* Analyzing the market for Microsoft Office Communications Server
Brian Riggs, research director for Current Analysis’ Enterprise Communications practice, published an advisory report last week pointing out that Microsoft has, over the last year or more, “gone out of its way to garner the assistance and trust of PBX developers.” But he adds: “Given Microsoft’s highly competitive nature, will this cooperative idyll last?”
Microsoft’s three-pronged approach to providing business voice includes Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS), Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS), and Microsoft Response Point.
With Microsoft’s scheduled worldwide Unified Communications Server 2007 launch in San Francisco on Oct. 16, and Microsoft Response Point scheduled for delivery at the end of 2007, Riggs notes that Microsoft “has yet to deliver its first generation of communications platforms, and has neither a customer base nor a reseller network prepared.”
According to Riggs: “In the near term OCS is unlikely to be received as the PBX replacement it purports to be. It is likely that it will be a good while before a representative number of businesses, particularly large enterprises, are convinced to abandon the PBX systems that have delivered such highly reliable communications services for so many years.” Riggs also points out that “the general trend in server-based voice systems is away from Microsoft-based platforms and toward more affordable and reliable Linux platforms.” He concludes: “Microsoft will need to rely on its PBX partners for quite some time.”
But for the small business, Riggs observes: “Unlike OCS, which relies on integration with various third-party communications software platforms and applications, Response Point requires no such crutch. Microsoft is the sole provider of the call control software, voice features, automated attendant, speech interface, and unified messaging software integrated into the little device.” Riggs concludes that Response Point “is very clearly a replacement system, aimed to displace – not peacefully coexist with – other, better established communications platforms that might happen to be at the small business.”
Bottom line: Riggs says: “As Microsoft becomes better recognized as a developer of business communications systems that are viable alternatives to PBX expect the Redmond company to forge more competitive, less cooperative relationships with other developers of business communications systems.”
Our thanks to Brian for his in-depth analysis. Oh, and by the way, we agree with his conclusions.
