Australian telephony provider offers OCS back-end to Office users
Microsoft and partner Telstra Tuesday launched Australia’s first hosted IP telephony service, which is based on an integration of Microsoft’s Office Communications Server (OCS) and on-premises applications such as Outlook, Office Communicator and SharePoint.
The Microsoft OCS on Telstra IP Telephony (TIPT) service allows users to place Telstra IP Telephony calls from Microsoft’s desktop applications using Telstra’s OCS platform on the backend. There is no need for the user to have an IP telephony infrastructure. Telstra is Australia’s top telecommunications firms with a combined 18 million fixed line and mobile service users. The Telstra service provides such things as presence information in the desktop applications so users can see if entries in their contact lists are online. It also provides such information as status, including if a contact is currently on the phone. Users can go from instant messaging on their desktop to a phone call with a mouse click without leaving Outlook. The service also adds remote office and simultaneous calling features. Telstra officials said the integration is the first phase of a wider unified communications offering it plans to roll out. Microsoft and Telstra formed an alliance in November 2008 to help Telstra blend computer and telephone services over Telstra’s NextIP and Next G networks. In April, Microsoft rolled out its hosted OCS offering as part of its Business Productivity Online Suite, which also includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Live Meeting. – john fontana, sr. editor, network world – Follow John on Twitter
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