Microsoft has released the technical preview of Office 15 to a select few early testers. A public beta of version 15 will be available by the American summer, with Microsoft planning to launch what will probably be called Microsoft Office 2012 by the end of the year, roughly alongside
Unlike Windows 8 and previous versions of Office however, Microsoft has not revealed any real early details about Office 15, a “codename for the next generation of the Microsoft Office products and services”. Testers of the technical preview have had to sign non-disclosure agreements, so we can’t expect many details from there. With Windows 8, and earlier talks about the next Office, a touch-friendly Metro-style interface also seems likely, apart from a standard desktop interface.
However, the Redmond giant’s PJ Hough, CVP of Development in the Microsoft Office Division, did leave some hints about the future of Microsoft Office, in a company blog post accompanying the launch of the technical preview.
“At this early point in our development cycle, I'm not able to share too much about Office 15, but I can tell you Office 15 is the most ambitious undertaking yet for the Office Division. With Office 15, for the first time ever, we will simultaneously update our cloud services, servers, and mobile and PC clients for Office, Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project, and Visio. Quite simply, Office 15 will help people work, collaborate, and communicate smarter and faster than ever before.”