Kerio Technologies has announced Kerio Connect 7.2, the latest release of its messaging and collaboration platform that provides email, contacts and calendar management through desktop email clients, web browsers and smart phones.

Intended exclusively for SMB organizations with anywhere from 5-500 employees, Kerio Connect 7.2 is an alternative to Microsoft Exchange with a choice of supported OS platforms. The new Microsoft Outlook 2011 for Mac now works natively with Kerio Connect 7.2, providing email, calendar, contact, and task synchronization with the server.

Mac users also have a choice of Microsoft Entourage 2004 and 2008 or Apple Mail and iCal as clients that also work fully with Kerio Connect. With Kerio Connect 7.2 's web access to administration, email can be configured and users can be added and deleted remotely. When users are deleted, they're automatically removed from all groups. Administrators also have the ability to prevent users from changing passwords for enhanced control.

In addition, Kerio Connect 7.2 provides email security, including both anti-virus and anti-spam protection with a multi-layer defense system. Kerio Connect 7.2 runs on Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and is available as a virtual appliance on the VMware and Parallels platforms.

The solution comes with integrated anti-spam, anti-virus, automated backup, and archiving. Kerio Connect starts at $450 for five usersl additional users start at US$24. For more info, go to http://www.kerio.com/connect/ .