Microsoft plans to release a new version of its Office productivity software next year, company Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates said Tuesday.
Although many insiders had speculated that a new version of Office would come in 2006, Microsoft until Tuesday had not publicly confirmed when it would deliver the product. A 2006 release is in line with Microsoft's two- to three-year release schedules for Office. The last major version, Office 2003, arrived in late 2003.
Microsoft officials have been coy about the next Office release, which has been referred to as Office 12. Gates, in a speech at a Microsoft event for developers in Las Vegas, said the new release will offer enhancements in areas such as workflow capabilities, rights management, advanced scheduling, document sharing and business intelligence.
"Those are areas where Office has gotten richer and will in the next big release, which is coming sometime next year," Gates said.
Nailing down the date to 2006 is good, said Rob Helm, director of research at Directions on Microsoft Inc. Still, Microsoft could provide more details to the general public on its product plans. Only a few customers who buy upgrade rights ahead of time are getting more information, under nondisclosure agreements, according Helm.
With Office 12, Microsoft is expected to release more server products designed for workgroup collaboration. Industry observers and analysts have speculated a new Excel server might be in the works, for example, but Microsoft has declined to comment. Existing server products in the Office System family include Project Server, Portal Server and Live Communications Server.
Microsoft originally planned to ship Office 12 alongside the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn. The Office release is now likely to come before the new Windows version, which Microsoft has said will be broadly available in late 2006.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Applications Resource Alerts
Recommend This
