News

Visio 2003 Hits Beta Phase

Microsoft released the first public beta this week of its Microsoft Office Visio 2003 business drawing and diagramming software.

The tool is available in Standard and Professional editions and is expected to be generally available this summer.

New features include additional diagram types supporting Six Sigma, ISO 9000 and TQM; new support for Microsoft .NET and XML; and the ability to use Visio documents as smart clients.

A focus of the new release is to position Visio 2003 as a business process management tool. According to Microsoft, companies will be able to use business process diagrams, templates and tools to document, plan or improve business processes.

The other Microsoft products that Visio 2003 has been designed to integrate most tightly with are Windows Server 2003, Windows SharePoint Services, BizTalk Server and SQL Server.

Pricing details have not been released.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.