Entourage supported retrieving email using POP, IMAP,[3] and (for Microsoft Exchange servers) WebDAV.

Entourage supported some Mac OS technologies, like the Spotlight search engine and AppleScript; however, the use of a monolithic database made it difficult to back up incrementally with Time Machine.

Entourage also maintained a separate address book, but allowed synchronization of contacts and calendar events through Sync Services.

This early release required the use of IMAP for mail connectivity and WebDAV for address and calendar functionality.

An additional limitation was the inability to attach what is referred to as an "Item" in Outlook to a message while it was being composed since there was no menu choice to allow this.

[15] As a result, it was impossible to directly transfer email data from Outlook (Windows) into Entourage (Mac).

Macworld indicates that Windows Outlook messages can be transferred to Apple Mail or Entourage by using Mozilla Thunderbird as an intermediate agent.

[citation needed] Commercial third-party software (e.g. Emailchemy)[19] is available to facilitate the transfer of Outlook data to Entourage.

Other alternative solutions include synchronizing: to an iPod Touch or iPhone through iTunes; using Apple MobileMe service; using an IMAP-enabled email provider; using a Microsoft Exchange server.