Office users also continue to depend on even more in-depth customer data provided by SQM, or Service Quality Monitor. Users can opt in to provide Microsoft with information about which commands they use most, for instance.
The use of SQM is a big part of Microsoft's Customer Experience Improvement Program, Capossela said. "We don't collect your data. We see actual commands logged, regardless of whether they're done by mouse or keyboard. When you install Office, you can check a box if you want to participate or not," he said.
With the Office System and its various servers and clients, Microsoft continues to push its huge software stack. The Office desktop suite faces competition from Corel Office, the open-source StarOffice/OpenOffice tandem and the emerging IBM/Lotus Workplace components, according to industry observers. The Office System also could see competition from a rising tide of more functional freeware from Google, which is now offering local and Internet search services plus its Gmail e-mail service.
Though Microsoft clearly is the top dog in productivity applications, its huge market share in the software arena is also a big front to protect. The Information Worker unit logged 13 percent revenue growth for the first quarter ending Sept. 30. Microsoft attributed much of that gain to a 13 percent, or $261 million, boost in volume licensing and retail sales, and to a favorable comparison with the year-ago period.
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