Press Releases

NEW YORK, May 26, 2010 – Microsoft has released new and redesigned applications as part of the new Office 2010 suite, but how will managers know if these tools are right for their organizations when compared to competitive offerings from Google and OpenOffice.org?

Two new reports from Basex, a knowledge economy research firm, analyze the important new and updated features of Microsoft Office 2010, and compare the suite of applications to Google Apps Premier Edition and the OpenOffice.org Productivity Suite.

The report, "What’s new in Microsoft Office 2010," is the industry’s first in-depth look at the new Microsoft Office 2010 suite, which consists of updated and redesigned applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, e-mail, mobile work, meetings, and collaborative workspaces.

"Three Variations on a Theme: An In-Depth Analysis of Office Suites from Google, Microsoft, and OpenOffice.org" is a complementary report that takes an exhaustive look at these offerings and judges them based on their ability to form the foundations of a Collaborative Business Environment.

“To be competitive in today’s fast-paced economy, an organization needs to ensure that its desktop productivity tools are able to support true collaboration and knowledge sharing” said Jonathan Spira, CEO and chief analyst of Basex and a co-author of one of the reports. “Standing still is no longer an option. Managers need to plan the deployment of a platform that will support the organization well into the current decade.”

Key Issues for managers include:
- How the Microsoft Office 2010 suite represents a substantive change for Microsoft – and its customers.
- What's really new in Microsoft Office 2010?
- Microsoft's four key design goals for Office 2010.
- What parts of Microsoft Office 2010 are critical for your organization?
- How do the tools found in office suites enhance organization-wide productivity?
- What is different about today’s office suites for the knowledge economy?
- What are the potential productivity gains with office suite offerings?
- What are the differentiators between the offerings and how will they lower costs, speed time to market, and increase your productivity?
- Exactly how well do Google Apps Premier Edition, Microsoft Office 2010, and OpenOffice.org hit the mark?
- What are the strengths and weakness of the three office suite offerings?
- Fundamentally, which office suite offering is right for your company?

“Microsoft is in a strong position to leverage the ubiquity of its Office user base but competitors are gaining mindshare quickly,” said David M. Goldes, Basex’ president and a co-author of one of the reports. “Word processing and spreadsheet are the workhorses of the knowledge economy but these tools need to be fully integrated into an organization’s collaboration and knowledge sharing strategy.”

About the Reports
The What’s new in Microsoft Office 2010 report evaluates Microsoft Office 2010, including Microsoft Word 2010, Microsoft Excel 2010, Microsoft PowerPoint 2010, Microsoft Outlook 2010, Microsoft OneNote 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Workspaces 2010, Microsoft Access 2010, Microsoft Publisher 2010, and Microsoft InfoPath 2010.

Basex employs its proprietary Knowledge Worker Impact Quotient (TM), or KWIQ, evaluation tool to help companies decide what is right for them.

It provides a framework for evaluating Google Apps Premier Edition, Microsoft Office 2010, and OpenOffice.org, simplifying the decision-making process and enabling more effective IT investments.

Providing comprehensive and detailed comparisons and research, What’s new in Microsoft Office 2010 and Three Variations on a Theme: An In-Depth Analysis of Office Suites from Google, Microsoft, and OpenOffice.org help customers, business partners, and competitors evaluate the overall goals and innovations offered by Microsoft Office 2010 as well as by the competitive offerings from Google and OpenOffice.org.

The reports are available at http://www.basex.com/2010 for $299 for the set as is a free executive summary. Site license pricing information is available by calling (800) 257-2334 ext. 122.

ABOUT BASEX
Basex is the world's foremost knowledge economy research and advisory firm. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in New York City, Basex provides senior business executives from organizations across the globe with strategic advice, business and technology guidance, best practices, and insight about knowledge worker management and productivity.

CONTACT:
Qualified members of the media may request review copies by sending an e-mail to MSReviewCopy@basex.com

Christa Conte
Feintuch Communications
+1 212 808-4902
christa@feintuchpr.com