Bridging the Office-SharePoint Gap

In previous versions of SharePoint and Office there was always a clear divide between client- and server-based capabilities. Although Microsoft introduced the term “Microsoft Office System” in 2007,the true integration has been a challenge. Even today, when using the 2010 wave of the product cycle, I’d argue that true integration works in some scenarios but leaves a lot to be desired in many others. However, the landscape is changing and the role of the client environment and operating system is slowly changing to a model where users canuse many different devices on a common server or even a cloud-based set of services and data. To support that model, Microsoft has made sure users can use server- or browser-based versions of the popular client applications such as Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook Web Access.