Microsoft is planning a 64-bit version of its Office product franchise, although it remains mum on details.
Even as the company's top dogs last week talked up the newly shipping 64-bit Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP, insiders confirmed plans for a 64-bit version of Office 12, the successor to Office 2003.
The current plan is for a 64-bit Office 12 for the AMD64 platform to ship "sometime after" the 32-bit Office 12. No Itanium version is planned, but that processor is primarily server-oriented, insiders said.
Erik Ryan, product manager of Microsoft Office SharePoint, said the company is planning 64-bit versions of Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server in the "Office 12 wave." In the past, Microsoft execs have said to expect Office 12 within 36 months of Office 2003, which would put it in 2006.
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