In a talk before analysts at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco, Raikes discussed Microsoft's plans for Office. "The truth is, for the core of Windows and the core of Office, the most sense is to have them on a fairly predictable wave," said Raikes. "The reason why that's important [is that] most enterprises expect us to pull all the components together and thoroughly test them.

"They would rather have us do that than stream a lot of little changes out on an ongoing basis, because that makes their lives miserable," he said.

Raikes was responding to questions from analysts about whether Microsoft can successfully compete using traditional methods of development and distribution when it faces competition from the likes of Google Inc. and other companies that deliver software as Web-based services that can be upgraded incrementally -- and often.

"It's the most efficient way for us to deliver value to the customer," Raikes argued. "[But] we can add enhancements on an ongoing basis."

Rob Helm, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, said it is unlikely Microsoft would make an about-face on Office's format or how it's sold. "Microsoft's most interested in getting people to upgrade," he said. Office Online, he pointed out, is the route the company has taken to convince users to move up. "There are a ton of templates and how-to articles there. Microsoft's trying to get people to use features in the most recent versions, to encourage them to upgrade."