Just when Valleywag has proclaimed that use with the Internet two.0 cliche is around the downswing,
Windows 7 Home Premium Key, Microsoft publishes a whitepaper explaining how Workplace 2007 definitely is a Web 2.0 suite at heart.A number of industry watchers believe it's only a matter of time until Microsoft throws in the towel and turns Office into a Web-based suite. Microsoft officials have been adamant that such a move isn't likely in the foreseeable future — although there's a distinct possibility that Microsoft could take its consumer Workplace suite,
Microsoft Office Pro Plus, Microsoft Works, to the Web,
Office 2007, in the not-so-distant future. In spite of Microsoft execs' continued belief that the shrink-wrapped Workplace suite is not dead, Microsoft isn't immune from wanting to cash in around the Internet 2.0 hype.Microsoft published the new whitepaper, entitled "Bringing Web 2.0 to the Enterprise along with the 2007 Workplace System," in mid-December. Microsoft's definition of Internet 2.0, predictably, isn't pretty the same as others'. Here's how Microsoft is positioning Workplace 2007 to fit in: "Properly understood and deployed, Web 2.0 technologies, methods, and patterns is usually adopted by the enterprise to great effect. They can boost overall organizational productivity and create a much stronger customer and partner connection. To capitalize on this opportunity, enterprises require an agile infrastructure together with the tools and out-of-the-box solutions that allow users to interact with content, applications,
Office 2007 Pro Key, and people in powerful new ways." Office 2007 "enables rich organization solutions that embody the following set of Web two.0 characteristics," the whitepaper continues: • Rich user experience • Data-driven architecture • User-driven business applications • User participation • Collective intelligence • Low cost deployment and management What's Workplace 2007 got that qualifies? XML support; Ajax-based components (Excel Services and InfoPath Forms Services, Outlook Internet Access,
Office 2010 Pro, and Communicator Internet Access); the ability to expose RSS feeds for data; enterprise search capabilities; metadata services; collaborative workspaces; and integrated workflow functionality — something Microsoft admits isn't usually thought of as a Web two.0 technology, but which is really a Internet 2.0 enabler, in Microsoft's view. Meanwhile, I'm starting to hear some rumors about new features in "Workplace 14," the next version of Office, that sound more traditionally Internet two.0-like. Anyone else hearing any rumblings on that front?