Microsoft has released the commercial preview of Office 2019 Server, which includes Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2019, and Project Server 2019.
The tech giant had announced the commercial previews of Office 2019 for Windows and Office 2019 for Mac earlier this year. It is the next perpetual update to Office, which means that it won’t need an Office 365 subscription. It will be a good fit for customers who are yet not ready to move to cloud.
Here is what’s new with Office 2019 Server products:
Microsoft has improved the security, performance, administration, as well as management capabilities in the Exchange Server 2019. It can be installed on Windows Server Core which is considered as the most secure platform for Exchange.
Users can run the Exchange Server with up to 48 processor cores and 256GB of RAM. Microsoft is bringing key features of Calendar from Office 365 to Exchange Server 2019. These features include Do Not Forward and Simplified Calendar Sharing.
Skype for Business Server now comes with four key cloud features, including Cloud Voicemail, Cloud Auto Attendant, Cloud Call Data Connector, and Streamlined Teams Migration.
When paired with Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2019 can provide voicemail services. The Cloud Voicemail is an alternative of Unified Messaging, which is not available with Exchange Server 2019.
Also coming to on-premises Skype for Business is support for Cloud Auto Attendant, which is expected to be available later this year. Microsoft has integrated the call analytics into Skype for Business Server, so that users can upload call quality data to Office 365.
Microsoft has paid close attention to trends in team collaboration, and user experiences across devices, while updating SharePoint Server. There is modern team site experience, with an engaging home page personalized using SharePoint search.
Modern site pages are coming to SharePoint Server, which will allow customers to share ideas using images, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint documents.
It offers better mobile access to content, people and applications, as well as responsive experiences across devices and screen sizes. Microsoft is transforming the SharePoint Server by adding support for OneDrive for Business.
It is an on-premises end-to-end project and portfolio management solution. The new version comes with improved performance, scalability, reporting, accessibility, and broad set of resource engagement APIs.
Also read: Top 5 inspirations for Microsoft partners from Inspire 2018
The Office 2019 Server is expected to be generally available later this year. As of now, the commercial customers can download it for preview.
