The Internet as a medium is evolving at a rapid pace and is increasingly becoming interactive, informative and user friendly.

From rich images in print, video, and film to dynamic digital content for a variety of media, the impact of web is clear to anyone who creates, views, and interacts with information.

In this scenario, business and consumers are looking for more out of the medium and are exploring the possibilities of the web helping them deliver richer experiences that span a large gambit of activities.

Microsoft, which is today a dominant player in the software application market, has recently launched Expression, a suite of next generation web design tools, which will allow designers and developers to create, publish and deliver visually rich content for various types of media.

Deccan Herald caught up with Mr. Tarun Gulati, General Manager - Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft India, recently.

How better is MS Expression compared to MS Frontpage?

Microsoft Expression is a suite of tools for professional designers building web and Windows client applications and rich media content.

Expression Studio provides an end-to-end tools platform for teams of creative designers which boosts collaboration with developers in the delivery of next-generation user experiences for Windows, the Web and beyond.

The Expression studio suite include Expression Web, Blend , design  and media, together all of which allows the developers and designers to deliver visually rich content for various type of media. 

Microsoft Frontpage is discontinued and its functionality is split between two different products; Microsoft Expression Web & Microsoft Sharepoint Designer. Expression Web is targeted at professional Web designers who build broad reach HTML Web sites.

It is a professional design tool to create sophisticated standards-based Web sites that deliver compelling user experiences. Sharepoint Designer is a part of the Office 2007 System.

This is used to automate business processes and build efficient applications on top of the SharePoint platform, and tailor the SharePoint site to the needs in an IT-managed environment.

What are the advantages of having a better-looking website, apart from the obvious aesthetic value-addition?

The internet as a medium is evolving at a rapid pace and is increasingly becoming interactive, informative and user friendly.

From rich images in print, video, and film to dynamic digital content for a variety of media, the impact of web is clear to anyone who creates views and interacts with information. For Web businesses, rich User Interface provides a way to increase traffic to their web properties. Rich User Experience also creates a sticky experience that encourages visitors to spend more of their online time on the Website.

Increase in online traffic directly results in better online revenues as more visitors can be targeted through personalized and targeted advertisements.

Better and Rich UX is the single most important differentiating factor for the new generation Websites.

What is platform evangelism all about?

Platform evangelism is all about educating the IT community - web designers, developers, architects, IT professionals, System Integrators (SIs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) about Microsoft’s software solutions portfolio and providing them with inputs on how to increase productivity and efficiency while working on Microsoft’s platform.

It is about helping them understand current and future Microsoft technologies so they can learn and grow at a faster pace and create-world class products and solutions.

With this objective in mind, Microsoft created the developer and platform evangelism (DPE) division, whose goal is to bring together the right people, resources and experience from across Microsoft to provide developers with the rich tools and services they need to create new opportunities within the industry and for customer.

What is the market for Expression in India today?

Since there are very few players in the web development space, consumers have limited options and hence there is a huge opportunity for companies to leverage.

Microsoft has invested in new generation User Interface technologies like Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight. WPF will enable designers and developers to develop very rich solutions on the desktop.

Silverlight will let Web designers and developers to target Rich Interactive Applications on the web. It will also enable rich media integration with traditional web applications. ASP.NET AJAX technology will target browser independent solutions that offer improved UI within the existing Web standards.