Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) 
released its latest iteration of its Office Suite for Macintosh for purchase Wednesday. The new version, Office 2004 for Mac, comes in three versions: Mac Standard, Student and Teacher, and a Professional version that is supposed to include Microsoft Windows emulation program, Virtual PC 7.
However, Microsoft confirmed last week that it would not be shipping Virtual PC 7 until the second half of this year. At that point, the company will ship the product both separately and as part of the Professional bundle.
"Office 2004 offers a new level of productivity never seen before on the Mac platform, and now users can try it free for 30 days before they buy it," Tim McDonough, director of marketing and business development for the Macintosh Business Unit (Mac BU) at Microsoft, said on Wednesday.
Microsoft is pricing the Standard version at US$399, with an upgrade price of $239. The Student and Teacher version is priced at $149.
Project Management and Integration
A new feature exclusive to Mac users is the Project Center, introducing project management tools that integrate across Office applications.
"Through user research we've found that 80 percent of people focus in some way on projects," a Microsoft spokesperson for the Mac BU told MacNewsWorld.
When asked if there was potential for integration with Microsoft Project on Windows 
, the spokesperson said no plans were in effect at this point.
The Compatibility Report, another Mac-only tool that can resolve compatibility issues with other versions of Office, identifies potential issues and offers ways to avoid them. The Compatibility Report supports early versions of Office on both platforms, from Office 98 and Office 97 and later.
Office Market Split
In an interview with MacNewsWorld, Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox pointed out that IT managers consistently rate interoperability as a top priority.
Since the release of Office 98 for Mac, and, perhaps more importantly, since the unveiling of Entourage, Microsoft's Mac e-mail client, in Office 2001, the Mac BU slowly has been moving toward an Office platform that provides features that integrate with multiple platforms.
"Our data shows that on the Windows side, the Office market is fragmented, with user bases running multiple versions of Microsoft Office, and with the majority at Office 2000," Wilcox said.
"The Compatibility Report, being unique to the Mac, may make using Office on the Mac more compatible with these older versions and add value to the enterprise," Wilcox continued.
The Interoperability Tools
In the new version, Entourage has gained the three-pane preview, first used in the latest version of Outlook that came with the Windows-based Office 2003.
"The Exchange client functionality is included in Entourage 2004 and has been improved including support for e-mail over the WebDAV protocol, which provides additional functionality, better performance in a low-bandwidth environment, as well as support for Delegate Access to Exchange calendars and e-mail," the Mac BU spokesperson said.
For his part, Wilcox said that he believes this is also "Microsoft responding to Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) Exchange Server support in the native Mail application" in OS X Panther.
Microsoft further embraced mixed operating environments with the inclusion of its newest version of Virtual PC once it becomes available. Virtual PC brings a Windows emulator to the Mac and will be the first version to support Panther users running Windows XP.
"By enabling Mac OS customers to run Windows applications, access PC networks, use Windows-only Internet applications and share files with PC-based colleagues, Virtual PC with Office provides another level of compatibility and value for customers," the Mac BU spokesperson said.
While Microsoft is not disclosing specific reasons for the delay in shipping Virtual PC 7 and Office 2004 Professional, Wilcox believed it has to do with the wait for Windows XP Service Pack 2.
"Our data shows more businesses use of Windows 2000 than any other version. Why not release Virtual PC with Windows 2000 in the interim?" he asked.
Wilcox said Virtual PC is an opportunity for both Microsoft and Apple. By leveraging Mac's Unix core, Office's interoperability and Virtual PC, multiworkstation users can consolidate onto the Mac platform and have the best of all worlds.
The Enterprise Game
According to Wilcox, Microsoft and Apple both benefit in the enterprise if more users adopt Office 2004 and the Macintosh platform.
With Linux gaining ground in corporate infrastructure, Microsoft benefits from Macintosh adoption through Office sales.
"When we ask IT managers why they switch to Linux , they respond with price, stability, security and licensing," said Wilcox, "Office 2004 and Mac adoption gives Microsoft an opportunity to gain traction with these users."
Wilcox said that Jupiter Research data shows that in U.S. companies with $50 million or greater in annual revenue, 15 percent run OS X, 11 percent run Office V. X, Microsoft's first version of Office designed for OS X, and 8 percent plan to upgrade to Office 2004 within 12 months.
"Enterprises are buying Office for Mac. This validates Apple's enterprise strategy and reflects why they are increasingly interested," Wilcox concluded.
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