ITWire

Set for release on September 16, the Business Edition will feature Entourage 2008 for Mac Web Services Edition, support for SharePoint products in Microsoft Document Connection for Mac (already available as part of Office 2008 SP2), additional business-oriented templates and clip art, and seven hours of video-based training from lynda.com.

The training package is intended "to help users of all levels... get more out of their investment," said Lefebvre.

She also stated that the version of Microsoft Document Connection provided with the Business Edition would allow connectivity to SharePoint servers, Home and Student Edition users would only be able to access Office Live Workspace.

"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," said Takeshi Numoto, corporate vice president of the Office product management group at Microsoft.

"These updates continue Microsoft and the MacBU's tradition of aiming to deliver the most complete solution to help customers manage their time, and better share their information and collaborate with others."

The Business Edition will be priced at $A499 for the first three months, $A599 thereafter. Home and Student Edition remains at $A229.

Upgrades to the Business Edition will cost $A349, which Lefebvre described as "great value for customers that have been with us for some time."