Consul 1.7.0 is now available for beta testing, offering improved networking capabilities and enhanced security features through namespaces, GCP Snapshot Storage, and AWS PCA as a Certificate Authority for Consul. Namespaces enable teams to manage resources independently, while GCP Snapshot Storage allows for cloud-based storage of Consul snapshots, and AWS PCA simplifies certificate management. These new features aim to reduce operational challenges and increase efficiency in large-scale environments.