Microsoft will launch its latest version of Office today called XP amid analysts' concerns that it doesn't offer enough to justify massive upgrades by customers.
The program is available in 15 countries, but Microsoft will not say how many copies will be shipped. The company also won't disclose how much it is spending to promote Office XP, but the stakes are high.
Office products account for nearly 30 per cent of Microsoft's revenue, "so it would certainly be damaging if Office XP did not sell well," said Mr Rob Enderle, a research fellow with Giga Information Systems who tracks Microsoft.
The program will sell for $239 as an upgrade. For users who don't own any other version, the program will cost $479.
At the launch of XP today, Microsoft founder Mr Bill Gates is expected to tout new features designed to make the product easier to use and save companies money.
These include SharePoint, which allows employees to share content in an Intranet-type setting, and task panes, which give users easy access to recently used documents and options.
The company will promote smart tags, text bubbles that appear above a recently typed word and prompt the user for options. For example, if a user types a name, the smart tag may ask if that user wants to be linked to that person's listing in the Outlook address book.
But analysts said the new features may not be enough to lure a substantial base of new users immediately, especially since many only recently upgraded to Office 2000.
Ms Jean Orr, an analyst who covers Microsoft, said she expects Office XP to be a successful product for Microsoft over time, but it may not produce an immediate sales spike.
"There's not a compelling reason or reasons for users to upgrade, so I think they'll upgrade to Office XP when they upgrade their other systems, as opposed to going out and buying it right away," she said.
Microsoft also may have alienated some customers by tweaking its licensing agreements.
Critics have said the new agreements will put pressure on companies to upgrade more quickly. Microsoft concedes the system will mean a price increase for 20 per cent of businesses, but said it should make software cheaper for another 30 per cent.
The success of Office XP is important to Microsoft because many see it as a precursor to the company's strategy.
The strategy, still in its initial phases, would seek to provide a number of services, ranging from conducting e-commerce to making doctor's appointments, through an Internet-based system designed to run on any computer device. Mr Gates has said he is betting the company on the success of .NET.
Besides Mr Gates' presentation in New York, Microsoft executives will preside over launch events in more than 100 cities around the world.