Over the years, one of Microsoft's particular talents has been to identify an application, such as word processing, web browsing or email, and develop a suite of software targeting that market. The software giant often takes several attempts to get a new venture right, but usually emerges with a sizeable market share.
For example, in 1996 Microsoft launched Exchange 4.0 — the first commercially available version of its email and calendaring suite. Love it or hate it, Exchange eventually made its mark. A decade on, Microsoft may pull off a similar trick, this time in the 'unified communications' market. On 16 October 2007, Microsoft launched Office Communications Server 2007 and its desktop client, Office Communicator 2007. Together, these programs enable IT departments to provide presence, instant messaging (IM) and voice functionality to users located on either side of the corporate firewall.
In contrast with most of the previous Microsoft server suites, Office Communications Server 2007 (OCS 2007) integrates functions from a range of other Microsoft applications, including the IIS web server, Active Directory, Certificate Services and SQL Server. This means that you need to deploy much of Microsoft's product portfolio in order to use OCS 2007. It also means we'll see a new breed of specialist OCS administrators working alongside Exchange and SQL experts, for example.
Few organisations are likely to rip out existing phone systems, but companies moving into new premises can now look to Microsoft to provide a complete phone and messaging infrastructure. Specialised VoIP handsets are an additional device to be purchased and managed, so many people will make phone calls using software such as Office Communicator 2007 and a simple headset connected to the computer's sound card. Alternatives from traditional telephony providers and IT vendors will continue to compete, but now Microsoft has a credible offering.
SSL encryption is also put to good use, notably for making secure connections for remote workers without the costs of VPN kit. But although some implementation costs are low, this is no free lunch. To run OCS 2007 you'll need three Windows Server 2003 Server systems. Then you must add the price for OCS 2007 (to be announced on 16 October). In addition, OCS Client Access Licenses (CAL) will cost around $23 (~£11) per user for basic functions such as IM, presence and computer-to-computer voice calls. Users of the more advanced call features must have an additional CAL costing around $90 (~£44).
As well as its IM, voice and video calling capabilities, OCS 2007 also implements a subset of the functions from Live Meeting 2007, such as the ability to host voice, video and application-sharing conferences. Just as OCS 2007 has provided businesses with a new low-cost option for office telephone systems, so it also delivers a new option for web-based conferencing. Some of the high-end features of Live Meeting 2007 are not available in OCS 2007. Companies requiring a registration mechanism for new users, breakout rooms and/or multi-day conferences, for example, must use the full Live Meeting 2007 service (see Microsoft's free Live Meeting 2007 Trial program).
