Vista and Office 2007 are available to volume licensing customers now with Exchange Server 2007 appearing in mid-December.

The consumer, or non-volume license agreement, versions of Vista and Office will be available from January 30, 2007. Microsoft Australia managing director Steve Vamos said the new products deliver "game-changing innovation" and the company has made "extraordinary" investments in research and development, with all software going through extensive testing.

Some 86,000 beta versions of Office 2007 and Windows Vista have been downloaded in Australia, according to Microsoft.

Accounting and consulting organization BDO Seidman LLP was one of the first Australian organizations to run a pilot project of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Windows Vista and Exchange Server 2007. BDO partner Allan Granger said the pilot project proved the new product versions have the potential to "radically enhance BDO's service and offerings to clients." BDO worked with Microsoft partner Ensyst Pty Ltd. to trial the technology with 50 users within the firm, including the corporate finance business unit.

Granger said the ease of deployment was a significant benefit of the project.