software package

A special method of distributing and installing software (or software upgrades) to a computer. For example, on a
Macintosh computer, a package usually means "software." It's specifically a directory, presented as a single file, that
contains all the information the Mac OS X Installer application needs to install your software. That includes the
software itself, as well as files that are used only during the installation process. In a Windows environment it is
sometimes called an installation package or update package.

Multiple software programs that work together (or performs similar functions) and is bundled and sold together as a
software package.

System integration

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In engineering, system integration is the bringing together of the component subsystems into one system and
ensuring that the subsystems function together as a system. [1] In information technology, systems integration is the
process of linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally.[2]

The system integrator brings together discrete systems utilizing a variety of techniques such as computer networking,
enterprise application integration, business process management or manual programming.[3]

Contents

[hide]

• 1 Overview
• 2 Required skills
• 3 Methods of
integration
• 4 See also

• 5 References

Overview

A system is an aggregation of subsystems cooperating so that the system is able to deliver the over-arching
functionality. System integration involves integrating existing (often disparate) subsystems. The subsystems will have
interfaces. Integration involves joining the subsystems together by “gluing” their interfaces together. If the interfaces
don’t directly interlock, the “glue” between them can provide the required mappings. System integration is about
determining the required “glue”.

System integration is also about adding value to the system, capabilities that are possible because of interactions
between subsystems.

In today’s connected world, the role of system integration engineers is becoming more and more important: more and
more systems are designed to connect together, both within the system under construction and to systems that are
already deployed.[4]

Required skills

A system integration engineer needs a broad range of skills and is likely to be defined by a breadth of knowledge
rather than a depth of knowledge.

These skills are likely to include software and hardware engineering, interface protocols, and general problem solving
skills. It is likely that the problems to be solved have not been solved before except in the broadest sense. They are
likely to include new and challenging problems with an input from a broad range of engineers where the system
integration engineer "pulls it all together."[5]

Methods of integration

Vertical Integration is the process of integrating subsystems according to their functionality by creating functional
entities also referred to as silos.[6] The benefit of this method is that the integration is performed quickly and involves
only the necessary vendors; therefore, this method is cheaper in the short term. On the other hand, cost-of-ownership
can be substantially higher than seen in other methods, since in case of new or enhanced functionality, the only
possible way to implement (scale the system) would be by implementing another silo. Reusing subsystems to create
functionality is not possible.[7]

Star Integration or also known as Spaghetti Integration is a process of integration of the systems where each system is
interconnected to each of the remaining subsystems. When observed from the perspective of the subsystem which is
being integrated, the connections are reminiscent of a star, but when the overall diagram of the system is presented,
the connections look like spaghetti, hence the name of this method. The cost varies due to the interfaces which
subsystems are exporting. In a case where the subsystems are exporting heterogeneous or proprietary interfaces, the
integration cost can substantially rise. Time and costs needed to integrate the systems increase exponentially when
adding additional subsystems. From the feature perspective, this method often seems preferable, due to the extreme
flexibility of the reuse of functionality.[7]

Horizontal Integration or Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) is an integration method in which a specialized subsystem is
dedicated to communication between other subsystems. This allows cutting the number of connections (interfaces) to
only one per subsystem which will connect directly to the ESB. The ESB is capable of translating the interface into
another interface. This allows cutting the costs of integration and provides extreme flexibility. With systems integrated
using this method, it is possible to completely replace one subsystem with another subsystem which provides similar
functionality but exports different interfaces, all this completely transparent for the rest of the subsystems. The only
action required is to implement the new interface between the ESB and the new subsystem.[7]

The horizontal scheme can be misleading, however, if it is thought that the cost of intermediate data transformation or
the cost of shifting responsibility over business logic can be avoided.[7]

Software package (installation)

A software package refers to computer software packaged in an archive format to be installed by a package
management system or a self-sufficient installer.

Linux distributions are normally segmented into packages. Each package contains a specific application or service.
Examples of packages include a library for handling the PNG image format, a collection of fonts, or a web browser.

The package is typically provided as compiled code, with installation and removal of packages handled by a package
management system (PMS) rather than a simple file archiver. Each package intended for such a PMS contains meta-
information such as a package description, version, and "dependencies". The package management system can
evaluate this meta-information to allow package searches, to perform an automatic upgrade to a newer version, to
check that all dependencies of a package are fulfilled and/or to fulfill them automatically.

Some examples for these packages are Sun Microsystem's Star office, Open Office, and Microsoft's Microsoft Office.

MICROSOFT OFFICE

Microsoft Office is an office suite of interrelated desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows
and Mac OS X operating systems, was introduced by Microsoft in 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of
applications, the first version of Office contained Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Additionally, a "Pro" (Professional) version of Office included Microsoft Access and Schedule Plus. Over the years,
Office applications have grown substantially closer with shared features such as a common spell checker, OLE data
integration and Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications scripting language. Microsoft also positions Office as a
development platform for line-of-business software under the Office Business Applications (OBA) brand.

The current versions are Office 2010 for Windows which was released on June 15, 2010,[2] and Office 2008 for Mac OS
X, released January 15, 2008. Office 2007/Office 2008 introduced a new user interface and new Office Open XML
document formats (docx, xlsx, pptx). Consequently, Microsoft has made available, free of charge, an add-on known as
the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack to allow Office 2000-2003 for Windows and Office 2004 for Mac editions to
open, edit, and save documents created under the new formats for Office 2007.[3]
According to Forrester Research, as of June 2009, some version of Microsoft Office is used in 80% of enterprises, and
64% of enterprises have the 2007 Office version used.[4]

2007

Microsoft Office 2007 (officially called 2007 Microsoft Office System) is a Windows version of the Microsoft Office
System, Microsoft's productivity suite. Formerly known as Office 12 in the initial stages of its beta cycle, it was
released to volume license customers on November 30, 2006[1] and made available to retail customers on January 30,
2007. These are, respectively, the same dates Windows Vista was released to volume licensing and retail customers.
Office 2007 contains a number of new features, the most notable of which is the entirely new graphical user interface
called the Fluent User Interface[2] (initially referred to as the Ribbon User Interface), replacing the menus and toolbars –
which have been the cornerstone of Office since its inception – with a tabbed toolbar, known as the Ribbon. Office
2007 requires Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or higher, Windows
Vista or Windows 7.[3] Office 2007 is the last version of Microsoft Office available for Windows XP Professional x64
Edition.

The 'Ribbon User Interface' is a task-oriented Graphical User Interface (GUI). It features a central menu button, widely
known as the 'Office Button'. The Ribbon Interface stayed in Microsoft Office 2010.

Office 2007 also includes new applications and server-side tools. Chief among these is Groove, a collaboration and
communication suite for smaller businesses, which was originally developed by Groove Networks before being
acquired by Microsoft in 2005. Also included is Office SharePoint Server 2007, a major revision to the server platform
for Office applications, which supports "Excel Services", a client-server architecture for supporting Excel workbooks
that are shared in real time between multiple machines, and are also viewable and editable through a web page.

Microsoft FrontPage has been removed from the Office suite entirely. It has been replaced by Microsoft Office
SharePoint Designer, which is aimed towards development of SharePoint portals. Its designer-oriented counterpart
Microsoft Expression Web is targeted for general web development. However, neither application is included in any of
the Office suites.

Speech recognition and handwriting recognition are now part of Windows Vista. Speech and ink components have
been removed from Office 2007.[4][5] Handwriting and speech recognition work with Office 2007 only on Windows Vista
or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. However, XP users can use an earlier version of Office to use speech recognition.[6]

According to Forrester Research, as of May 2010, Microsoft Office 2007 is used in 81% of enterprises[7].

2010

Microsoft Office 2010, codenamed Office 14, is a productivity suite for Microsoft Windows,[2] and the successor to
Microsoft Office 2007. Office 2010 includes extended file format support,[3] user interface updates,[4] and a refined user
experience.[5][6] With the introduction of Office 2010, a 64-bit version of Office[7] is available, although not for Windows
XP or Windows Server 2003.[8] Office 2010 does not support Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.[9]

On April 15, 2010, Office 2010 was released to manufacturing, with those Volume Licensing customers who have
Software Assurance being able to download the software from April 27, 2010. The suite became available for retail as
well as online purchase on June 15, 2010.[1][10]

Office 2010 marks the debut of free online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, which work in popular
web browsers (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari). A new edition of Office, Office
Starter 2010, replaced the low-end home productivity software, Microsoft Works.

Microsoft's update to its mobile productivity suite, Office Mobile 2010, will also be released for Windows Phones
running Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Phone 7. In Office 2010, every application features the Ribbon, including
OneNote, Publisher, InfoPath, SharePoint Workspace (previously known as Groove), and the new Office Web Apps.

What operating systems are supported?

To determine which operating systems would be supported for Office 2010, we prioritized based on usage statistics for
a given OS, as well as the engineering costs associated with ensuring compatibility and providing customer support for
that OS. The following charts summarize OS compatibility for Office 2010.
Factors that consider a Software Package

• User -type of user, multitasking according to use, beneficial

• Cost -lesser amount than buying one by one

• Flexibility -(compatibility) ability to perform/support the latest software

• Efficiency - (emphasizes the multi-functionality of the package) how effective than other packages, what
are the components of the package functions and features that can truly help/support the user to do his/her
tasks

• Reliability/ Technical Support

-technical assistance whenever a problem occurs