For those who've followed my posts on this blog in the past, you know that I'm a strong proponent of the so-called "software+services" model of software architecture. In fact, I highlighted a start-up last year that has found a very creative way to build a business model around what is normally a pretty technical subject.

One of the reasons I feel so strongly about S+S is that, by moving functionality that really belongs on the client machine, the overall performance of the application can be enhanced as well as providing a better, more familiar software experience for the user. This can be especially true when a custom application is delivered via Microsoft Office. I mean, let's face it, most information workers spend the vast majority of their day in Outlook or Excel, right? What could facilitate a better user experience than letting these users access your custom line-of-business applications in these applications? It creates a seamless experience and can truly make people more efficient in their work.

On February 12th, two of my esteemed colleagues, Jon Box and John Mullinax, were in San Jose, California for the Office System Developers Conference where FedEx Corporate VP, David Zanca joined Bill Gates on stage to talk about their delivery of QuickShip as an add-in application to Microsoft Outlook. For the full story, John has a great write-up on his blog, including a video of Bill's keynote and an overview of the QuickShip solution.

I think this is a tremendous example of how far customizing Microsoft Office applications has come. Please understand, I've written my share of VBA macros over the years, and the scars have never really healed. But I can tell you definitively that the landscape has changed 180 degrees with Visual Studio 2008. The Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) is completely integrated into the IDE and building rich applications in Outlook and/or Excel begins by just creating the project. That's it!

I'll be following-up in the coming weeks on more news from the S+S world and rest assured, Office Business Applications (OBA) will be a big part of it.

Congratulations, John and Jon.