Technology shouldn’t get in the way—it should help IT organizations as they respond to the needs of business groups, partners, and customers. These groups often have three general requirements for IT organizations:

1. People need to be able to work seamlessly with other people inside and outside their organization.
2. Data from different sources must be easily accessed and intelligently presented.
3. "Connecting systems" means not only providing access to users, but also easing management while keeping systems secure.

Microsoft products are interoperable by design. They address these requirements by enabling interoperability out-of-the-box with software and hardware from other vendors.