Project 2003 Approaches Gold

Microsoft announced at the Silicon Valley Speaker Series Wednesday that Office Project 2003 will be released to manufacturing on August 18. Project is the first Office System 2003 offering to go gold, with the next generation Office suite expected to be available starting October 24.

Project 2003 is comprised of Project Professional 2003, Project Server 2003 and Project Web Access - collectively dubbed the "Office EPM Solution." The release will integrate with Outlook 2003 and Windows SharePoint Services in order to facilitate collaboration between a project group.

"Customers recognize that broad adoption of project and resource management is the best way to prioritize their important initiatives and reduce costs," said Chris Capossela, general manager of the Microsoft Project Business Unit.

"Microsoft Office Project 2003 is a result of listening to all the feedback from our channel partners and customers, and it provides a much easier way for people at all levels of the organization to make their projects successful."

Microsoft estimates retail pricing at $1,499 USD for Project Server 2003, $999 USD for Project Professional 2003 and $599 USD for Project Standard 2003, which is targeted at stand-alone users.