Dubbed "the future of productivity," Microsoft Office and SharePoint 2010 were launched today at NBC Studios in New York City. The event was streamed live, and translated in real-time, to over 60 countries around the world. Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft's business division, unveiled the products and stressed how the new software will enhance business productivity and save money.


Much of the keynote focused on the new Outlook and its social integration. In addition, a lot of emphasis was put on the collaboration capabilities of the new Office suite when used with a SharePoint 2010 server. Offering a wide range of new and useful business tools, many companies feel that Office 2010 will become the de facto standard for businesses.


There have been 8.6 million beta testers involved in helping Microsoft prepare for today's release. Volume licensees will have immediate access to Office and SharePoint 2010. Retail customers will be able to purchase Office 2010 on June 15. According to the Q&A session, which took place after the keynote, Web Apps should also be launching around June 15, however, not in a formal fashion.

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