Windows Phone ramps up enterprise appeal with 7.5 'Mango' update

Amid a string of platform announcements at TechEd 2011 in Atlanta on Monday, Microsoft revealed a little more information about the enterprise-friendly aspects of the Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" update expected to launch later this year.

Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7 in the exact opposite way it had launched previous versions of Windows Mobile. In other words, Windows Phone 7 launched with consumer features that were never present on Windows Mobile, such as integration with Xbox Live and Zune, and is adding enterprise features incrementally.

Or to use a boxing metaphor, Microsoft didn't lead with its enterprise power punch, but rather it started with a consumer-facing jab, and will follow up with a business right cross.

For the business user, Mango will improve the Office Hub by adding document sharing support with Windows Live SkyDrive and Office 365, which should be coming out of beta in the Fall.

Lync will get its own Windows Phone app, supporting VoIP, instant messaging and live presence. In the demonstration today, Microsoft showed how Lync ties into contacts, but didn't actually get to do a complete demo of the Instant Messaging feature.

The email experience will be improved all around, with threaded conversations, the ability to deeply search Exchange Server, and the ability to create pinnable folders for projects, groups, RSS feeds, or even individual contacts.

On the IT side of things, Mango will add the ability for users to connect to hidden Wi-Fi networks and support for complex alphanumeric passwords.

Mango will also bring Information Rights Management (IRM), a feature common among the previous versions of Windows Mobile. This gives privileged users the ability to send and view confidential e-mails, read-only documents, and self-destructing documents.

A launch date for Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" has not been formally announced.