>What size client base do you have? We have literally thousands. No way we can get them to agree on a minimum system configuration, let alone a "standard".

We do the same thing, tons of users, and its unrealistic to say "To use this basic functionality you need MS Office installed", much less turn around and say "Now you need MS Office 2000 Service Pack Gazillion" if it comes down to that. But I think you can distribute the WSH with your apps? If thats the case, its no big deal, like using MSXML3 in your apps, you can deploy that without busting their system... typically :-)