Microsofts New Move

Bill Gates vision of software-powered communications eliminates the
boundaries between the various modes of communication. Microsofts next
generation of Unified Communications (UC) products and services, launched
worldwide in October 2007 in San Francisco, works toward this vision, catalyzing
the convergence of voice, video, text and information. The launch will put
Microsoft in direct competition with vendors like Cisco and Avaya.

Microsofts UC strategy is targeted toward eliminating the challenges facing
todays business communications. The companys strategy takes a software-focused
approach to bring together disparate communications technologies into a unified
experience, driving down the cost and complexity of communicating and
collaborating at work.

A Complete Package

Addressing the business needs for control over communications, the UC and
VoIP software launched included the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007,
Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, Microsoft
RoundTable and a Service Pack update of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007all
fitting into the companys strategy of software-based communications. The
announcement was accompanied by discussions and demonstrations of a wide variety
of applications and capabilities.

Bill Gates and Jeff Raikes at the Microsoft Unified Communications Launch in 2007

As Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft and Jeff Raikes, president of the
Microsoft Business Division kicked off the worldwide launch and propagated the
companys software-based approach to VoIP and UC, they were joined in by over
fifty partners, who announced products and services built on the Microsofts UC
platform.

Extensive Partner Base

Microsofts partner ecosystem includes system integrators (SI), telephony
providers, ISVs, and phone and device manufacturers. Already, 793 SI partners
have achieved the Microsofts UC Specialization in less than four months since
Microsoft opened the program. The ISVs also announced plans to incorporate
presence and click-to-communicate features from Microsofts UC platform into
their software applications. In addition, SAP AG plans to integrate Office
Communications Server with the Duet software, jointly developed with Microsoft
and provides access to SAP processes and data through Microsoft Office
applications. This will enable business users to see presence and to click to
communicate while working within Duet.

Seven phone and device manufacturers announced the global availability of
fifteen new Microsoft UC-qualified phones and devices. Microsoft is working
closely with more than fifteen strategic partners to develop new UC-enabled
end-points, including handsets, wireless phones, webcams, and laptops.
Conferencing vendor, Tandberg, announced its plan to build a video and Web
conferencing solution incorporating the Microsoft UC software. Three global
telephony vendors, Nortel, Ericsson, and Mitel Networks will also announce their
roadmaps to build next generation software applications on Microsofts voice
platform.

Shipra Malhotra

shipram@cybermedia.co.in

The author was hosted in San Francisco