Getting Something for Nothing - Almost

It's not often that you can get something for nothing. And this case is no exception. But when you realize what you do get, it's still a very, very good deal.

The offer is basically as follows:  buy some Microsoft Office Licenses, get a check towards to cost of developing software that utilizes the Office application set.  If this sounds lame to you, then you probably aren't aware of all of the development tools that are available for Office.  Nor all of the uses to which it can be put.

For example, we have one client that uses InfoPath as one of the interfaces into a workflow application.  Users enter data through an InfoPath form.  The data is transformed into an XML document which is then submitted to the workflow through a web service.  And that is just one application.  The Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) toolkit is surprisingly powerful.  If your user base is familiar with Office, then the ability to extend Word and Excel to interact with your corporate applications can be quite compelling.

If you want to talk to someone about the possibilities, feel free to drop me a line at bjohnson@objectsharp.com.