Microsoft has released today the first Office 2019 Server previews for commercial customers who are not ready yet to move to the cloud. Just like the commercial previews for Office 2019 on Windows and Mac, Microsoft is giving enterprise users early access to the latest version of its perpetual server products, in that case Skype for Business Server 2019 and Exchange Server 2019.
The first preview of Skype for Business Server 2019, which is available to download here, aims to “enable customers to take advantage of key cloud features in an on-premises experience,” the team said. Four new key capabilities are available in this first preview: Cloud Voicemail, Cloud Org Auto Attendant, Cloud Call Data Connector and Streamlined Teams migration. You can learn more about this release in this separate blog post.
As for Exchange Server 2019, this first preview introduces a better functionality search powered by Bing as well as new calendaring features such as Do Not Forward and Simplified Calendar Sharing. Exchange Server 2019 is also ready for Windows Server 2019, and Microsoft actually recommends IT Pros to install Exchange 2019 on on Windows Server 2019 Core, which “provides the most secure platform for Exchange.”
Microsoft’s Office 2019 server products will be released before the end of 2018, along with Windows Server 2019 and Office 2019 for Windows and MAc. “Office 2019 will be a valuable upgrade for customers who feel that they need to keep some or all of their apps and servers on-premises,” Microsoft said today.
