Lead Analyst: Rob Helm [bio]
Contributing Analysts: Chris Alliegro, Greg DeMichillie, Peter Pawlak, Matt Rosoff

Posted: Nov. 3, 2003

Microsoft has launched the Office System, a new brand that is at the core of Microsoft's strategy to capture more business computer users with an expanded Office product line. The Office System includes not only the traditional Office applications but also new collaboration and development features tied to a wave of new applications, server products, and online services. For systems integrators and developers, the strategy could create new opportunities for building Office-based solutions. For Microsoft customers, the new Office System products could provide more efficient, reliable ways for users to communicate with one another, share documents and data, and use XML data sources to carry out key business processes, such as preparing sales proposals. Above all, the new Office suite and the other Office System client applications integrate with servers much more effectively than before. This means that to accurately evaluate the applications, customers must consider them together with servers as part of entire solutions, rather than looking at each application's new features in isolation.

This report outlines improvements to the Office 2003 suite for four specific types of solutions: e-mail, team document sharing, custom solutions that use XML-based data access, and enterprise rights management. For each of these solutions, the report outlines what the solution is, how it might benefit an organization, and how Microsoft's products work together to deliver the benefits. The report also identifies how Office System client applications stack up against alternative clients for each specific solution. Finally, for each solution, the report identifies important limitations, potential problems, and future product directions. An appendix outlines the licensing requirements and base pricing for each type of solution.