Microsoft is working its way to the first public Beta of what it referred to as the most significant release out of the Microsoft Project lineup of solutions in the past ten years. Earlier this week, the Redmond company noted that the first public Beta development milestone of Microsoft Project 2010 was planned for availability by the end of 2009. Customers interested in seeing and trying firsthand what the successor of Project 2007 will bring to the table have the option to test drive the Beta build. Microsoft is currently accepting participation requests for the Beta program via the Project 2010 Beta registration page.

“Microsoft Project 2010 is the most significant release of Microsoft Project in over a decade,” revealed Chris Capossela, senior vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group at Microsoft. “The fresh, simple and intuitive features of Microsoft Project 2010 will enable teams and organizations of all sizes to select and deliver the right projects on time and on budget.”

The gold version of Project 2010 will be made available to customers as an integral part of the next wave of Office solutions, namely office 2010, the company promised. In addition to Project 2010 and Office 2010, Microsoft will also offer SharePoint Server 2010, Exchange 2010 and Visio 2010. The plan is to offer all Office 2010-related products in the first half of 2010. Microsoft has yet to pinpoint a specific delivery deadline.

In a move designed to streamline the Project 2010 Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) strategy, Microsoft revealed that it had cut the number of editions available to customers in 2010 from four to just three. In H1 2010, Project Standard 2010, Project Professional 2010 and Project Server 2010 will all be available to the general public. According to the company, key enhancements include: unified project and portfolio management; improved productivity with effective collaboration; enhanced user experience and adoption; and enhanced scalability and connectivity.