be Lazy Admins, in reality my guess is that your not really that lazy at all. The problem with Vista is that there isn't one feature that people say WOW I need that! There are a few features that come close (I'm thinking BitLocker, Windows Search, UAC, Windows Imaging) But not of these features by themselves really sell the idea of Vista. I like to say that when you start looking at all the features, and starting to figure out how each little feature saves time, resources, the benefits start to add up. As the benefits add up, you start to realize that there isn't one compelling reason to install Vista, but a few hundred small reasons soon add up to a conglomerated compelling reason!

Now all that being said I still don't feel I have said anything really new, I can hear you all yelling at the monitors YES, WE KNOW THERE IS LOTS OF COOL STUFF, but where to do I start to get a handle on all this??

This is where Springboard comes into play. The site is designed to provide information about Vista at the right detail level, based on where you are in your considerations for, and hopefully deployment of Vista.

The site breaks down into 4 sections, which align with how IT environments will typically approach a new set of technologies.

Discover Windows Vista:  Windows XP is good enough. Why should I care?

Explore: How do I learn what's in it for me and if it's worth the effort?

Pilot: Will it work in our environment; how do I prepare?

Deploy: What best practices can we get to minimize our risk?

Over the next few weeks I'm going to focus on some of the cool articles, and talking point that we can find on the Springboard site. You can check it out too, just follow the link below. In the efforts to create a conversation around these articles, I have created a new forum to talk specifically about all things Vista, and especially around the Vista Springboard program. To motivate the conversation I have some great giveaways for TLAers who participate in the discussion/debate. Just remember, I am always up for a great debate, however formal debate rules apply, argue against the idea, not person. Also keep it clean, we can be passionate without the colourful metaphors.

Check out SpringBoard: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=8418918

Discuss Springboard in the forums: http://thelazyadmin.com/forums/25/ShowForum.aspx