Reports are mixed about the newly released Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003. Not that anyone’s saying it’s bad, mind you. Just that there may not be much reason for small businesses to upgrade to the new version.
Walter Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal says it is “pretty much a yawner” for small businesses.
C-Net gives it a middle-of-the-road review. Acknowledging that the new version of Outlook does a better job filtering spam and organizing email messages, C-Net nonetheless identifies “few changes … for small-business users.”
However, at least one reviewer gives the Outlook portion of Office high marks, going so far as to say it will become an essential tool for small business.
According to Steve Strauss in USA Today, Outlook’s new Business Contact Manager feature is the gem in the Office 2003 suite, Small Business Edition. It allows a small businessperson to manage existing customers and contacts, as well as prospects. It solves “real-life small business problems and scenarios” and gives small businesses the power to manage their businesses much as larger businesses do, especially when it comes to customer contacts and sales prospect activity.
