Jan, 2009 : MacBU Delivers Entourage EWS Beta For Mac

📅 January 20, 2009 - In a move to offer its software and services across platforms, Microsoft's (http://www.microsoft.com) Macintosh Business Unit (known as MacBU) has announced the beta release of Entourage for Exchange Web Services Beta, an advanced protocol that updates how Entourage email client connects to Exchange Server for overall improved email and calendaring support.

According to Microsoft's announcement, MacBU is also working on giving Office for Mac users the able to collaborate through Microsoft SharePoint and Office Live Workspace with the beta release of Microsoft Document Collaboration Companion for Mac.

"For 25 years Microsoft has delivered productivity software for the Mac. We started on the desktop and today the MacBU delivers new ways for Mac users to connect to Microsoft productivity on the Web," MacBU general manager Eric Wilfrid said in a statement. "Entourage EWS and the Document Collaboration Companion lets Mac Office users connect with counterparts on a PC. These releases are the first step for the MacBU in harnessing the power of software plus services on the Mac."

Microsoft notes that while the increased connectivity between Entourage and Exchange may be "a behind-the-scenes" improvement, it is one that will help deliver on its committment to compatibility, performance and reliability. MacBU has moved the development of Entourage from WebDAV to Exchange Web Services, providing support for syncing tasks, notes and categories for customers on Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 or later. Now in beta, Entourage EWS's final release will be available later this year as a free update to Office 2008 users, distributed via Mactopia.

Microsoft Macintosh products are available at www.microsoft.com/mac.