New Links to Collaboration Servers

Office 2003 includes many hooks to Microsoft’s new collaboration servers. Shown here is the Shared Workspace task pane, which enables users to access Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) from the Office user interface. WSS is a free add-on to Windows Server 2003 that enables groups to quickly create team Web sites to share documents, coordinate projects, and distribute announcements and news. From the task pane, users can see what documents are on a team site, check documents in and out (which prevents other users from making conflicting changes to a document), or create new subsites (if they have appropriate permissions). Many WSS functions can also be accessed in Office menus; for example, the File menu includes an option to check out a document from a WSS site. All of these features also work with Office SharePoint Portal Server, Microsoft’s corporate portal product, which is built on top of WSS.

Other major servers supported by Office 2003 include the following:

Office Live Communications Server (formerly Real-Time Communications Server). This product will enable users to set up real-time communication sessions, such as instant messaging and voice calls, with other users. With Office 2003 and WSS, users will be able to determine whether other users are currently available and to send and receive instant messages. Both functions are available under the Members tab of the Shared Workspace task pane shown here. Outlook 2003 will also have a similar pane.