New Outlook for Mac coming in next release of Mac Office

Looks like the Mac Business unit is busy improving the Exchange email clients for the Mac. First they released the new Entourage EWS update and next they will be releasing a brand new Outlook for Mac in the next major release of Mac Office:

Outlook for Mac releasing in the next version reflects the team’s commitment to further develop the Mac’s leading productivity suite. This new application will deliver significant changes — ultimately allowing for increased productivity across platforms, which continues to be the top request of enterprise customers. The MacBU today shared a few of the features that will be in Outlook for Mac, including these:

•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

“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.”