Microsoft Set To Release Beta Two Of Office 2003

The second test version,which includes "Iris" CRM capabilities for Outlook 2003, new spam filters and digital rights management capabilities,will be distributed to more than 500,000 customers and partners, with the final version slated for release this summer, company executives said in a meeting with CRN last week.

In mid-February, Microsoft inadvertently slipped the beta two version of Office 2003 onto the Internet via its MSDN site and then pulled it back. (See story.) The release due out this week, however, is aimed at rallying a broader set of users, as well as solution providers and ISVs seeking value-add opportunities, company executives said.

Microsoft is positioning the Office 2003 suite as a complete office system. The product provides tight integration with new Microsoft productivity applications such as OneNote and InfoPath, server applications such as SharePoint Portal Server 2.0 and Windows Server 2003, and XML Web services offered by Microsoft and third-party ISVs, executives said.

Solution providers hailed Microsoft's attempt to integrate solutions out of the box instead of shipping stand-alone products.

"It is hard for SMBs to put together an integrated IT system," said Bob LaGarde, founder and CEO of Olathe, Kan.-based LaGarde, an e-business solution provider. "If Microsoft can put it all together, that will take some of the complexity out of the mystery of systems integration, which is such a daunting and often just plain overlooked task at the SMB level."

For instance, Office 2003 features enhanced SmartTags and a new research pane that will enable solution providers and end users to access and integrate various Microsoft and third-party XML Web services within documents and applications, Microsoft said. Enterprises and small and midsize companies also will be able to apply digital rights stamps to documents and grant authorized users access to them via Microsoft's Passport .Net authentication system.