With Office 2007 nearing completion, Microsoft is seeding the fields with new tools to encourage ISVs to develop around the Office platform. The packs are part of a strategy that Microsoft calls Office Business Applications (OBAs), which urges third-party developers to make back-end enterprise applications like financial and CRM systems available to users through the interface of Office applications. One high-profile example of the OBA strategy is Duet, a joint venture with SAP, said Tim O’Brien, director of Microsoft’s platform strategy group. Microsoft’s OBA Reference Application Pack for Supply Chain Management includes scripts, templates, white papers and .Net assembly components. Similar reference packs for retail and financial services are in the works.