Disclosure: Microsoft is a client of the author.
In a sense, Microsoft Office and I grew up in this industry together. We both entered tech at around the same time, and I was one of its first users — when it had a problem that continues to plague it.
Office was largely built through acquisition, and as a result, it has often suffered from a lack of integration and consistency. While its various parts have grown more similar over the years, even now, I could argue, they aren’t as integrated as Lotus Symphony was because Symphony’s parts came from the same code base.
Integration gives you the ability to have a single interface in a product. You get the individual components necessary to either do a focused project (like a spreadsheet) or a blended document (more like a report) that includes pictures and data that are all updated automatically when new information comes in.
