Office 2003: XML Support Paves Way for Smart Client

Office 2003 allows users to manipulate XML data using customer-defined formats, or schema, making it easier to build solutions that follow Microsoft’s recommended “smart-client” architecture. This architecture offers the potential for a better user interface, the ability to harness local processing power and storage, and access to networked data even when working offline. However, IT organizations may need to update existing server applications to support the offline features that Office 2003 makes available, and must also invest time developing and deploying custom schema for Office 2003 to fully exploit XML data. In addition, organizations that do not already have upgrade rights in place through programs such as Software Assurance could find licensing costs a significant barrier.

A Platform for Smart Clients

For several years, Microsoft has been recommending that IT organizations adopt “smart-client” architectures as an alternative to Web-based clients. While many organizations build custom Office solutions today, few do so using Microsoft’s recommended smart-client architecture, largely because Office itself has lacked the level of XML support necessary to implement such an architecture.