The first word It`s not often that we have a chance to get our teeth into a really meaty technology-focused cover story. Chances are that when the opportunity presents itself, the announcement has little importance for a broad audience of enterprise users, or it looks too deeply into one vendor`s activities, sometimes to the point of becoming a public relations exercise.

But what do you do when one vendor does a whole range of mouth-watering things at once, things that do matter to just about everybody? And how do you handle it when that vendor`s offering is so pervasive and, let`s face it, divisive, that the very mention of its name inspires irrationality of epic proportions?

The truth is that you cannot take the easy way out. You have to give it full consideration, certainly more than one or two arbitrarily selected articles that cannot possibly do the occasion justice.

This very situation kept us busy this week. A plethora of announcements from Microsoft, in the markets of CRM, storage, security and RFID, and technology areas including VisualStudio, SQL Server, BizTalk and much, much more, made their way into our scope of vision. Here`s our promise again: our treatment of the article is analytical, thorough, and business-minded. You`ll like it.

Other news comes the appointment of Icasa`s new chairman, Paris Mashile, who went in on day one with guns blazing. There`s an empowerment update in the form of Stortech`s yet-to-be-announced deal with Imbumba, cellular loyalty shenanigans, and an interesting angle on the acquisition of a global network by a shareholder of the SNO.

Be warned, though, the conclusion gleaned from our interview with an analyst is not very upbeat.

Then there is the disappointing, but ultimately expected let-down from ICT Charter circles. Not that the chaps aren`t doing their jobs. It`s just that they probably have the toughest job in the industry, and they`re simply not out of the woods yet.

Enjoy this issue.