Office 12: All together now

Microsoft is putting more emphasis on collaboration in the next version of Office, after getting some help from Groove Networks - the Ray Ozzie-led company they acquired earlier this year - to recognise a shift in the way people work, according to Microsoft's director of platform technology strategy, Bill Hilf, speaking at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo on Monday.

One of the first steps in working with colleagues is finding out which co-workers are actually available. In that regard, Microsoft plans to expand its current work on corporate instant messaging and also add support for internet telephony.

The ability to handle voice over Internet Protocol technology is "one of the core features [Microsoft is] building into the next version of Office," said Hilf. The company also plans to continue adding more server-based products to the Office family of products, he said.

Microsoft has said that Office 12, the next version of its flagship productivity software, will ship next year. However, the company has yet to discuss most details about what will go into the software.

The company has said it plans to significantly expand its use of Extensible Markup Language, or XML, as a means of exchanging data.

One of the reasons that Microsoft continues to eye new server products, Hilf said, is the fact that many companies use Office for far more than the kind of general productivity tasks originally envisioned for the product.

"I can't tell you how many shops I got to that use Excel for everything - accounting, payroll," said Hilf.

Hilf declined to say whether an Excel server would be among the new software additions.

To get a good understanding of where Microsoft is headed with Office, Hilf suggested taking a look at Microsoft Office Communicator 2005, an instant messaging add-on to Office that is in beta testing.

The desktop program, which connects to Microsoft's Live Communications Server software, helps people to get a variety of information about how best to communicate with co-workers. For example, out-of-office messages pop up automatically, as does a user's IM presence information. If companies integrate the software with their traditional or internet telephony gear, workers can also start phone calls through their PC and redirect incoming calls when they are going to be away from their desk.

The final version of Office Communicator 2005 is due for release by the end of June. Pricing and other details have yet to be announced.

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com