December 01, 2006
Can Office 2007 Prevail In A Web 2.0 World?Microsoft will market the hell out of its new Office 2007 lineup, but the company faces hurdles persuading existing MS Office partisans they need the upgrade and also the Web 2.0-stoked perception that no one needs huge applications anymore.
Microsoft partners are ready to roll on Office 2007-based apps and integrations. Tim Huckaby, CEO of Interknowlogy was on stage front and center at the official launch Thursday, showing off work his company has done with Scripps Research and various Office 2007 goodies including SharePoint 2007. Partners like Huckaby are thrilled at the opportunities provided by this massive lineup. To borrow a Microsoft term, this product wave includes not only the Office core client apps—Word, Excel, PowerPoint--but Exchange Server 2007, SharePoint Server 2007, and the upcoming Office Communication Server, PerformancePoint Server. On Thursday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer promised more than 30 related or ancillary products will roll out in the next year. For all-Microsoft shops this may be good news if partners can persuade them the new lineup can help them eliminate servers, streamline processes, etc. But with the hype around software-as-a-service and Web 2.0 "mash up" applications, there may be some push back among other companies, who prefer not to lock-in so much of their IT budget to a company that is not seen as the leader in these areas. "Not too long ago Office 2007 was competing against the older incarnations of Office. But in a fairly quick period of time -- much quicker than a typical Microsoft product cycle -- the competition has shifted toward Web 2.0 and rich internet applications. There is a lot of developer, ISV, and SaaS interest in these applications and services, and that will diminish some of the third-party energy for building to Office 2007 front ends," says Dana Gardner, , principal analyst with Interarbor Solutions, a Gilford, N.H.-based researcher. Of course, Microsoft thinks it has its Web 2.0, mash-up ducks in a row. Corporate Vice President Chris Capossela acknowledges a certain "Microsoft-is-not-cool" perception among some quarters. "All the buzz is Web 2.0 type things. We think we're delivering a lot of those cpaabilites on the Web but the press is all about Web 2.0 and mash-ups. We deliver on the Web and within businesses," he told CRN after the Thursday event in New York. 
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