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Microsoft to Offer Corporate Desktop Search

As it launched a consumer search toolbar with desktop search capabilities on Monday, Microsoft revealed that it is working on a corporate version of desktop search.

"In response from corporate customers looking for desktop searching capabilities designed for their needs, Microsoft is developing a desktop search offering, built on Windows Desktop Search, for the corporate environment," the company said in a statement.

A beta version is scheduled to be available by the end of the calendar year, the company said.

"The offering will enable corporations to empower employees with fast, powerful searching capabilities across their PC, with plentiful customization options," the statement said.

The consumer version launched Monday is called the MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search. The free download at http://desktop.msn.com can be launched from within Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office Outlook.

The search functionality comes in advance of broader and deeper plans for desktop searching integrated into the Windows Longhorn operating system and comes as Microsoft competes with similar desktop search tools from Google and Yahoo!

The Microsoft technology allows for searches of more than 200 file types. Some of the most promising file searching capabilities are of Outlook and Outlook Express e-mails, e-mail attachments, Word, Excel, PDF, MP3, GIF and JPEG.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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