Office 2007 delayed, Vista likely to follow

Stan Beer
Saturday, 01 July 2006 19:31

Your IT - Home IT

There was a very funny movie made about 20 years ago called The Money Pit. The lead character, played by Tom Hanks, is renovating a ramshackle mansion and asks the builder how long it will take to complete. The builder replies casually, "Two weeks." Months later, Hanks' character asks the same question, the builder gives him the same answer, and they both laugh ironically. Microsoft reminds us very much of that builder.

The interesting thing about the latest announcement from Microsoft that the long awaited release of Office 2007 is going to be delayed a few more months is that there appears to be very little surprise in the marketplace. There is some speculation that the release of the long awaited Windows Vista will also be delayed. There is even some speculation that Office 2007 is being delayed to stay in lock-step with a further delay in the release of Vista. Whatever the case, no one is surprised.

The fact of the matter is that the public at large long ago ceased to take notice of Microsoft's promised development timeframes and release schedules. Microsoft has breached so many deadlines in its history that the public has learned to compensate. According to Microsoft, Office 2007, formerly scheduled for general availability in January 2007, will now be released in "early 2007". Do we take that to mean that it could be some time in March, April or May? Is that when we can expect Vista as well?

The official explanation from Microsoft is that the delay in the release of Office 2007 has resulted from feedback concerning the performance of the product from Beta 2 and internal testing. The question is, however, is Microsoft referring to Office 2007 or is it really talking about Vista?

Some analysts claim that yet another delay will harm Microsoft's image of being able to deliver products on time. Well you can't harm something that you don't have. Others say that a further delay in Vista and Office 2007 will not affect Microsoft's sales significantly because users don't have a choice to buy anything else anyway.

This may be true, but revenues from Microsoft's two biggest money spinners have flattened alarmingly in the past two years. Ray Ozzie may be able to conjure up some magic to make Microsoft a growth force in the internet space in years to come. However, until then Microsoft is counting on Vista and Office 2007 to increase the angle of its revenue graph.