Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

For some time after the release of Exchange 2003, Microsoft's future plans for the product were not known. Edge Services, an add-on for the main product, was to have been released sometime in 2005 but was dropped. The new version, Exchange 2007, was released on DVD in late 2006 to business customers as part of Microsoft's rollout wave of new products. It includes voice mail integration, better search and support for Web services, better filtering options, and a new Outlook Web Access interface.
Exchange 2007 will run on 64-bit x64 version of Windows only, pointing out the substantial performance benefits that 64-bit computing brings to the product. This limitation applies to supported production environments only; a 32-bit trial version is available for download and testing. However, companies currently running Exchange on 32-bit hardware will be forced to replace or migrate hardware if they wish to upgrade to the new version. Even those companies that are currently running Exchange on 64-bit capable hardware will still need to upgrade their server operating system simultaneously with the Exchange 2007 upgrade.
The first beta of Exchange 2007 (then named "Exchange 12") was released in December 2005 to a very limited number of beta testers. A wider beta was made available via TechNet Plus and MSDN subscriptions in March 2006 according to the Microsoft Exchange team blog,
On April 25, 2006, Microsoft announced that the next version of Exchange would be called Exchange Server 2007. More details about Exchange Server 2007 can be found at the Exchange Preview Website. This site has information about this version of Exchange and outlines key improvements:Protection: anti-spam, antivirus, compliance, clustering with data replication, improved security and encryptionImproved Information Worker Access: improved calendaring, unified messaging, improved mobility, improved web accessImproved IT Experience: 64-bit performance & scalability, command-line shell & simplified GUI, improved deployment, role separation, simplified routing"Exchange Management Shell": a new command-line shell and scripting language for system administration (based on the Windows PowerShell scripting language -- formerly called "Monad" -- developed for Windows Vista). Shell users can perform every task that can be performed in the Exchange graphical user interface plus additional tasks, and can program often-used or complex tasks into "scripts" that can be saved, shared, and re-used."Unified Messaging" that lets users receive voice mail, e-mail, and faxes in their mailboxes, and lets them access their mailboxes from cell phones and other wireless devices. Voice commands can be given to control and listen to e-mail over the phone (and also send some basic messages, like "I'll be late")Removed the database maximum size limit. Database size is now limited by hardware capability and the window for backups and maintenance.Increased the maximum number of storage groups and mail databases per server, to 5 each for Standard Edition (from 1 each in Exchange 2003 Standard), and to 50 each for Enterprise Edition (from 4 groups and 20 databases in Exchange 2003 Enterprise).