Microsoft is surveying possible consumers as to what it will need to identify its forthcoming Workplace Internet Programs suite.As LiveSide.Net is reporting,
Windows 7 Key, among the handful of Workplace Internet Apps brand names beneath consideration are Microsoft Ensemble, Microsoft Optro, Microsoft ArcLight, Microsoft Offsite and Microsoft Equipt. (Sure, they're in the midst of killing off the present Equipt subscription service. But why allow an currently trademarked name go to waste?)Microsoft also is sharing a bit a lot more positioning specifics regarding the forthcoming suite of Web-hosted Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote apps that it can be anticipated to release to a wider group of testers in mid-July, as part of the Workplace 2010 Local community Technology Preview.Based on a Internet survey which seems to get aimed far more at IT pros and developers than buyers, Microsoft is clearly positioning Office Web Apps as complements to client-based Workplace, not like a alternative to it. The survey asks which of the above-mentioned names does the top occupation of describing an offering that will compete with Google Apps, Google;s hosted app suite aimed at enterprise consumers.Microsoft is expected to create Workplace Internet Apps a free of charge,
Windows 7 Home Premium, ad-supported suite for individuals, but a paid,
Office 2007, subscription-based company for enterprise customers.The survey also highlights a few of the forthcoming integration between Microsoft Workplace and Office Web Apps that Microsoft is incorporating in to the Web-based product. The Office Web Apps release will offer users with synchronization of e-mail, calendar and get in touch with objects among Web browsers (not just Internet Explorer, but also Safari and Firefox), desktop applications (by way of Outlook) and cellular devies (Windows Mobile phones, Blackberries and iPhones).Workplace Internet Apps also will allow consumers to obtain their voicemails delivered to their e-mail inboxes, allowing them to pay attention or read a transcription of their messages; shop and share paperwork over the Web; and communicate via “business-grade” instant messaging tools that are connected to Outlook address books, the survey says.I think a number of testers — and ultimately,
Office Professional 2010, people — are going to get a little allow down by Workplace Internet Apps. Microsoft officials have been touting them as Web-based versions of current Workplace apps. But from what I;m hearing from my sources,
Windows 7 Key, these Internet apps are definitely additional like support complements to Workplace than alternatives to it. It sounds like SharePoint is the unheralded middleman within the Workplace Internet Apps scenario, and processes like saving and printing paperwork may not be doable without going by way of SharePoint first.Microsoft officials aren;t discussing particulars regarding Workplace Internet Apps, although they're expected to share much more particulars (and code) at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans in mid-July.Which with the prospective new names for Workplace Internet Apps do you think Microsoft should really choose? What kinds of capabilities do you think the Office Internet Apps suite have to have to become a real competitor to Google Apps?