(Redmond, WA) - As part of the ongoing Microsoft .NET strategy, Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of two new tools that integrate the power and efficiency of XML Web services and the familiar computing environment of Office XP. Both the Office XP Web Services Toolkit and the Smart Tag Enterprise Resource Toolkit enable developers to deliver XML Web services data directly into Office XP, making it easy for users to access important information in the applications they use every day. These offerings deliver on the Office XP goal of enabling strong business value for organizations, new solution opportunities for developers and new user experiences for knowledge workers.

Companies such as Plural Inc., an information technology professional services firm, are excited about the potential of Office XP and XML Web services as they search for ways to leverage their existing software investments to increase their bottom line. Plural is creating solutions that integrate corporate data with Office XP to provide end users with quicker access to key metrics and data. "By integrating XML Web services with Office we will bring a new level of data access and analysis capabilities to our customers," said Charles Maxson, director of Microsoft technologies at Plural. "Bringing the power of XML Web services directly to the user is a natural way to drive overall productivity gains and enable smarter, broader decision-making."

The Office XP Web Services Toolkit is available as a free download from http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/ and enables developers to quickly discover XML Web services using the standards-based UDDI service, and integrate XML Web services into Office XP solutions with a single click. The Smart Tag Enterprise Resource Toolkit provides a roadmap on how best to plan, architect, implement and deploy robust and scalable smart tags within the enterprise. The toolkit is available as a free download from http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/.