Compatibility of Office 97 and Office XP

Hello, thanks for taking this question. I am a desktop support person who has been given the task of integrating 27 new machines into a network consisting of over 700 machines. My issue is that the new machines are being setup with Office XP, but the company is still using Office 97. My worry is that there be conflicts between the two versions, for example: Many people share files (word, excel) and all will still be Office97, and these 27 people will be Office XP. Can you tell me if I will orwill not have issues. Thank You very much for your time.