MacBU announced yesterday on the Microsoft Mactopia blog, the launch of a new partner application called Communicator for Mac.
This does not change much for Windows Live users who will continue to use Messenger for Mac, but it will make a big difference for Office Communications Server (aka Lync) users, who will begin using the new Communicator for Mac.
In March, the Messenger for Mac 8 beta was
launched, with support for video calls with other Windows Live users.
The Communicator for Mac includes a built-in Live Meeting functionality, according to Microsoft officials announcement earlier this year.
The MacBU team said that “one focus of Office for Mac 2011 was to integrate real-time communication features into Office applications like Word and PowerPoint and we expect that effort to continue.
“In addition to integration with Office, we need to support our two partners, Windows Live and Office Communications Server (aka Lync), [and] within Microsoft these are separate organizations that move quickly to add new, useful features for their respective users.
“In order to best support productivity with Office applications and the features of both partners, it was time for us to separate the applications.
"Separate apps will allow us to provide the best experience for both sets of users.”
The software giant plans to keep Messenger for Mac as a free download and it will focus on increasing productivity for Office apps' Windows Live users, so it will not support features like games or winks.
Communicator for Mac will be available to organizations that use Lync Server which will provide it to their users as part of Office 2011 for Mac.
The blog post reminded that Messenger 5, 6, and 7 included support for both Windows Live users and for Office Communications Server users and that the goal of Office for Mac 2011, was to provide dedicated applications for each network.
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