Why should IT Pros care about upgrading to Office 2010?

Another popular question posed to the Office team at TechEd North America last month was “Why should we upgrade to Office 2010?”  I highly recommend you check out the TechEd North America video presentation given by Andy O’Donald:  Office 2010 Overview for IT Pros (https://www.msteched.com/2010/NorthAmerica/OSP208).  But here is my quick and dirty version of the three big reasons you should consider an upgrade to Office 2010 for your organization:  

1. You can help make people productive anywhere by deploying Office 2010 with SharePoint Server 2010, Office Web Apps and SharePoint Workspaces 2010.  With SharePoint Workspaces, users can take their SharePoint libraries offline on their mobile phone or laptop.  With Office Web Apps, users can view or edit their SharePoint library documents online.

   For more information, see the following resources:

   • SharePoint Workspace Overview 2010 (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee649102.aspx)
   • Office Web Apps Deployment Resource Center (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ee815687.aspx).

2. Office 2010 provides improved security and control with the following features:

   • Protected View  - Helps mitigate attacks by enabling users to preview untrusted or potentially harmful files in a sandbox environment.
   • Document Inspector - Privacy tool that can help users remove personal information and hidden information from a document.
   • Accessibility Checker – Helps users make their documents more accessible to people who have disabilities by checking for issues such as missing alt text on images, missing table header rows, etc.
   • Improved retention policy controls (with Outlook 2010 and Exchange 2010) - Users can apply a retention policy to an e-mail message or a folder.  IT can enforce policies on user-created folders, special  folders (Inbox, sent items, and so on) and all e-mail messages in a user’s mailbox.

   For more information, see the following resources:

   • Security overview for Office 2010 (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179050.aspx)
   • Plan for accessibility in Office 2010 (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff602182.aspx) and this Blog post Blog post for the Accessibility Checker:  Accessibility Investments & Document Accessibility (https://blogs.technet.com/b/office2010/archive/2010/01/07/office-2010-accessibility-investments-document-accessibility.aspx)
   • Plan for compliance and archive in Outlook 2010 (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff800883.aspx)

3. You can help reduce application management costs when deploying Office 2010.

   • Improved performance for more productive users and fewer helpdesk calls. A few examples: Outlook 2010 is overall faster than Outlook 2007; Excel 2010 recalc and charting is 90% faster than in Excel 2007.
   • Processor and RAM requirements for Office 2010 are the same as for the 2007 Office system. Therefore, if your computer meets the 2007 Office system requirements, you can run Office 2010.
   • New application compatibility tools are available:  Office Environment Assessment Tool (OEAT) and Office Code Compatibility Inspector (OCCI).
   • Office 2010 supports application virtualization with App-v 4.6.
   • Numerous end user readiness resources such as Interactive ribbon guides, getting started guides, Software Assurance training and resource benefits, etc.

   For more information, see the following resources:

   • Microsoft Office 2010: Under the Hood Investments for Hardware and Performance Video from TechEd North America (https://www.msteched.com/2010/NorthAmerica/OSP06-INT)
   • System requirements for Office 2010 (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624351.aspx)
   • Application compatibility assessment and remediation guide for Office 2010 (Including links to the OEAT and OCCI) (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee819096.aspx)
   • Methods to deploy Office 2010 by using Application Virtualization (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff602183.aspx)
   • User Readiness and Training for Office 2010 (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ff381682.aspx)

And if you haven’t already seen some of the super sweet new Office 2010 features, check out my previous post or, even better, watch the Office 2010 Business Launch demo by Chris Capossela the Senior Vice President in the Microsoft Business Division. His demo starts about half way through the keynote presentation on the Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 Business Launch Website (https://sharepoint.microsoft.com/2010Launch/en-us/Pages/home.aspx).

 - Cat