Windows 7 32 Bit Microsoft recruits vendors to int

Microsoft is stepping up its campaign to obtain far more independent software vendors to integrate Workplace front-ends with their own business programs.There currently exist a variety of these Office-front-ended programs — which Microsoft has christened Workplace Company Programs, or OBAs. Some are commercial programs, like the jointly developed Microsoft-SAP Duet. Others are custom-built proprietary applications, via which a provider mashes up Office with its own line-of-business application, for in-house use.Microsoft officials are claiming there are already “hundreds” of ISVs building and deploying OBAs, in spite of the fact that Microsoft has done relatively little to date, at least formally, to build the OBA community. Companies have built Workplace and SharePoint mashups with Epicor, Siebel, PeopleSoft and Pivotal, Microsoft officials said.At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference on July 10, Microsoft announced its new OBA OnRamp plan, designed to get more software vendors and systems integrators build additional OBAs. Microsoft will provide participants in the system with sales, marketing, consulting and technical help. They will provide them with OBA Quickstart kits — copies of which Microsoft is distributing to all 12,000 attendees of this week;s partner show to help jumpstart their programs. Microsoft also plans to allow OBA OnRamp partners to advertise their solutions on Microsoft;s new OBACentral Web site.A related aside: OBAs encompass additional than just Office plus some back-end application. Some OBAs also are a mash-up of SharePoint with another back-end application.Microsoft recently launched a new SharePoint resources mash-up site designed to encourage additional partners to make use of SharePoint;s enterprise search and other capabilities. Microsoft is encouraging developers to think about doing more SharePoint-inclusive composite applications, like new enterprise dashboards and mash-ups “where a new company capability is created by assembling multiple existing software program assets: web services, APIs, web feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom), gadgets, and screen scraping (and) where content is sourced from APIs, Web feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom),Windows 7 32 Bit, gadgets, web services and screen scraping.”Anyone — other than Mike Cox (who I am sure has built various an OBA currently) — tried mashing up Office with a back-end app? Any interest in doing so?