What is the Office Source Engine and what does it do?

What is the purpose of the Office Source Engine service that Microsoft installs for newer versions of the Office suite?

Solution 1:

It seems to be a copy of the Office installation files. There are copied to the machine to permit quick install/uninstall of office components. This seems to be the best description of what it is and why it is needed or not needed. Microsoft support article.

Solution 2:

It is used by the Office Applications to verify that the correct applications is installed, and to load new packages when required. It is linked to the Office Offline Source option presented at the end of the Office installation.

The service for example will launch when trying to access a feature in Excel that is not yet installed, and is also used to verify that the installation source files and exe has not been tampered with.