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The SQL Server 2005 BI suite has deep integration with Office 2003 and Office 2007. If your customers are using the BI tools, they should be using Office. If they are using SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services, they should be running Office 2007. SQL's new version of SQL Server, Katmai, has a BI suite with an even deeper integration into Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007. While OpenOffice might be an appropriate low end user substitute for a desktop productivity suite, Office is required if you want to integrate with SQL Server 2005's BI suite.
This was first published in May 2007
Channel Strategies for the CIO