Q&A: How New Microsoft Office System Transforms Information into Business Value

Q&A: How New Microsoft Office System Transforms Information into Business Value "Press Pass: What exactly is the Microsoft Office System?
Sinofsky: When you think about the Microsoft Office System, picture it as an ecosystem that represents a combination of familiar and easy-to-use programs, servers and services that are intended to help information workers address a broader array of business challenges. It encompasses the core Microsoft Office client applications, as well as FrontPage 2003, Visio 2003, Project 2003 and Publisher 2003, as well as our two new desktop applications, InfoPath 2003 and OneNote 2003. With the addition of servers, such as SharePoint Portal Server 2003, Project Server 2003 and the Live Communications Server 2003, users will be able to take advantage of deeper collaboration capabilities and communication tools like live chats within familiar productivity applications right from their PCs.
The Microsoft Office System represents a fundamental shift in the way we think about desktop productivity. Although the individual components of the Microsoft Office System provide a great value to customers, the key to maximizing value lies in using the components as an integrated business solution. For example, Microsoft Office System-based solutions systematically couple client-based and server-based applications to deliver better communication and collaboration efficiency, as well as access to relevant business data.
Before we began building the Microsoft Office System, we talked to customers about what's working and not working for them in our products. We identified the key business challenges faced by information workers in order to institute the critical changes needed to deliver greater value to customers. What we found is our customers wanted to be more agile. They want to manage their information better and be able to act on that information quickly. The Microsoft Office System provides the ability to efficiently manage and process information, it gives customers the ability to distribute that information to the people who need it -- when they need it --and it enables our customers to act on that information with a speed that gives their business a sustained competitive advantage."