Microsoft has caught many off-guard by releasing the first service pack for Office 2007 over a moth ahead of the expected schedule.
The software maker said Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will improve stability, adds usability features and deals with some outstanding security issues in the core applications, in particular the Outlook mail client.
Microsoft had said it planned to release Office 2007 SP1 in early 2008, but the company completed beta testing of the service pack earlier than expected.
"We're optimistic that with the shipment of SP1 we're removing any residual barriers that may have impeded deployment and that adoption will only accelerate," Reed Shaffner, Microsoft Office product manager, said on its website.
Customers can download SP1 from office.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/default.aspx or via Windows Update.
(Additional reporting by Chris Green, IT PRO)
