* Microsoft closer to becoming a credible VoIP and IP telephony provider
Last week, the CEOs of Microsoft and Nortel announced a joint road map that will, according to their statement, “deliver [a] shared vision for unified communications.” The announced plans spelled out three joint solutions that include:
* Unified Communications Integrated Branch: Targeted to provide VoIP and unified communications in remote offices with planned availability in the fourth quarter of 2007.
* Unified Messaging: Based on native Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) interoperability between the Nortel Communication Server 1000 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging, with planned availability in the second quarter of 2007. The product includes Nortel professional services for design, deployment and support.
* Conferencing: Designed to extend the Nortel Multimedia Conferencing feature set to Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, including applications such as voice, instant messaging, presence, and audio- and video-conferencing. Planned availability is also set for the fourth quarter of 2007.
The companies announced plans to extend their collaborative solution approach for a unified desktop, VoIP-based soft phone, e-mail, instant messaging and presence to the carrier-grade Nortel Communication Server 2100.
The announcements extend the companies’ alliance that was first announced in July 2006.
Our take: As we’ve said before, we think the enterprise customer will benefit from these multiparty collaborations between Microsoft and IP telephony suppliers like Nortel. And, as we mentioned in our 2007 predictions, this road map gives Microsoft a much greater capability to be a increasingly credible VoIP and IP telephony supplier in the coming years.
