Interop 2008 Update: So is it still unified communications if it takes a combination of Microsoft, Foundry, Sun and Mitel to create a complete unified communications offering to battle Cisco's UC equivalent? The announcement by Microsoft and Foundry at Interop this week about the combined solution to take on Cisco shows how much bigger the battle to win the UC market war really is. The combined solution takes <big breath> Foundry BigIron, ServerIron and FastIron gear (sounds like a lot of iron to me), Sun's Sun Ray virtual display client, Mitel's Communications Suite along with Microsoft's Office Communications Server 2007.
All of those products and vendors combined to compete with Cisco's offering that comes from their own set of Cisco products. Holy single vendor, Batman. We're gonna need a bigger boat!
Isn't it ironic that a software solution to unified communications takes so much new hardware to pull it off? If you read my blog posts much, you know that I enjoy injecting a bit of irony and humor together but this seems like one of those carry-the-egg-in-a-spoon-uphill county fair contests to me. You just hope that everything works because you know the well perfected vendor finger pointing is gonna start at the first sign of trouble.
Looks like we've got some more unifying to do for this to be a well honed solution for customers.
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Mitchell Ashley is CEO and Chief Strategist of Converging Network, LLC, providing product and technology strategies to emerging technology companies. A serial entrepreneur, Mitchell has created many successful products and services in the networking, security, convergence, Internet and IT industries. In addition to blogging for NetworkWorld, Mitchell regularly blogs at TheConvergingNetwork and co-hosts the widely popular Still Crazy After All These Years podcast.
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