Published on the 07/04/2016 | Written by Donovan Jackson
The Microsoft Graph is a recent addition to the vendor’s portfolio which it said ‘offers developers access to insights about how workers can be more productive’…
At its recent Build 2016 developer conference, Microsoft demonstrated how developers can use its Office productivity suite to produce custom applications which combine the functionality of Office with that of other services. By making Office components available for flexible use, the vendor, once notorious for its adherence to the proprietary software model, is further embracing open source approaches to software development – and a local partner said that in the end, it’s not just developers who benefit, but their customers, too.
In a press release, Microsoft EVP Qi Lu made this point about the ubiquity of Office (which hints strongly at the massive potential for innovation which exists in the market): “In terms of reach, Office is one of the few platforms in the world that provides developers with access to over a billion users across a variety of devices. With new extensions and new connections to the Microsoft Graph, developers are empowered to build intelligent apps that can transform the landscape of work.”
At Build, Microsoft previewed six new APIs for the Microsoft Graph that let developers link Office 365 data to third-party solutions. For example, one extension automatically compiles and exposes a list of times a group of people are available to meet, making it easier to work across organisations.
The company also showed off new functionality that lets developers build apps and place them directly into Word, Excel and PowerPoint ribbons.
Furthermore, the developer portal for Office 365 Connectors is now available for developers to write and publish their own connectors. Connectors deliver relevant content, such as updates on financial records or helpdesk logs, from popular apps and services directly into Office 365 Groups conversations. The developer portal is launching with connectors such as Asana, Salesforce, Trello, Twitter, UserVoice, Zendesk and many more.
Lee Stevens, solutions specialist at Intergen said this development is significant as, on the one hand, it reflects continued change to Microsoft’s ‘proprietary’ approach to the market, while on the other, it enables Microsoft partners to more rapidly and cost-effectively deliver partially-customised solutions.
“In days gone by you’d have to know the framework to develop on Microsoft; now, you don’t need that very specific knowledge. Microsoft is aiming at the open source market, too,” he said.
In practical terms, he said the announcements out of the Build conference means the ability to reuse Office components to create customised software for those businesses which need it. “Effectively, you now have maybe 80 percent of the building blocks available. Where it might once have taken a month to build something, now it will take far less time – and that means it will also take far less money to do it.”
Such solutions are also likely to be easier to support. “The days of boutique, highly customised applications are diminished. Businesses want to be able to build and support applications easily and this is a further step towards that goal,” Stevens concluded.
