From Microsoft

Apr 7, 2010 13:43 GMT  ·  By

With the business launch of Office 2010 now approximately a month away, Microsoft has made available for download resources designed to provide IT professionals with a better understanding of the deployment options at their disposal. The three files .pdf, .vsd, and .xps contain the same information on Office 2010 deployment options, and can be grabbed from the Microsoft Download Center and used in offline scenarios. IT pros will quickly be able to find out what has changed in comparison to Office 2007, but also what are their options when it comes down to customizing the installation of Office 2010.

“The deployment architecture for Microsoft Office 2010 is primarily the same as the 2007 Microsoft Office system. One difference is that Office 2010 now requires Office Volume Activation technologies, such as Key Management Service (KMS), Multiple Activation Key (MAK), MAK Proxy, or a combination of these, for participation in any volume licensing programs. In addition, Office 2010 introduces native 64-bit versions of Office products. In Office 2010, the Office Customization Tool (OCT) and the Config.xml file remain the tools for customization of an installation before the deployment option is chosen,” Microsoft noted.

There are no less than five areas of functionality described for the deployment of Office 2010. The scenarios detailed by the software giant are focused on: network share, Group Policy startup scripts, managed deployment, application virtualization, and presentation virtualization. For each one, Microsoft is providing a comprehensive description of the advantages and limitations, offering recommendations to help IT pros make the best decisions possible. At the same time, the Redmond company is also providing links to tools designed to streamline the deployment process as much as possible.

“Several options are available to customize the installation of Office 2010 before you decide how to deploy it. The Office Customization Tool (OCT) is the primary means to customize the installation of Office 2010 applications. The Config.xml file can be used to configure some installation tasks. Group Policy settings can be used to define and maintain an Office configuration on users' computers. The Group Policy settings are enforced and can be used to create highly managed or lightly managed configurations,” the company added.