Microsoft Online Services: A Possible Roadmap

Exchange, SharePoint, and Communications Online will incorporate new versions of Microsoft’s server applications over the next two years. Shown here is one possible future evolution of Exchange, SharePoint, Communications Online, and Live Meeting through 2012; Microsoft has not announced a timeframe for updates of these services.

Exchange Server 2010 became available to customers of the Exchange Online Dedicated service in Apr. 2010, roughly six months after the product’s release to manufacturing. The Standard (multitenant) version is not yet available and could appear in the second half of 2010 at the earliest.

SharePoint Server 2010 was released to manufacturing in Apr. 2010; it might be available as a Dedicated service in the second half of 2010 and a Standard service in early 2011, assuming it follows the pattern of Exchange 2010.

The current Communications Online service is based on Communications Server 2007 R2; in Apr. 2010, Microsoft released an add-on Online Voice service for customers of Communications Online Dedicated and Exchange Online Dedicated. The next release of the Communications Server software, code-named Communications Server 14, will probably appear in late 2010. Assuming it follows the same service release pattern as Exchange 2010, a Dedicated service based on that version would appear in early 2011 and a Standard version in late 2011. However, these service versions will not support multiparty voice, which will probably first arrive in a later Communications Online Dedicated version (labeled 2012 here).