Office 2010 - taking care of business?

Anthony Caruana
Thursday, 13 May 2010 16:07

Your IT - Mobility

 

 

As of today, business customers can purchase Office 2010 including the usual office apps as well as Visio and Project. Consumers will need to wait a few more weeks. So, will the upgrade be worthwhile? Is there something really new? Or are Microsoft putting lipstick on a pig?

 

Microsoft boast that they have spent billions in delivering "a quantum change in Office from previous versions" according to Microsoft product manager Tracey Fellows.  The 8.6 million beta customs have provided lots of feedback as well.

Microsoft no longer are thinking just about the desktop. Windows Phone and XBox are also platforms that Microsoft are focusing on.

Fellows says that the "cloud represents a new platform" every new application that Microsoft creates will be designed for the cloud. Their goal is to create the "best collaboration experience on the desktop, phone or browser" according to Fellows.

Corporate vice president Kirk Koenigsbauer says that a report commissioned through industry analysts Forrester found a ROI of 300% over three years with payback in just eight months with improved collaboration and faster performance as the main causes of this return.

With telecommuting expecting to increase over the next few years - analysts suggest that 47% of workers will telecommute in three years time - Microsoft is focussing on the PC, phone and browser and delivering service on customer's terms. However, although they see benefit for some customers to use the cloud all the time - like large multinationals - many will prefer localized services with shared storage and localized apps - a more hybridized approach.