Office Live: 22 programs for 10-worker companies
As part of its big services spiel on Tuesday, Microsoft talked about 22 business applications that would be part of its Office Live subscription service for small businesses.
So just what are all those applications that are supposed to serve businesses with 10 employees or fewer?
Microsoft provided a list and even grouped them by category. Four are aimed at keeping track of customer data: accounts, business contacts, opportunities and customer support. Two are for handling projects: a project manager and a dashboard. Five are sales tools: applications for campaigns, collateral, a competition tracker, product and service items and estimates.
Employee-related tools account for another five, including an employee directory, an expense-monitoring tool, jobs and hiring, training and work hours. The final six are company-wide tools, labeled as: calendars, company assets, company events, company holidays, documents and tasks.
There seems to be some overlap there, but then there are more applications than there are employees at the small firms that Microsoft is targeting. These business applications are separate from the free Office Live tools, which allow businesses to set up their own Web site and get free e-mail hosting.
And all of these tools, free and otherwise, are not going to be available to the masses any time soon. Microsoft has said it will offer a limited, invitation-only beta early next year. No word on when widespread availability will come.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
