Even with Microsoft getting ready to release their latest version of MS Office here in the near future, the real heated battle will be with Open Office and WordPerfect Office 12.

Sure there are those who use MS Office as their own preferred Office Suite (more power to them), I am willing to bet that Open Office is going to continue to kick butt and take names regardless. It is free, open and not going anywhere. Where will this leave other alternatives such as Word Perfect? That is hard to say. Does anyone still use this app?

As Microsoft preps another version of its Office productivity suite, a small group of software vendors waits for an opening in the competitive landscape. However, analysts suggest that the greatest competition to Microsoft’s updated software remains older versions of Office. According to sources, Microsoft Corp. is briefing selected partners and customers about the forthcoming family of Office desktop and server products. Office 12, the next version of the suite that will break the previous year-centric naming scheme, is due to arrive on shelves in summer 2006.