Connecting for Health (CfH), the agency responsible for delivering the £12bn National Programme for IT (NPfIT), is updating its email and directory service.

Supplier Cable & Wireless will migrate the service for the NHS from its existing platform to Microsoft Exchange 2007.

The NHSmail service was launched in 2004 and almost 260,000 staff are registered with an account.

The service is a secure means for sending patient identifiable information and can be accessed by NHS staff from anywhere via a device with a connection to the internet.

But rapid advances in technology means new and improved alternatives have become available that will better meet the evolving requirements of the service.

By moving to Microsoft Exchange 2007 running Outlook and Outlook Web Access, the NHS will benefit from an enhanced user experience. It will also improve migration for NHS organisations implementing NHSmail as their sole email service.

Cable & Wireless is developing a schedule for the design, build and implementation of the service.