Transcript: Seagate & Microsoft Vista: Upfront Backup

This transcript is from a PodTech.net podcast at:
http://www.podtech.net/home/technology/1865/seagate-microsoft-vista-upfront-backup

Guest: Diana Cartwright - Seagate
Guest: Dennis Moulton - Microsoft
Host: Michael Johnson - PodTech

Michael Johnson - PodTech
This is Michael Johnson live on the floor of CES 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Very exciting show; all kinds of stuff happening here. What we're covering on this Podcast is a new partnership between Microsoft Vista and the Seagate Company. We're going to begin with Seagate's Diana Cartwright, who is a Senior Director of Marketing for Consumer Branded Solutions. We began talking about this partnership between Microsoft and Seagate and how it came about.

Diana Cartwright - Seagate
So, Microsoft Vista and particular to their small business partnership with Vista and the backup functionality on their new operating system is what we're doing is partnering with them actually with our Maxtor One Touch III Turbo Edition product. So, with Maxtor Vista it has a nice feature in there where you can backup your data again, - if we want people to have multiple copies of their data because when you lose that one copy -- today we're all amassing masses of digital content and when you lose that piece it's not in a shoebox in the garage somewhere any more, it's actually gone forever. So, we want people to backup. So, it's a great way to partner with Microsoft, it will clearly bring a lot more visibility, even more so about backup and the importance to backup. So, when you lose a piece of data, you lose a piece of yourself. So, what this operating system is looking for something to backup to and that's where Maxtor comes in line.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
So, when the folks switched over to Vista -- and this is going to be something that's going to be built-in that's the sort of a natural part of the Vista ecosystem.

Diana Cartwright - Seagate
Right, right and so that backup -- all you have to do is then plug in your OneTouch product and set your backup to that device absolutely. So, it'll actually bring again more visibility to the backing -- it'd be backing up your data. When you go to the Microsoft's site, they have some of their partner showcases of the other peripherals that they're partnering with, to help of that Vista ecosystem, to your point, and then the Maxtor product line and specifically that OneTouch Turbo product will be there as a device recommending backup to that.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
Now, Seagate being the largest manufacturer of hard drives in the world and Maxtor being a highly well-known name as far as backing things up, it seems like this is a great little direction to take right now. That really make the whole thing totally natural -- just the total part of what you're doing, again the computers become part of us whether we like it or not, this is a really important part of that and making it just natural, just organic to the process.

Diana Cartwright - Seagate
That's a really good point because today we're trying to take the high tech, if you will, out of consumer electronics when it comes to you and your data. So, to your point with backup you want it to be automatic, simple, easy to use, you really don't want to think about it, instead the proverbial flossing your teeth, you know you need to do it and sometimes -- and you don't, right? Until it's too late, for example. So, we're trying to get ahead of that, saying, well you are amassing amounts of data that are so personal and precious to you, when you lose them, they are gone. So, let's keep that in the background, with Microsoft Vista it's going to get really easy for you to do it, back it up to one of our Maxtor One Touch III Turbo devices and it happens automatically, you don't have to worry about it: you set it, forget it.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
We also have here with us Dennis Moulton, who is a Product Manager for Microsoft. Thanks for joining us.

Dennis Moulton - Microsoft
Thanks for having me; I'm excited to be here.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
Now, you can tell us a little bit more about this partnership with Vista and Maxtor. What's important about this partnership between Vista, Maxtor and Seagate?

Dennis Moulton - Microsoft
That's important for several reasons: we spend considerable amount of time, sort of matching Vista features to customer pain points and one of the things that we've found is that when you look at things like consumers in small businesses, there's a real opportunity and then pain point around backup. So, when you ask most people of backup's important, they'll tell you yes and then if they do it, they might tell you that that's not in fact the case. So, we have some new backup capabilities built into Vista and want to partner with the leader in storage to so we brought in our - and amplify that message.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
It seems like that's really been missing as an organic part of an operating system.

Dennis Moulton - Microsoft
It's something that's built into XP but it's actually a manual process. It's a hidden and so now we've surfaced it and made it more discoverable and dedicated a complete control center to just that. It's all about making things more discoverable in the interfaces and sort of, it's one of those core functionality features that we've given significant and increased visibility too, that just by having it right there in your control panel, also on the start panel and something that we're also talking about with our advertising campaign.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
Now, it seems like visibility and visual and transparency is all of what Vista is all about.

Dennis Moulton - Microsoft
It's certainly is, making things more discoverable and improving the user experience is what Vista is all about and we are excited to be working with partners like Maxtor to sort of amplify that message and we think it'll be something that really resonates and sits well with customers and small business alike.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
Well, if people want to find out a little bit more about some of the products that Maxtor is offering and the drives that the new line of drives that Seagate has and that Vista sort of organic operating system, where can they go? Is there something in the Website?

Diana Cartwright - Seagate
Oh! Absolutely there's actually a number of destinations. First, you can definitely go to the Microsoft Website. They have some great partner showcases where they're showing their whole as you will your Vista ecosystem and of course we have our Maxtor band as a part of that. You can always go to Maxtor Solutions if you are looking for other backup alternatives, and then of course we have seagate.com, where you can go and see this whole new line of products that we've announced today at the show.

It is actually yesterday at the show, which is a whole new way of moving around with your data and having freedom with it. So, there're some multiple places you can go and of course if you go online and probably -- inside Google you'll see a number of the press announcements around both Vista and the new Free Agent product line from Seagate.

Michael Johnson - PodTech
Dennis Moulton is a Product Manager at Microsoft Corporation. We've also been talking with Diana Cartwright from Seagate as well about the new partnership between Microsoft Vista and Seagate Maxtor Branded Solutions. Check it out at microsoft.com or maxtorsolutions.com or seagate.com to find out more information. Thanks for both of you for being with us on the Podcast.

Dennis Moulton - Microsoft
Thank you.

Diana Cartwright - Seagate
Thank you.