It’s rough for anyone (average computer user or technologist) to keep up with all the software that comes out throughout the course of a year.  Microsoft is the prime example of a company that has a myriad of updates to various software titles.  With this in mind, one of the events being put on this year is the Microsoft Launch Fest.  Local certified Microsoft partners from around New Orleans will showcase new technologies coming out the software giant.

The half day event that will take place on May 26^th, 2010 from 7AM  to 1PM at 3838 N. Causeway Blvd. Metairie, LA will highlight software such as SharePoint 2010, Dynamics DP 2010, and a preview of the popular suite: Office 2010.  We caught up with Terry Levasseur, Director for Commercial, State & Local Government Sector at Geocent, LLC whose company is one of the partners highlighting software at Launch Fest.  Terry tells us why organizations need to get out Launch Fest, a handful of software products to look out for, and new enhancements that techies should be aware of:

Q:  What benefits will an organization or individual get out of coming to Launch Fest?

A:  Both business decision makers and technologists will get a look at some of the new Microsoft technologies that are being launched in 2010. Microsoft has a large number of product releases this year all of which can help organizations realize cost savings in either productivity or hardware. Organizations will also see ways to leverage their existing IT investments using these new technologies. I think anyone who attends will come away with a greater understanding of how these new tools can help organizations realize some of their business objectives.

Q:  Is Geocent giving any workshops on any particular software products?

A:  Yes, Geocent will be giving presentations on both Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) and on the Microsoft System

Preview of Power Pivot in Excel 2010

Center suite of products. The BI demonstration will focus on the new release of SharePoint 2010 coupled with SQL Server 2008 R2 and Office 2010. The new features in both SharePoint and SQL Server allow information consumers to receive a relatively low-cost, highly flexible and integrated solution to their BI needs. The System Center presentation will demonstrate many of the capabilities of that suite including configuration management, compliance, monitoring, data protection, and IT service management.

Q:  What are a couple of the new enhancements, updates, or features that you are excited about coming from Microsoft products this year?

A:  The new PowerPivot functionality in Excel 2010 and the further refinement of Microsoft SharePoint as a true development platform are the two things that excite us as a company in 2010. PowerPivot is going to allow end users to have greater control over how they can manipulate their data to ultimately turn it into actionable business information. The new features of SharePoint give organizations a great deal of flexibility on how they can implement a SharePoint solution in their organization. Some organizations will choose to simply use it as an intranet, while others may decide to build their corporate web presence in it or use it to develop custom line of business applications.

For more information about the event, check out their registration page and also view the different breakout sessions that will be going on.