Microsoft starts teasing what's next for Exchange 2016

Microsoft plans to provide a first look at what the company will deliver in Exchange Server 2016 at its upcoming Ignite conference the first week of May.

Microsoft is planning to roll out the next version of its on-premises Exchange Server in the second half of calendar 2015. As officials noted in an April 15 blog post, the areas of focus for the next release include "individual productivity, team collaboration, and information governance."

More specifically, according to the blog post, Exchange Server 2016 will include:

• "A new approach to document collaboration that makes it easy to send links and collaborate without versioning issues of attachments
• Faster and more intelligent search, to help users quickly find what they need in their mailboxes and calendars
• Significant improvements to eDiscovery search performance and reliability
• Better extensibility, including new REST-based APIs for Mail, Calendar, and Contacts that simplify web and mobile development"

  Read this

  Microsoft's Server and Tools unit now includes six $1 billion businesses

  Read now

Microsoft officials noted that many of the new capabilities in the coming Exchange Server 2016 release already were introduced to Exchange Online and Office 365 business users between the time Microsoft rolled out Exchange Server 2013 and now. That's not surprising, given Microsoft's cloud-first mantra.

Microsoft execs also noted that Exchange users who want to get an early look at future Exchange features also have the option of joining the company's on-premises Technology Adoption Program.

Those who aren't attending Ignite in person, given the conference is sold out, will be able to watch all the sessions, including the Exchange-related ones, on the Web within 48 hours after they occur, the blog post says. Ignite is in Chicago and runs from May 4 to May 8.

Microsoft also will be showing off the next version of SharePoint, SharePoint Server 2016, at the Ignite show.