After months of testing and advance marketing, Microsoft formally launched its new Office System products, involving personal-productivity applications, server software, and related services centered on the company's refreshed desktop suite, Office 2003 (see "Office Apps Get An Ambitious Overhaul," Oct. 20, p. 24). The launch amounted to more than 15 products and product packages. "Today, we're introducing more software products in a single day than any day in our history," Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates said at the event in New York. Gates pointed to three themes common to the products: collaboration, connectivity via XML, and efficiency. The catch for businesses that want to enjoy the full benefits of the Office System is that it requires deploying both desktop applications and server software.
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