In fact, Microsoft Office System 2003 enables companies to build collaborative business environments in two ways:

• Microsoft Office System uses XML (eXtensible Markup Language) as a basis for information sharing between the desktop, workgroups and the enterprise;
• Collaboration products such as Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003 bring collaborative business knowledge functionality to other Microsoft Office System applications.

To analyze the pros and cons of Microsoft Office System, we employed our Knowledge Worker Impact Quotient, or KWIQ, to provide a framework for evaluating or selecting an appropriate collaborative business knowledge tool or service, simplifying the decision-making process and enabling more effective IT investments. The primary criteria for choosing a collaborative business environment are administration, application integration, architecture, collaboration and community, content and document management, knowledge management, messaging and security.

The depth and breadth of a product such as Microsoft Office System can be daunting at first glance. Accordingly, the goal of the KWIQ Indices is not to say how well a particular feature works or doesn't work; rather, it is to emphasize the information that is crucial to the buyer, specifically the nuances and details in terms of functionality and design that can loom large and become mission critical in the deployment phase.

Just like the early days of office systems, when the IBM Selectric typewriter was the ubiquitous document creation tool, users today sit in front of its de facto replacement, Microsoft Word. Office System comprises a set of comprehensive real-time collaborative business knowledge tools, which by and large work together in a single overarching environment (in accordance with the Basex One Environment Rule, the user should not have to leave the single environment to accomplish various tasks).

Already, companies such as American Management Systems and Hewlett-Packard are already using Microsoft Office System to this end-and seeing a positive impact on their bottom line.

Of course, Microsoft Office System 2003 is still multiple products and environments. But if this first iteration is any indication, Microsoft Office System 2003 will present both a formidable challenge to its competitors, and a unique opportunity to many companies seeking the path to an enterprise-wide Collaborative Business Environment.

Jonathan B. Spira is CEO and Chief Analyst at Basex. Basex has a 20-year track record of accurate research and visionary analysis that drives its clients to make the right business and technology decisions for their organizations.