As Mac enters mainstream business use, Intermedia will give a free copy of Entourage 2008 to all customers
2008-05-08
Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services, is the world's first company to offer Microsoft Entourage 2008 as a free download. Customers of Intermedia's hosted Exchange 2007 service can now download a copy of the software free of charge for all Mac users.
The Intermedia offering is the first and only on the market that provides Mac users with the powerful benefits of Entourage 2008 integrated with hosted Exchange 2007. Commonly referred to as "Outlook for Macs", Entourage 2008 allows Intermedia customers to synchronize their email, calendars and contacts between their hosted email account and their Mac computers.
"Entourage 2008 offers Mac users many key benefits, especially for customers who will be using it in a business environment with our hosted Exchange email service," said Irina Shamkova, Intermedia's senior product manager for email services. "Designed for the Intel-based Macs, the 2008 version is significantly faster than previous Entourage versions and offers better integration with Exchange for scheduling and 'Out of Office' reply management."
Kawika Holbrook, IT director for Sterling Communications, was eager to install the software on Macs throughout the public relations agency. "We're thrilled to be able to use Entourage 2008 with our Intermedia-hosted Exchange mailboxes," he said. "Apple products and Exchange are critical to our business. We appreciate Intermedia's commitment to supporting both platforms."
The availability of Entourage 2008 is part of Intermedia's larger strategy to make its hosted software offerings available to users of Apple products. In addition to already offering secure IMAP access to email on the iPhone and iPod touch, Intermedia is preparing to provide true iPhone synchronization with Exchange through ActiveSync™ when Apple releases the necessary phone update next month.
"Apple products are in much greater use in the business world than just a few years earlier, especially among small and medium businesses", said Danny Essner, Intermedia's director of marketing. "Our goal is to provide customers with the freedom of choice to access our services from the platforms and devices of their choosing, whether it's a Mac, an iPhone, an iPod or anything else."
Entourage 2008 is available for immediate download for free to all of Intermedia's hosted Exchange email customers through its award-winning HostPilot™ control panel. To learn more about Intermedia's hosted Exchange services, please visit www.intermedia.net.