45,000 Beta Copies Underscore Anticipation for Exchange 2003

Microsoft Corp. today announced that in two months of availability, more than 45,000 copies of Exchange Server 2003 Beta 2 have been distributed. Exchange Server 2003 is the next edition of Microsoft?Exchange Server messaging and collaboration software. During 2003, Microsoft will provide customers with a significant update to its end-to-end messaging and collaboration management solution offerings based on major releases of the core products: Exchange Server 2003, Windows?Server 2003 and “Outlook?11,” the code name for the next version of the e-mail client, which is included in “Office 11″ (the code name for the next version of Microsoft Office).

“The feedback we have received thus far from our early beta testers, customers in the Exchange Server 2003 Joint Development Program, has been very positive,” said Kevin McCuistion, director of Exchange marketing, business development and product planning at Microsoft. “Many have remarked that the combination of infrastructure and productivity improvements in Exchange 2003 will be a tremendous improvement to their IT environments. And as some of them have begun putting the beta into limited production, they are finding that the work needed to upgrade from previous versions is minimal in terms of both time and resources.”

Exchange 2003, the next major release after Exchange 2000, significantly boosts information worker productivity through ubiquitous access to business-critical messaging and calendaring information, along with enhancements in security, manageability, availability and reliability to help further drive down total cost of ownership. Early beta testers are excited about the potential of the forthcoming product for productivity enhancements, because information workers using “Outlook 11″ will see easier e-mail and calendar management, significantly faster synchronization, and easier access over the Internet. In addition, the new Outlook Web Access client adds important new features such as spell check as well as many of the usability enhancements in “Outlook 11.” All of this will help raise productivity while reducing training and support costs. And with built-in wireless access, Exchange 2003 will enable mobile professionals to stay in touch through PDAs and cell phones.

Exchange Server 2003 is scheduled to be released in mid-2003, following the scheduled spring release of Windows Server 2003. Customers can download the test code or order CD kits at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/ti/.

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