Microsoft unveils The New Microsoft Office

In the more business-oriented apps, the theme is the same: cutting out steps to streamline your work flow. For example, Microsoft's diagramming app, Visio, helps you create diagrams more easily with more options to collaborate with others in fewer steps.

 Like the one-click changes already mentioned in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, Visio offers quick customizations so you can diagram shapes and themes in only a couple of clicks. 

The software is tightly integrated with the other apps in the suite as well, letting you easily link diagram shapes from common data sources including Excel, SQL Server, SQL Azure, and SharePoint External Lists. What you're getting with the new Microsoft Office is a suite that plays together nicely and that will likely mean you can complete projects in less time.

 

The services

Microsoft's enterprise services, including Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync, are the glue that holds the whole enterprise suite together and a number of improvements make communication between the moving parts of an organization more streamlined and secure in the new suite. In Exchange, new Data Loss Prevention features help you monitor and protect sensitive data, and a new Exchange eDiscovery Center lets you monitor and analyze SharePoint, Lync, and Exchange data from a single interface. SharePoint has been improved as well to help you share ideas and get instant feedback on projects using improved customizable team sites where you can stay in sync with coworkers. Lync offers a unified client for voice and video calls along with instant messaging for a consistent experience across all devices, from your Web browser to your smartphone. All of the services attempt to make collaboration easier and Microsoft has succeeded in streamlining every service so diving in is not as daunting as it was in earlier versions of suite.

 

Conclusions

The new Microsoft Office tries to cover all the bases for productivity, and in my early tests, it does an admirable job. With the focus on making the suite available on Windows 8 tablets, the company made many actions easier across the suite out of necessity, making it easier to learn how to use by both businesses and individual consumers regardless of the device they are working on.

With that said, one of my biggest early challenges in testing the software was learning how to navigate Windows 8 before I could even get to the Office apps. This is important because if you're going to follow Microsoft into the world of the touch-screen OS, you may run into the same challenges I did. After a couple of days of testing I was able to navigate the OS quickly, but I think it's worth noting that there is an additional learning curve with Windows 8 before you take the leap.

The question (much like with Windows 8) is how people will receive the new interface, and whether users will embrace the touch-screen technology. Are we going to see a surge in Windows 8 tablets purchased as a result, or will people ignore the new tech and stick with their desktops?

Another question I have is whether businesses will opt for the cheaper Google Docs experience, and if consumers will continue to use Google Docs for free. Office may be a better overall experience, but it's no secret money can be the deciding factor for many people. In the end, we won't know for sure until early next year when The New Microsoft Office is released, but from what I've seen, this version could be the must-have office suite, if Microsoft can convince businesses and users to discard the free-to-play options for a more polished, integrated, and streamlined experience.