Following the joint release of its flagship products at the end of January 2008, Microsoft started building the successors of Windows Vista and the Office 2007 System. All the while, the Redmond company managed to make public as little information as possible not only on Windows 7 development milestones and official launch, but also on Office 14. Windows 7 leaks, from data to the Milestone 1 build of the platform, slipped out of Redmond in the first half of 2008, but similar details or versions of Office 14 have not made it outside of Microsoft. This is about to change come the end of 2008, with the software company gearing up for the first Alpha of Office 14.

Microsoft's Hayley Rixon revealed that the Technology Adoption Program for the first Alpha development milestone of Office 14 will be kick-started sometime in the last couple of months of this year. Even though Rixon's focus was placed on the test driving process of Performance Point Server Monitoring & Analytics, it does not change the fact that the successor of Office 2007 will debut into Alpha in as early as three or four months.

"The Monitoring & Analytics component of PerformancePoint Server will be included in the O14 Alpha TAP...The product team in Redmond are looking for customer and partner submissions now for the Performance Point M&A TAP submissions only for O14. The Alpha process will begin in the November/December timeframe this year. When you submit, please identify as a PPS M&A candidate. The deadline for submissions is August 28th," Rixon explained. (emphasis added)

The fact that Microsoft is preparing the first Alpha for Office 14, offers an indication that the product's launch could be done in tandem with that of Windows 7 and in the same timeframe: late 2009/early 2010. In fact, the Redmond company has already referred to Office 14, as Office 2009. Although Microsoft has failed to confirm anything other than a release deadline no later than the end of January 2010 for Windows 7, the software giant could be getting ready for a joint release of its main cash cows before the holiday season of 2009.

In order to access the Office 14 Alpha TAP (opened only to Performance Point Server 2007 partners and customers) for the Monitoring & Analytics component of the product "please email me directly hrixonATmicrosoftDOTcom with your requests I will then send you a request form to complete. If you are not a BI partner or customer please do not email me with requests as it will be rejected," Rixon stated.