Microsoft announced product details and pricing for the various versions of Microsoft Office 2007, due later this year. Here’s a summary of the various products.

The theme in technology for 2006 will be overwhelming confusion for consumers and businesses. As I noted below, by the end of the year we will be completely adrift in a sea of Intel processors, and we’ll have the quirks and incompatibilities of a new version of Windows to contend with. (Actually seven different new versions of Windows.)

But let’s use Office 2007 as a compelling example of the forces that will make us feel tired and cranky soon.

Put aside that Microsoft has radically changed the interface for several programs, including Word and Excel (lots of info and screen shots here). That’s the easy part.

Microsoft Office – that’s the suite with Word, Excel and Outlook, right?

If you think about it, you know that Powerpoint is part of Microsoft Office, although you were never sure which version included it. And you’ve heard of Access and Publisher and FrontPage, but you can’t recall which ones are part of an Office suite and which ones aren’t.

Here’s the programs that will be included in various configurations of the Office 2007 suites:

  • Microsoft Office Access 2007
  • Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2007
  • Microsoft Office Groove 2007
  • Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
  • Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
  • Microsoft Office Project Standard 2007
  • Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007
  • Microsoft Office Visio Standard 2007
  • Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007
  • Microsoft Office Word 2007

There are seven different Office suites that will be bundled and sold thru various channels – some in the stores, different configurations for the computer manufacturers, and different ones still for purchase by consultants and IT staff thru Microsoft’s volume licensing schemes.

  • Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007
  • Microsoft Office Professional 2007
  • Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
  • Microsoft Office Standard 2007
  • Microsoft Office Basic 2007
  • Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007

There are five different server-based products to tie various programs together. From Paul Thurrott’s summary:

  • Microsoft Office Forms Server 2007
    New to Office 2007, this server helps enterprises centralize control and management of electronic forms via a common Web interface.
  • Microsoft Office Groove Server 2007
    New to Office 2007, this server provides IT organizations with an enterprise-class server solution for deploying, managing and integrating Office Groove 2007 throughout an organization.
  • Microsoft Office Project Server 2007
    This server-side Project offering helps enterprises manage projects of all sizes, from ad-hoc, one-person projects to complex projects that involve numerous individuals.
  • Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007
    New to Office 2007, this server is a portfolio management governance solution that will help organizations gain visibility, insight and control over their project, program and application portfolios.
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
    Rebranded for this release, Office SharePoint Server 2007 unifies Microsoft’s previously separate portal and content management tools and provides IT workers with Web-based collaboration facilities.

If we can’t even keep up with the names of these programs, how can we possibly make an informed decision about whether to absorb them into our businesses? I sense difficult times ahead.

Share This