14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has confirmed that the next version of Office for Mac is shipping with Outlook support, eliminating integration with the former personal information manager for Mac OS X, Entourage. Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit (MacBU) shared these details explaining that it wanted to meet the planning needs of enterprise customers. MacBU also introduced a simplified SKU lineup including Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition.
“It is an exciting time for the MacBU with updates to our current products and the first public announcement about the next version of Office for Mac. For several years we have focused on providing the best Microsoft Exchange client for the Mac, and the Web Services Edition delivers that today for Entourage users,” said Eric Wilfrid, general manager for the MacBU at Microsoft. “Outlook for Mac will bring features our customers have long requested — such as Information Rights Management — that make working across platforms even easier. I think people will see that this move to Outlook for Mac is more than just a name change.”
“Microsoft Outlook and Exchange Server have been a cornerstone of communications and collaboration for our enterprise customers,” said Takeshi Numoto, corporate vice president of the Office product management group at Microsoft. “Today’s release of the Web Services Edition strengthens Exchange connectivity for Entourage customers and sets the stage for the move to the new application — Outlook for Mac. These updates continue Microsoft and the MacBU’s tradition of delivering the most complete solution to help customers manage their time, and better share their information and collaborate with others.”
Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit also confirms that Web Services Edition provides faster data synchronization. Therefore, current Entourage users on Exchange will experience improved e-mail and calendaring support, the team asserts. Web Services Edition is now available to current Entourage users of Office 2008 for Mac SP2, with all updates applied, or Exchange 2007 SP1 RU4 or later, according to Microsoft. Interested parties can learn more here.
Some of the features that will be in Outlook for Mac include:
Cocoa: Built from the ground up using Cocoa providing users with improved integration with the Mac OS
New database: A high-speed file-based database with support for backing up files with Time Machine and Spotlight searching
Information Rights Management: Helps prevent sensitive information from being distributed to or read by people who do not have permission to access the content