Ballmer: High-End Windows, Office Soon

At an all-day conference for financial analysts in Redmond, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told attendees that the company is working on bringing high-end versions of Windows and Office to the market. Ballmer cited success with the current premium version of Windows XP Professional as one of the primary reasons for continuing the program.

An enterprise version of Windows Vista is in the plans, as well as Office 12 Premium. It is unclear as to what advantages these new versions will offer above and beyond the current editions, as Ballmer did not supply any specific plans.

He also stressed that the company was working on ensuring its products work "better together," which Microsoft hopes will entice users into purchasing more of their products to ensure they are getting the best experience possible, and thus adding to Microsoft's bottom line.

Joe Wilcox, senior analyst with Jupiter Research, wrote in Microsoft Monitor on Thursday that Microsoft is employing the 'shopping mall' approach. "In the shopping mall model, big anchor stores draw traffic that benefit the smaller shops. He emphasized the importance of growing the anchor businesses," Wilcox reported.

"The approach makes sense to me, and isn't so far from the shopping mall model when seen from the perspective of Microsoft's integration strategy."

Ballmer also emphasized that MSN will play a big part in the future of Microsoft, and Wilcox said he expects that the service provider will become the consumer face of the company. "Call it the fourth anchor store, uh, business in the making," Wilcox wrote.

Linux sets the standard in high-performance computing, Ballmer admitted, while assuring analysts that Microsoft was working on a version of Windows for that market, and would continue to build on its success in the server market by targeted marketing.

What not to expect from Microsoft, however, is any future "blockbuster acquistitons." Ballmer said that while the company will continue to acquire smaller firms, it has no plans to make any large acquisitions in the future.