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Microsoft has completed the software code for Office 2007 and will start offering the much-anticipated desktop software to corporate customers on November 30. Windows Vista OS and Exchange Server 2007 will launch on the same day, when Steve Ballmer, chief executive, will champion the seminal trio by appearing in New York. The announcement on Monday that that Office suite was ‘ready for manufacturing’ concludes the largest Office beta programme to date, with more than 3.5million people downloading Beta 2. The accolade, and the fact Office has avoided delay, helps Redmond silence its critics who claim the software giant is being outpaced by more nimble rivals, touting software over the Internet. But the announcement that Microsoft has “crossed the development finish line” with Office 07, as one company President put it , has been overshadowed by a follow up pledge by Steve Ballmer. At a conference in Tokyo, the Microsoft no2 said the new software will enable voiceover IP and video conferencing functionality – a promise the company hopes to make good by early 2007. The commitment to the Voice market is Microsoft’s most explicit to date, following its acquisition of Teleo last year, which was noted as a deal that brings MS closer to then-nascent ‘click to call’ technology. At CES in Las Vegas, the software company also showed its interest in VoIP, an area notoriously difficult to monetize, by sticking its name on new Internet phones thanks to partnerships with wireless start-ups. Similar deals are now expected in the near future, and are tipped to elevate Microsoft’s VoIP status to beyond that of incorporator into its own IM applications . “My guess is that Microsoft moves heavily into the voice peering market and starts to work with the xConnects and Stealth Communications type of companies that are already there,” wrote VoIP commentator Andy Abramson, on his blog. “Microsoft is poised to become a significant player in Voice, beyond what they are already doing with X-Box Live...so you see, they aren't exactly inexperienced here and likely have already laid out battle plans.” On Wednesday, Jim Allchin, co-president of platforms and services at Microsoft, confirmed the company’s plans, saying Vista was ready to ship, and would be “widely available” on January 30, 2007. Ever with its eye on the global market, Microsoft also said this week that it wants to build beyond its 70% share of the e-mail software market in the US, by acquiring 30% of Japan’s market by the end of the year. Nov 9, 2006 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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