Microsoft extends Office with XML-based XDocs

By Alun Williams

Posted on 10 Oct 2002 at 13:08

'Connecting XML Web Services to the Desktop' is the strap line for Microsoft's new Office application, codenamed XDocs.

The 'vision' for the new application involves the use of XML-based forms to quickly process the flow of business information. By using XML (eXtensible Markup Language), XDocs will work with any user-defined XML schemas. It will also work with Microsoft XML Web services, and thus the .Net framework.

Steve Ballmer announced the XDocs plans at the Gartner Group's Symposium and ITExpo in London yesterday. It will not be appearing, however, before mid-2003.

'The vision for XDocs is to deliver on the needs of our customers by connecting XML web services to information workers at their desktops,' states Ballmer, 'XDocs provides new ways to gather and reuse company data, enabling better information flow, more informed decisions and greater integration of people with business processes throughout an organisation.'

Microsoft's emphasis for XDocs, it seems, is very much for business process management. Customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) are among the areas Microsoft believes could benefit. On a more individual basis, XDocs could support project status and team reports.

You can read a Q&A - How "XDocs" Alters the Paradigm for Gathering Business-Critical Information - on Microsoft.com.

At the Symposium, Ballmer also mentioned the subject of a beta release of the next version of Office - Office 11: 'There are certainly going to be upgrades on all of our major products, and we already have our next Office release in beta.' You can read the full text of the meeting here.