New Web sites, training opportunities, and support services are designed to promote Office solutions and add-ins from partners and ISVs. The new offerings will help Microsoft demonstrate the value of Office 2003 and should help customers and partners better understand how Office capabilities can be used as part of more comprehensive solutions.

Announced at the June 2003 TechEd conference, the main services are an online directory in which solution providers can list their Office-related products; a marketplace, intended primarily for ISVs who create add-ons or services that can be used with Office; and training and development support for partners who want to develop Office add-ons or solutions.

The Office Solutions Directory

The Office Solutions Directory is a database of solutions that, as of mid-June, offered about 80 solutions in four major categories: business intelligence, communication and collaboration, intranets and portals, and personal productivity.

The directory gives customers easier access to preconfigured solutions that are based on common Office components (such as a business intelligence solution built on Excel and Data Analyzer), serve a market niche (such as a crime mapping system for use by law enforcement agencies), or use Office components as part of a comprehensive management solution (such as a decision management system for the hospitality industry).

The solutions directory can be found at www.microsoft.com/office/techinfo/solutions.

The Office Marketplace

In the past, Microsoft has offered a marketplace for vendors of Office add-ons and services, but in many cases participating vendors were expected to pay to participate.

The new Office Marketplace offers free listings for companies that offer add-ons (such as additional templates and graphics) or services (such as a postcard-mailing service that works with Outlook messages).

The marketplace can be found at office.microsoft.com/marketplace.

Partner Solution Builder Program

Microsoft partners that want to offer Office solutions or other Office add-ons can get training and support during development through the Partner Solution Builder Program.

Available to partners in Africa, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, the program offers training Webcasts, hands-on workshops, and 20 hours of free Premier support for development teams. Participants in the program are also eligible to participate in a contest for the best solutions. Prizes include cash and business marketing collateral that can be used by both the partner and by Microsoft’s own sales team to promote the partner’s Office solution. This contest has particular deadlines associated with it, so interested partners should check the program details at www.officesolutionbuilder.com (U.S. and Canadian partners) and boss.microsoftemea.com (other regions).

Smart Client Readiness Program

Another program, expected to be ready in Aug. 2003, is the Smart Client Readiness Program, which will offer additional resources for ISVs and partners who want to build productivity applications for PCs and portable devices.

Partner membership is required for this program, and interested organizations can visit members.microsoft.com/partner to sign up as partners and learn about other Microsoft partner offerings.