Next-Generation Office shows promise
eWeek | at | by Mike
With open-source offerings threatening to encroach on its imperious market position, Microsoft Corp. is under pressure to demonstrate that its products deliver superior value, despite any cost disadvantages. Although it's tough to compete with free, Microsoft has made a solid early case for itself with the first beta of Office 11, its next-generation office productivity suite.
Office 11 promises to be the most Internet-connected Office release to date, and the bulk of the new and freshened functionality depends on Microsoft's SharePoint Team Services. SharePoint allows for some impressive collaborative features in Office but requires an all-Microsoft back end of .Net Server 2003, Internet Information Services and SQL Server to operate.
Office 11 won't ship for another year, so it's too early to say who will benefit from an upgrade. The suite's interface enhancements are valuable, but eWeek Labs' tests of the beta provide limited reasons for upgrading.