Unlike most of the software mega-packages (the expensive kind with lots of heavy manuals) with the word "Office" in their titles, Wordperfect Office does not contain the well-known word processor of the same name. In fact, WP Office isnt' anything much like those other packages at all; it is indeed a computer-based office environment, with mailboxes, waste baskets, bulletin boards, and of course, electronic mail. If you are a one-man or one-woman shop, WP Office is way beyond your needs, and perhaps your means. However, if you run a small business with a few employees tied to a network, this application could be just what you've been looking for.
At its most basic level, WP Office is the best secretary you ever had. It handles your mail, denoting whether you've answered it or not; it schedules your appointments, and also lets employees know about upcoming meetings. It also has phone messaging, note writing and task assignment capabilities. Unlike some of those other "office" packages, there's no spreadsheet in WP Office, but that's not what this application is about. It's all about communications, and in that area, it does its job well. Being away from the computer doesn't prevent you from keeping in touch;
with separate Message Server and Gateway packs, you can translate and transport information between WP Office and an external messaging system. Another package allows you to increase the number of user mailboxes from the original five up to 100.
WP Office provides the means to organize business communications the way efficiency experts say they ought to be, but like any new procedure, the trick is getting everyone to use the system. Anyone familiar with pull-down menus and other common software features won't have much trouble dealing with WP Office, but it might take some significant training and experimentation for everyone to learn to exploit its full potential.
Even though I believe WP Office is a truly valuable business tool, there's something about it that bothers me. If all our office communications are so finely organized within a computer program, does that mean we won't have to talk to each other in person anymore? I hope not, because some of the most creative approaches and solutions to business problems can come from the crackling clash of personalities and ideas expressed face to face.
Reviewed July 1994 by Kim Silarski for NautilusCD.
