Gates, Raikes To Preside Over Long-Awaited Office 2003 Launch

The iWave is about to crest. Finally.

On Tuesday, after months of delays, Office Systems 2003 will launch officially. And Microsoft will do its utmost to show why that the collection of Office applications, plus tighter links to back end systems, should break the IT purchase logjam.

The big event, fronted by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, will take place right off Broadway, exactly where Microsoft rolled out Office 4 a decade ago. But, the primary goal will be to show that Office System 2003, is more than just another Office. For one thing, it encompasses Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook 2003, for tighter mail integration from the applications; SharePoint Portal Server 2003 for easier collaboration and information sharing; InfoPath for links to back office systems; and, OneNote for note-taking. (For more on the iWave click here.)

"This is a lot more than new buttons on the toolbar," said Gytis Barzdukas, director of Office Product Management told CRN on Monday.

Microsoft has to show businesses real value in upgrading, he noted. Towards that end, it will trot out Microsoft-sponsored research by Navigant Consulting showing the advantages of updating to Office 2003 for "information workers." . The study, of 14 companies, claims that the median payback on Office 2003 investment is eight months.The various Microsoft product groups will highlight their own research. For example, the Exchange Server 2003 team, citing Microsoft-sponsored research by The Meta Group, says customers like Pacific Life and law firm Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman will realize big cost savings moving to Exchange 2003. That Chicago-based legal firm will save $500,000 in operational costs and increase its revenues by $21 million annually based on two additional billable hours per week per attorney, according to Missy Stern, Exchange Server product manager.

Jeff Raikes, Microsoft's group vice president of productivity and business services, will hone in on such cost savings in his Tuesday morning address.

Barzdukas said Microsoft will make available a tool to partners and customers to assess their own possible returns on an Office 2003 migration.

But this Office-System-as-productivity-boon will not be an easy sell.

Many observers say Microsoft will continue to battle inertia in a tough economy. And it must face continuing doubts about the security of the company's products nearly two years into its Trustworthy Computing initiative. The company's thousands of partners must also allay those concerns at the front lines.Asked what the top-of-mind customer concerns are now, Rick Delaney, director of Hewlett Packard Services' Infrastructure practice, said the overriding concern is cost. "Right now, everything is cost control. Security [also] always comes up. The message I deliver is that this is an evolutionary process, not revolutionary. Microsoft has poured hundreds of millions into security and we're starting to see that pay off."

The opportunity is huge, if IT wallets can be pried open. Analysts estimate that just 20 to 30 percent of the 400 million Office seats out there (legal and not) are on the latest XP release of the product. That means there is a huge potential universe of users.