Comcast and Microsoft today announced a subscription service for small/mid-sized businesses for collaboration tools. The service offers e-mail, calendars and document-sharing to users of Comcast’s triple-play data services (Internet, phone, video). It is clearly another attempt to compete with Google apps but with an important difference — the companies offer users 24×7 support. That’s an attractive option for businesses who don’t want to rely on unsupported freeware for mission-critical collaboration. Pricing for the service was not announced.
Earlier this month, Comcast also announced that it would become the first U.S. commercial deployment of Microsoft T.V. Foundation Edition. The trial in Washington state will begin Nov. 15. and be offered to 1 million cable subscribers. Subscribers to this service gain advanced features for cable television. For instance, users can pause and rewind live television broadcasts, build a customized list of recordings by using the Comcast DVR’s repeat-recording capability and record high-definition television programming.
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