Microsoft upgrades hosted service suite

Microsoft last week released an upgrade to its hosted messaging and collaboration suite that includes Exchange Server technology for pushing company e-mail seamlessly to Windows Mobile devices.

Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration 3.5, used by Microsoft service-provider partners to host e-mail and collaboration services for small-to-midsize businesses, includes Microsoft’s Exchange, Windows SharePoint Services and Live Communications Server 2005.

The suite is available on a hosted basis to partners in Microsoft’s Windows Hosted program along with technical support and guidelines for deployment. There are about 9,000 service providers in the program.

The upgrade includes support for software updates that have been made available since the last release of the hosted product, including Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack (SP) 2, Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Live Communications Server 2005 SP1.

New technology for sending e-mails hosted on Exchange Server directly to Windows Mobile devices is available in Exchange Server 2003 SP2. The technology, called Direct Push Technology, eliminates the need for a Short Message Service alert to users when they have new e-mail on a Windows Mobile device. Instead, SP2 allows e-mails to be sent directly from Exchange to Windows Mobile devices.