On the 25th anniversary of the Macintosh Business Unit, Microsoft indicated a strong momentum of building for Mac computers and Apple's platform. For the software giant, the journey started with Word 1 for Mac, and now, 25 years later, the company is working on the evolution of Mac users' connectivity with core Microsoft Office systems and servers. In this regard, the Redmond manufacturer emphasized its commitment to continue offering software and services for Mac OS X, pointing to examples as the Microsoft Document Collaboration Companion for Mac Beta, and Entourage for Exchange Web Services (Entourage EWS) Beta.

According to the company, the Document Collaboration Companion is designed to connect together Office for Mac, Office for Windows, but also SharePoint Products and Technologies, and Office Live Workspaces. The Cocoa-based application streamlines and increases efficiency when it comes down to collaboration, bridging Office for Windows with Office for Mac via SharePoint and Office Live Workspaces. The software giant currently estimates that Document Collaboration Companion will be made available in Beta stage in February 2009, and that the final bits will be served to Mac users by the end of 2009.

Entourage for Exchange Web Services (Entourage EWS) Beta is set up to put Entourage on par with Outlook. The protocol enhances the level of email and calendaring support between the Entourage e-mail client and Exchange Server. Microsoft is promising improved compatibility, performance, and reliability, and has transitioned the development of Entourage from WebDAV to Exchange Web Services. The first taste of Entourage EWS will be delivered in January 2009, via a beta release, with the final launch scheduled for later this year.

“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,” Eric Wilfrid, general manager of the MacBU, revealed . “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.”