Planning for Microsoft Office Product Integration

Most organizations use Microsoft Office software applications for standard documentation tasks. An important discussion to have during the design phase is which Office applications are used by the employees, and how they will interface with the SharePoint 2003 solution.

Older versions of Office applications do not offer the same level of integration with SharePoint 2003 as Office System 2003 applications. Although Office System 2003 products are not required for Windows SharePoint Services or SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to be used, they do make it easier for users to access information contained in the SharePoint 2003 site or workspace that houses the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, or OneNote document being worked on. The Shared Workspace task pane provides this level of connectivity and is available only in the Office System 2003 products.

Outlook 2003 also allows users to create document workspaces when a file is attached to an email, or meeting workspaces when an appointment is scheduled and other users invited.

If there is a possibility of upgrading to the Office System 2003 products, they should be included in the testing phases to allow users and stakeholders to experience these integration features for themselves and fully understand the advantages offered.

Chapter 9, “Using Word 2003 and Excel 2003 with SharePoint Technologies,” and Chapter 10, “Using Other Office 2003 Products with SharePoint Technologies,” provide thorough overviews of the integration of the Office applications with SharePoint 2003.