MOSS 2007: Standard versus Enterprise
I've seen some misleading statements about functionality available with MOSS 2007. Things like "the InfoPath client is no longer needed". Well, that's right... or wrong... depending on the version of MOSS 2007 you're running. There's Standard and there's Enterprise. What's the difference?
Full details on functionality across versions (2003 and 2007) can be seen here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/FX101758691033.aspx
Extracted from this information is a list of functionality in MOSS 2007 Enterprise only. Simply stated, it's Forms Server, Excel Services, Report Center, and the Business Data Catalog. The items below provide a little bit more detail on what that all means...
Search
Search data residing in your line of business applications using the Business Data Catalog. Structured content sources as well as LOB application data and reports accessible through web services or ADO.NET can be indexed and retrieved through the Business Data Catalog as search results or into a SharePoint list
Business Process and Forms
InfoPath Forms Services available in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Forms Server 2007 makes it possible to design Web-capable forms in Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 and distribute them on corporate intranets, extranets, or the Internet. Users can fill out forms in a browser or HTML enabled Mobile device with no download or client components needed.
InfoPath Forms Services provide an administrator controlled centralized form solution catalog that makes it easy for users to find a form and minimize form solution downtime when upgrades are necessary. It also provides administrators with the tools to manage form solution security and accessibility.
Forms designers can design their forms once and deploy them for use both within the rich Office InfoPath 2007 client program and through a Web browser. Office Forms Server 2007 automatically converts the form into ASP.NET Web forms, with no additional work from the designer.
The designer in Office InfoPath 2007 provides an easy way to convert forms designed in Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office Word into rich Office InfoPath 2007 forms. The Form Import Wizard handles the conversion of form fields, repeating tables, rich text boxes, and other elements, dynamically generating the underlying XML structure for the new form.
The Publish Wizard in Office InfoPath 2007 makes it easy to publish forms that do not have any managed code components to a Windows SharePoint Services library, while making the form available as a browser-based form at the same time.
The Compatibility Checker helps forms designers validate those features that need to work across the broadest range of Web browsers.
Business Intelligence
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 provides an integrated publishing experience that lets information workers easily choose what they want to share with others and determine how others can interact with published spreadsheets.
Share business data broadly while maintaining control and helping to protect sensitive information. Provides access to spreadsheet data and analysis through server-calculated, interactive Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets from a Web browser. Use these spreadsheets to maintain and efficiently share one centralized version of the truth while helping to protect any sensitive or proprietary information embedded in documents, such as financial models, by limiting access to portions of the spreadsheet and auditing their usage.
Excel Services empowers spreadsheet authors to easily and broadly share spreadsheets that use the new Business Intelligence functionality through the browser. Fully interactive, data-bound spreadsheets including charts, tables, and PivotTable views can be created as part of a portal, dashboard, or business scorecard, without requiring any development.
Data Connection Libraries are centralized SharePoint document libraries that store Office Data Connections (ODC); ODCs describe connections to external data. Centralizing Office Data Connections makes it easier to share, manage, and discover data connections that can be used by any Microsoft Office program.
The Business Data Catalog (BDC) tightly integrates external data into the Office SharePoint Server 2007 user experience, providing access to external data residing within backed LOB applications, and enabling the display of and interaction with external data through a set of Business Data Web Parts.
Use SharePoint Business Data Web Parts for viewing lists, entities, and related information retrieved through the Business Data Catalog.
With no custom coding, easily create actions that open Web pages, display the user interfaces of LOB applications, launch InfoPath forms, and perform other common tasks. Use the convenient links that appear beside business objects returned from the Business Data Catalog.
An out-of-the-box site optimized for report access and management, including a report library, data connection library, and a dashboard template. These sites, hosted by the new Report Center, provide consistent management of reports, spreadsheets, and data connections.
KPIs communicate goals and status to drive results. Using the KPI Web Part, a user can create a KPI list within a Web Part page, without writing code. The KPI Web Part can display KPIs from Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services, Excel spreadsheets, SharePoint lists, or manually entered data.
Filters enable dashboards to be personalized by communicating shared parameters among Web Parts on a dashboard. The parameters passed can be automatically applied based on user profiles, SharePoint lists, the BDC, manually entered information, and so forth.