Office 2007 SP2 to Include Performance Enhancements Update

Microsoft revealed that the performance enhancements delivered via an update to Outlook 2007 would be integrated into the second service pack for the email client. At the end of the past month, the Redmond company made available for download the February Cumulative Update for Outlook 2007 boasting a massive boost in performance. Users who do not want to deploy the update should know that Microsoft plans to include all hotfixes in the February Cumulative Update for Outlook 2007 into the forthcoming Outlook 2007 Service Pack 2.

“Outlook users (individuals or entire organizations) should consider installing the February CU if they have been experiencing serious issues around Outlook performance with respect to large data files (large mailboxes or Outlook data files (.PST)), switching between large folders, calendar reliability, or general issues with Outlook responsiveness. If you or your organization has found their usage or deployment of Outlook has been stalled or halted completely, we encourage you to take a look at installing the February CU to get unblocked immediately,” advised Dev Balasubramanian, Outlook product manager.

Balasubramanian stressed that the February Cumulative Update for Outlook 2007 was designed to address performance-related issues. Customers running the email client that are not experiencing any issues with it should indeed consider waiting for SP2, especially in scenarios in which the deployment of the CU would involve massive, company-wide testing.

“If your organization is having a positive experience with Outlook 2007 and has not identified performance-related issues that need immediate resolution waiting for Microsoft to release Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (late Spring 2009) is another option you can consider. Office 2007 Service Pack 2 will be released with updates for all the Office Client applications and will be available through a variety of channels, including Microsoft Update,” Balasubramanian added.

Microsoft additionally explained that an email registration process was necessary in order to get the hotfix package out to customers as soon as possible. Balasubramanian indicated that email registration was nothing more than the standard CU update process, which enabled users to get their hands on the bits faster than it would have been possible through Windows Update.

“We have heard reports from various customers describing first-boot wait times ranging from 5 minutes to over one hour upon successful installation of the February CU. The reason for these wait times has to do with Outlook rebuilding your Outlook data files (.PST) files as a result of newly applied fixes. So, the more data you have in Outlook data files (.PST) files, the longer it will take Outlook to rebuild them before your first Outlook session can begin, after installing the February CU. This rebuilding process does not change any of your data,” Balasubramanian added.