Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News

      Wait and See—Or Just Wait?

      By
      Anne Chen
      -
      October 6, 2003
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        Two years after many enterprises decided to pass on Office XP, IT managers running Microsoft Corp.s Office 2003 through its paces said the new release has enough exciting, essential features to make it a more compelling upgrade.

        “If you look at the feature set, there are substantial improvements and innovations that are certainly not there in Office XP,” said Bruce Brorson, director of IT at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, and an eWEEK Corporate Partner. “For us, it looks like Microsoft has a winner here. I like the direction Office 2003 has taken because the XML support is important.”

        This doesnt mean all IT managers are itching to upgrade, however. IT staffers at many organizations said they will continue to test the suite through the end of this year before widely deploying it. Microsoft executives said they expect a large percentage of enterprise customers to pilot Office 2003 over the next year. And IT managers at enterprises that use only the basic functions of Office—such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint—said the new features in Office 2003 may not be worth the upgrade and training costs.

        “We use few of Offices features beyond basic word processing, spreadsheet and some database functionality,” said Sam Inks, director of IS at Atlantic Research Corp. and an eWEEK Corporate Partner, in Gainesville, Va. “In fact, were it not for some file-format incompatibilities, wed probably be happy using Office 97 forever.”

        Organizations are often slow to upgrade to new Office releases. According to an informal survey conducted last year by research company Gartner Inc., Office 97 accounts for at least 30 percent of Microsofts productivity suite installed base today. Along with software-licensing costs, IT organizations must also consider deployment and user training costs.

        So Far, So Good

        So Far, So Good

        At the University of Minnesota, Crookston, Brorson said that a team has been testing Office 2003 Beta 2 since March and that team members have liked what theyve seen so far. The redesigned Outlook client, which is now equipped with a spam filter and a “research task pane” to parse data quicker, is a main driver for the upgrade, he said.

        Despite migrating his users to Office XP a mere two years ago, Brorson said his volume licensing agreements with Microsoft make the upgrade to Office 2003 economical, and the enhancements in the new suite are important enough to justify the migration.

        Brorson said he expects to migrate 1,200 students and approximately 350 faculty and staff members from Office XP to Office 2003 Professional Edition during the December break or at the end of the school year in May.

        Many other organizations are biding their time. At the Public Broadcasting Service, in Alexandria, Va., Kenneth Walters, senior director of enterprise platforms and enterprise technology, said an IT team is testing Office 2003. Because PBS headquarters recently migrated its 500 users to Office XP, however, Walters said its likely that PBS will bring Office 2003 into its computing environment only as new desktop machines are leased.

        Some enterprises question whether theyll get added value from Office 2003. Inks said Atlantic Researchs use of basic word processing and spreadsheet applications means there is little, if any, incentive for him to jump-start an upgrade to the new release. “We use only basic functionality from our Office software,” he said. “In fact, were it not for keeping up with the Joneses, we could probably live with Office 97 for a long time.”

        Also in This Feature:

        Anne Chen
        As a senior writer for eWEEK Labs, Anne writes articles pertaining to IT professionals and the best practices for technology implementation. Anne covers the deployment issues and the business drivers related to technologies including databases, wireless, security and network operating systems. Anne joined eWeek in 1999 as a writer for eWeek's eBiz Strategies section before moving over to Labs in 2001. Prior to eWeek, she covered business and technology at the San Jose Mercury News and at the Contra Costa Times.

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Big Data and Analytics

        Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

        James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
        I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
        Read more
        Cybersecurity

        Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

        James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
        I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
        Read more
        Applications

        Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

        James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
        I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
        Read more
        Cloud

        IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

        James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
        I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
        Read more
        Cloud

        Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

        James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
        Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
        Read more
        Logo

        eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Advertisers

        Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

        Advertise with Us

        Menu

        • About eWeek
        • Subscribe to our Newsletter
        • Latest News

        Our Brands

        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms
        • About
        • Contact
        • Advertise
        • Sitemap
        • California – Do Not Sell My Information

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

        ×