Now that Microsoft has provided an official ship target for Windows seven,
Office 2007 Enterprise Key, the following major version of Windows consumer, it;s time for some educated guess perform.Windows 7 may be the only piece of the Windows consumer roadmap for which Microsoft is willing to offer a date right now. Right here;s what I;d guess regarding the relaxation with the client roadmap: Update to Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack: Drop 2007Windows Vista SP1: November 2007Windows XP SP3: Late 2007/Early 2008Windows “Fiji” (out-of-band update to Media Center functionality of Vista: Mid- to late 2008Another Update to Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack: 2009Windows seven: 2010 On the Windows server side,
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional, there;s less need for educated guesses, as the server team supplied a futures roadmap at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Can. On the server roadmap: Windows Server 2008: RTM in drop 2007 (I hear November)Windows Small Business Server “Cougar”: 2008Windows Midmarket Server “Centro”: 2008Windows Server 2008 R2: 2009Next main version of Windows Server: 2011 A couple of points worth noting/pondering:* Microsoft has said its goal — with both Windows client and server — is to release a new edition every two years. The company is trying to alternate between major and minor updates every two years. So,
Microsoft Office 2010 Home And Business, if Windows Vista was a “major” update, and Windows 7 is supposedly another “major” update, is “Fiji” considered the minor interim Windows update?* Members of Windows Server management told me recently that they;ve reconciled themselves to not pushing to sync with Windows consumer from a delivery standpoint. In other words, no more chasing after the elusive goal of delivering simultaneously Windows customer and Windows server releases. That doesn;t mean,
Office 2007 Key, however, that consumer and server are completely out of sync. In addition to fixing bugs,
Microsoft Office 2007 Pro Plus, Vista SP1 is expected to help Vista clients work better with Windows Server 2008 servers.* Will the MDOP subscription service — only available to Software Assurance licensing customers — become the preferred (or ultimately, the only) way for Microsoft to deliver new interim features and fixes to Windows consumer customers? Will there be an equivalent to MDOP for server customers?The other roadmap piece Microsoft has shared next-to-nothing about is Office. Last time a date leaked on Office 14, the following major version of Microsoft Office, the word was Microsoft was planning to roll it out in the first half of 2009. (Microsoft officials did confirm the slide deck, from which this leak came, was authentic.) My bet — given the internal-target-date slide from 2009 to 2010 for Windows seven — is Office 14 also might end up a 2010 deliverable.Anyone hearing more tangible dates yet for forthcoming Microsoft Windows and Office deliverables?