Engineering Messenger for real relationships : Very impressive Windows Live Stats

Piero Sierra is the Group Program Manager for Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail and he shares some impressive WL Messenger statistics :

…The first thing that comes to mind when you think of Windows Live Messenger is usually instant messaging – bouncing short text messages back and forth. But there are tons of things we've built into Messenger to make that experience more meaningful, and closer to a real face-to-face interaction. My name is Piero Sierra, and I’m the Group Program Manager for Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail. Today I’m going to talk about how we've engineered Messenger to help people stay connected with each other in more meaningful ways.

Web-based social networks have had huge growth lately, and they're a great way to share and stay informed about what everyone that you know is up to. They let you reach out to large groups of people, including friends and family, but your social network usually also includes a broad group of acquaintances, co-workers, and people from your past that you may no longer be very close to. Messenger, on the other hand, is about the people that matter most to you – the ones you talk with frequently and share more personal moments with.

For several years now, this has been our North Star in building Messenger – helping people stay connected to their closest friends and express themselves in meaningful ways. I'd like to tell you a little more about how we're doing that. …

… Some key stats

Our goal is to allow you to have deeper, more meaningful conversations in Messenger. So how do we measure our success? One key metric we track is conversation length – having a longer conversation means you're generally going beyond lightweight exchanges of messages like “Are you coming?”

We also look at voice and video (our closest approximation to a true conversation), and how people interact with each other through photos. Some numbers:

• The average length of a Messenger session (a conversation) is 9-11 minutes
• About 59% of sessions are over 5 minutes, with about 10% over 20 minutes long
• 1.6 billion sessions per month are over 30 minutes long
• People use Messenger to exchange over 380 million photos a month —over 4.5 billion photos a year (this is in addition to the tens of billions of photos people also share each month via Windows Live SkyDrive and Hotmail)
• Messenger users have 230 million voice & video conversations per month
• Average voice session length is about 18.2 minutes
• Average video session length is about 13.3 minutes
• 9% of video calls and 13% of voice calls are longer than 1 hour
• Usage of international voice and video sessions differ geographically. Brazilians use voice & video only 13% of the time for international connections while users in other countries, such as Spain or Germany, use voice and video 50-75% of the time for long distance chats with friends and family.  …

Continue at Source : Engineering Messenger for real relationships

Vodafone to offer Microsoft online services (Reuters)

According to this newsitems, Vodafone has become a BPOS Partner

LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone network operator by revenue, is to offer Microsoft online services to small and medium-sized businesses through the computer, phone and browser, it said on Thursday.

The group said it would sell and manage Microsoft products such as e-mail, calendars, portals, instant messaging and web conferencing tools.

Vodafone said Microsoft Online Services are now available in the United States and would be available in other markets in the first half of 2009.

"The demands on our customers are changing dramatically in today's complex business and economic environment," said Tom Craig, Global Business Services Director of Vodafone Group.

"By combining Vodafone's fixed and mobile communication services with Microsoft Online Services we can provide all the elements of a fully hosted communications solution."

The two companies said they also intended to continue growing the partnership through future collaboration and development.

Source: Vodafone to offer Microsoft online services (Reuters)

Yammer goes from SaaS to Software + Services

Yammer also sees the benefits / needs of a Software + Services strategy. Some organisations prefer or maybe even require an onpremise solution …

Enterprise microblogging software service provider Yammer has announced a version of their software that can be run on a company's servers, inside the corporate firewall.

The Twitter-like service intended for the workplace has had great success with the hosted version of their software and is trying to take the next step in facilitating conversations in companies and workgroups. …

 

… Why Go Internal?

Why would Yammer release a self-hosted version? For many reasons, but primarily because many enterprises maintain IS security policies that all corporate communications are held on corporate servers. While using Yammer in a traditional manner, users store microblogging messages on Yammer's servers. Under this arrangement, potentially sensitive and confident information might seep out into just anyone's hands, causing unease in the information security fields  ….

Source: Yammer Goes Beyond SaaS, Offers Self-Hosted Version

Unified Communications Improves Business Outcomes, Lowers Costs, and Enhances Environmental Sustainability

Microsoft’s internal use of Unified Communications produces huge savings :

Microsoft IT used a business value framework developed by Forrester Research to more precisely measure the overall business impact and the return on investment of unified communications at Microsoft. The analysis showed that the UC solution was generating an ROI of 240 percent by enabling employees to save more than $212 million annually. The outcome and continued use of the analysis methodology justify further investments in UC technology.

Source: Unified Communications Improves Business Outcomes, Lowers Costs, and Enhances Environmental Sustainability

Wil jij oplossingen bouwen voor Office Communications Server 2007 R2 ?

Het nieuwe Office Communication Server R2 platform is uitgebracht. Naast de standaard functionaliteit die wederom is uitgebreid biedt deze release een enorm rijk platform voor ontwikkelaars.

In deze InTrack laten we je zien wat de verschillende mogelijkheden zijn. We gaan in op de vraag: Hoe bouw je presence in je Windows en Web applicaties en wat komt erbij kijken om je applicatie te kunnen bellen of laten bellen? Tevens word u in korte tijd langs de verschillende platform mogelijkheden geleid zodat u deze informatie snel zelf toe kunt passen in uw development trajecten.

Voor wie is deze sessie bedoeld

Deze sessie is vooral geschikt voor ontwikkelaars, testers en projectleiders.

Spreker

Matthijs Hoekstra, Microsoft

Producten

Office Communication Server 2007 R2

Direct inschrijven voor de sessie van 17 Februari 2009

Vol=vol! dus snel inschrijven wil je nog zeker zijn van een stoel!

Casestudy OCS 2007: Royal Dutch Shell Envisions Improved Working Environment with Unified Communications

A casestudy of Shell using Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 for the 150.000 employees :

Royal Dutch Shell currently relies on multiple vendors for communications and collaboration services. Since these capabilities are not integrated, they can inhibit the effectiveness of the company’s global teams.

To improve the work environment, Shell has chosen Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 to provide a single user interface for all real-time communications.

Shell currently has 150,000 users taking advantage of instant messaging and presence and more than 8,000 users for the voice capabilities. Shell is currently testing Office Communications Server 2007 R2, and when fully deployed, the solution will provide an integrated platform for voice, video, instant messaging, and Web conferencing for all users within Shell.

Shell will be able to consolidate approximately 200 PBX systems and multiple audio and video conferencing services into a single cost-effective solution.

•  RoyalDutchShell OCS2007R2.doc
•  ShellCaseStudy 700k.wmv

Source and whole case study: Microsoft.com

Microsoft uses software edge on Cisco in unified communications war

Very good article about Microsoft Unified communications and how a consistent strategy is paying off …

… Two years ago, Zeus Kerravala, a Yankee Group analyst, confidently recommended Cisco over Microsoft for most enterprise unified communications deployments. Today, the tables have turned somewhat, but the two competitors, and a host of bit players, continue to wage war over where unified communications is going, and who will take enterprises there.

"It's pretty safe to go with Microsoft now," Kerravala said. "The thought process was that VoIP is the foundation for unified communications, which meant Cisco was pretty safe. I think the conversation has changed."

Strangely enough, he said, the strategies of the companies have remained fairly consistent. Microsoft has long approached unified communications from an email and software-centric world, while Cisco has brought its PBX legacy to bear with a strong voice message.

But enterprises' definitions of unified communications and their expectations for the technology have changed. Two years ago voice was considered the cornerstone of any UC deployment, but that thinking -- at least in some circles -- has changed, Kerravala said.

"Presence is now the centerpiece of UC," he said. This pushes the advantage toward Microsoft and its rich ecosystem of software partners. …

Read on : SearchUnifedCommunications.techtarget.com

Twitter cleaning up the mess

As I am very curious, I always look into who’s inviting me at Twitter (“I can’t be this popular ?”)

Today I noticed a status on Twitter I’d not seen before :

Good to see the process has started on Twitter to remove the Spam tweeters …

Nemertes Presents Top Unified Communications Vendors with PilotHouse Awards

Microsoft winner over Cisco and IBM …

Four leading unified-communications vendors earned PilotHouse Awards from Nemertes Research, based on ratings from their customers.

“For now, the main UC battle is between Cisco and Microsoft, as measured by customer experiences and ratings,” says Robin Gareiss, executive vice president and senior founding partner of Nemertes Research. “But IBM and Avaya aren’t far behind, so the right focus on customer service, value, and technology innovation could easily shift this market in the coming year.”

As part of Nemertes’ Unified Communications and Collaboration research project, 443 IT executives from 426 companies rated their unified-communications vendors. PilotHouse Awards recognize vendors who received the highest average scores in several categories. UC decision-makers rated their vendors on customer service, value, technology, product features, and management tools.

Nemertes Research 2008 PilotHouse Awards: Unified Communications

Best Overall UC Vendors

• Microsoft Corp. - Winner
• Cisco Systems, Inc. - Finalist
• IBM - Finalist

The detailed report outlines additional categories that UC decision-makers rated their vendors. Although awards were not issued in each category, the report does detail which vendors perform best in each area, and why.

Source: Nemertes.com

Heliview event ' Van Web 2.0 naar Enterprise 2.0'

Gisteren heb ik een presentatie gegeven op het Heliview Event 'Van Web 2.0 naar Enterprise 2.0' .

Dit was de 2e keer in 6 maanden dat Heliview een event heeft georganiseerd over dit onderwerp. Er waren veel goede spreker, waaronder Ross Mayfield van SocialText en Andrew McAfee van Harvard Business School.

Wel leuk om tussen zo'n line-up van sprekers te staan :-)

Wat mij evenals de vorige keer enorm opviel is dat 70% van alles nog gaat over de definities, de verwachtingen, de mogelijkheden, wat analisten ervan vinden, etc. Bijna alsof Web 2.0 / Enterprise 2.0 een produkt is en men toch nog even wacht op versie 2.1.

Tijdens mijn presentatie zaten er ongeveer 70 mensen in de zaal en op mijn vraag "Wie is er al concreet bezig met de implementatie van een Web 2.0 oplossing ?" staken 4/5 mensen hun hand op. Naar mijn mening erg weinig en blijkbaar zijn nog zeer veel organsiaties zich aan het "orienteren" op de mogelijkheden in plaats van (op welke schaal dan ook) concreet dingen van de grond te krijgen.

Het doel dat ik met mijn presentatie had was een aantal van de veel gehoorde     "excuses" te adresseren en aan te geven dat je wel degelijk een start kunt maken. Ik hoop dat het in elk geval een aantal deelnemers heeft geinspireerd ..

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New Mac Messenger for OCS

The MS Exchange Blog (not the official Microsoft Exchange team blog) reports on the upcoming MAC Messenger for OCS currently in beta ...

... According to Eric Swift, Senior Director of the Office Communications Group at Microsoft, they are working on a new Messenger client for Mac with a beta coming later this year.

The new Mac Messenger (Office Communicator for Mac?) may not have feature-parity with its Windows-based counterpart, but it will have peer-to-peer video and audio conferencing, rich presence, GAL search and dual sign-on. Your Mac clients will be able to integrate with your Office Communications Server 2007 as well. ...

New Mac Messenger for OCS

Bouw platform Rijk naar Sogeti

Mooi en veel besproken project. Het is aan Sogeti gegund en de oplossing is gebaseerd op het Microsoft platform ...

... Sogeti Nederland gaat, met HP als onderaannemer, voor de rijksoverheid een nieuwe digitale samenwerkingsomgeving inrichten en beheren. Dat is de uitkomst van een door de ICTU/Rijksweb uitgeschreven Europese aanbesteding.  ...

... De nieuwe oplossing zal daar in eerste instantie instant messaging, een Rijks-adresgids (waar alle rijksmedewerkers in staan), een virtuele samenwerkruimte en aanwezigheidsignalering aan toevoegen. In een later stadium zullen videoconferencing, voice over IP, blogs en wiki’s worden toegevoegd. Verder is het de bedoeling dat ook het aantal gebruikers sterk toeneemt. Potentieel gaat het om ongeveer 120.000 werkplekken bij departementen en Hoge Colleges van Staat. 

In eerste instantie zal een en ander worden gerealiseerd op basis van Microsoft-oplossingen zoals Sharepoint en OCS. Maar Sogeti heeft ICTU/Rijksweb wel toegezegd de mogelijkheid open te houden van een componentgewijze overstap naar andere oplossingen, waarschijnlijk op basis van opensource. Voorlopig is ICTU echter tevreden met open standaarden, zoals ook Microsoft die belooft te gaan bieden. ....

Source: Automatisering Gids - Bouw platform Rijk naar Sogeti

Microsoft RoundTable stars in CSI:NY

Crimes will be solved faster now CSI New York has started using Microsoft RoundTable :-)

Kudos to Dennis ...

Conference Call @ Microsoft

I am not that good a dancer, so I'm glad I use Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 most of the time for my conferences. It's presence based, so less dancing time :-)

Dell betreedt VoIP-markt met partners

Verrassend ...

Dell begeeft zich op de Voice over IP-markt en neemt daarvoor Nortel en start-up Fonality in de arm. Samen met partner Nortel gaat Dell zich richten op het middensegment tot zo'n vijfhonderd medewerkers, waar de eisen complexer zijn en bedrijven vaker meerdere locaties hebben.

Source: Dell betreedt VoIP-markt met partners
redactie@channelworld.nl (Ferry Waterkamp)
Date Published: Thu, 24 Jan 2008

Computable test: Microsoft weinig gecharmeerd van VoIP-standaarden

Computable heeft Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 getest. Ik las de test afgelopen weekend, omdat ie toen pas in de geprinte versie op de mat viel. Deze tests zitten blijkbaar niet in de standaard RSS feed van Computable.

Ik vind dat de conclusies van de test erg aansturen op een generaliserend beeld van Microsoft en niet getuigen van een wat dieper onderzoek en een grondige test ...

... Microsoft verzorgt met Office Communications Server 2007 de realtime communicatie tussen personen in een bedrijf, of dat nu via IM (instant messaging) of telefonie is. Het is de bedoeling dat Office Communications Server 2007 het centrale communicatiepunt in bedrijven wordt.

De telefoon staat nog altijd op de eerste plaats als het gaat om snelle persoon-tot-persoon-communicatie in een bedrijf. Chatten (instant messaging of IM) echter is een goede tweede. Daarna komt e-mail, maar dat is geen realtime-communicatie. Voor dit laatste biedt Microsoft al zijn Exchange Server en hoewel daarin ook een IM-server vervat is, ontbreekt ondersteuning voor telefonie. Microsoft besloot alle realtime-communicatie onder te brengen in een apart serverproduct.

In essentie bestaat Office Communications Server 2007 (OCS2007) uit een VoIP-server die communiceert met VoIP-toestellen die Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) ondersteunen. Microsoft geeft je alvast een startpunt via Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, een softwarematige ip-telefoon met volwaardige ondersteuning voor UC.

Makers van ip-telefonieapparatuur kunnen samenwerken met OCS2007, maar dan moeten ze bepaalde aanpassingen plegen zodat hun apparatuur compatibel wordt met UC. Verschillende fabrikanten hebben dergelijke ondersteuning aangekondigd, maar alleen Nortel heeft die al uitgevoerd. ...

....

...Conclusie

Windows-centrisch ingerichte organisaties zullen vast in de wolken zijn met de functionaliteit die Office Communications Server 2007 biedt voor realtime-communicatie. Wij denken echter dat Nederlandse bedrijven niet bepaald staan te springen om OCS2007 te implementeren.

Niet alleen omdat de systeemvereisten fors en installatie en integratie ingewikkeld zijn. Er zijn ook nogal wat compatibiliteitsproblemen, voor zowel hardware als protocollen, met bestaande ip-telefoniesystemen. Tot slot zijn er nog de hoge implementatiekosten.

De Kern

• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 biedt allesomvattende realtime-communicatie (IM en VoIP).
• Helaas doet Microsoft weer eens aan "embrace and extend" van standaardprotocollen. ...

Source : Computable.nl

Ingewikkeld te implementeren ?

Michael Osterman van Osterman Research publiceerde afgelopen week het artikel : 'Office Communication Server 2007 deployment might be easier than you think' op NetworkWorld.com.

So just how easy is it to deploy OCS? Alex Lewis, a senior consultant focused on Microsoft technologies, decided to find out.

As discussed in a column earlier this month, Alex deployed OCS in an environment that emulated a small enterprise of fewer than 5,000 seats. Using two domain controllers, one Exchange 2007 server and a SharePoint server with PKI already deployed, he deployed a single OCS server.

The entire process, including the creation of certificates and their configuration, took just over two hours. Admittedly, Alex had a clean DNS infrastructure, but the entire deployment went more smoothly than he expected.

2 uur da's niet slecht. Natuurlijk is de implementatie in een produktieomgeving een ander verhaal, maar het plaatst "ingewikkeld" wel in een ander perspectief.

Nog een ander punt uit het artikel :

Er zijn ook nogal wat compatibiliteitsproblemen, voor zowel hardware als protocollen, met bestaande ip-telefoniesystemen ?

Een erg eenzijdige / voorbarige conclusie .. 'Microsoft houdt zich weer eens niet aan de standaarden'. Met name SIP (Session Initiation protocol) wordt aangehaald in het artikel :

... IP-telefoons communiceren via Microsofts eigen protocol met Communications Server.

Alle communicatiemiddelen en dus ook de ip-telefoons die je zou gebruiken met het systeem van Microsoft, moeten in staat zijn informatie met Communications Server uit te wisselen via Microsofts Unified Communications (UC). Helaas kun je dus geen gewone softphones of bestaande ip-telefoons (noch SIP, noch Skype) gebruiken met Communications Server. Het moet echt een speciaal aangepast toestel zijn (of software voor een softphone) dat UC ondersteunt. ...

De Computable testers zouden toch moeten weten dat Microsoft juist een van de drijvende krachten is achter SIP en dat het de SIP standaard zelf is die te wensen overlaat.

Hoe zit het met de SIP toestellen van Cisco, Nortel, Alcatel, zijn die allemaal onderling uitwisselbaar ?

Is dit een Microsoft  "probleem" of is dit een moment opname in een industrie die sterk in ontwikkeling is, onder andere doordat software leveranciers deze hebben opgebroken ?

Een recent artikel in Automatiseringgids geeft het huidige probleem nog maar eens aan :

Alle grote leveranciers van telefoniesystemen ondersteunen de SIP. Het resultaat is echter bedroevend. Hooguit werken de zestien basisfuncties van telefonie in een heterogene opstelling. Om gebruik te maken van de honderden functionaliteiten, waarmee de IP-bedrijfscentrales vaak worden aangeprezen, is het gebruik van de telefoons van de IP-PBX-leverancier een vereiste. Daarmee is de wereld van de bedrijfscentrale twintig jaar teruggeworpen

Uiteraard heeft Computable een punt dat uitwisselbaarheid noodzakelijk is en ik weet dat het komen tot een goede SIP standaard absoluut een focus van Microsoft is. Maar zoals ook het AG artikel bevestigd, is dit een industrie verantwoordelijkheid. En die industrie is er nog niet helemaal uit zo te zien ...

Computable besteed in de test ook niet of nauwelijks aandacht aan de grote hoeveelheid partnerships die Microsoft inmiddels heeft rondom het UC platform. Gartner Group definieert dit alsvolgt :

Enterprises looking into UC, particularly those with Microsoft applications already in place, should understand the Microsoft portfolio because it represents a new paradigm for communication by a market leader. Microsoft’s solution is comprehensive but is also the basis for a range of partner offerings.

Mobile IM Adoption Forecast Europe: 2007 To 2013

Interesting statistic. 2013 is a long long time in the future I personally expect the mobile (what is the definition of mobile ?) share of IM to be either bigger than 24% or replaced by a new means of communication all together ...

European mobile operators are launching mobile IM services, with mixed results among the different operators. But by the end of 2013, as many as 24% of mobile consumers will be using mobile IM services. To achieve that number, mobile operators have to get over their fear of brand erosion and SMS revenue cannibalization. Product managers will need to work on device usability, enable SMS interoperability, provide flat-fee IM packages, and market IM services by using Social Computing energy. In the long run, IM and presence services will integrate better with handsets' native applications and other services.

Source: Mobile IM Adoption Forecast Europe: 2007 To 2013
"Niek van Veen"
Date Published: Fri, 18 Jan 2008

A New Wave of Unified Communications Software from Microsoft

Analysis by Sandra M. Gustavsen, Analyst, Access Intelligence LLC :

... Microsoft aims to put “people at the center” with its unified communications and Voice over IP (VoIP) software that promises to revolutionize the way people communicate. Touted as a milestone for Microsoft and for the entire communications industry, the Microsoft offerings announced in October 2007 further the transformation toward software-based communications from a traditional PBX telephony model. Microsoft identifies some major trends that are enabling this transformation, including hardware performance improvements, advances in technology and the global and mobile nature of today’s businesses.

In addition, Microsoft sees a business model shift from a single vendor for all communications needs (vertical model) to a more horizontal model that combines hardware, software and technology which, though from differing vendors, all works together. ...

... To date, Microsoft has  partnered with 50 companies that will roll out new products and services based on Microsoft’s platform, including systems integrators, telephony providers, independent software vendors and device manufacturers. With Microsoft now competing in the VoIP market, leading business communications manufacturers are reinforcing their plans to interoperate with Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 to enable new unified communications capabilities.

.... Following the February 2007 beta release of the OCS 2007 specification, most leading vendors in the VoIP system market, including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, Ericsson, Mitel, NEC, Nortel and Siemens, announced plans to make their equipment compatible with OCS 2007. The Microsoft software solutions can be utilized along with existing PBX infrastructures so that businesses need not discard expensive equipment in the near term, but migrate slowly toward an all software-based communications solution which is likely just a matter of time. See related snapshots below on how Mitel, NEC and Nortel  are partnering with Microsoft for new solutions going forward. ...

Wow, 50 partnerships and counting, this sure puts the announcements of UC competitors into perspective doesn't it ?

Read the whole article for lot's more details : TMCnet.com

2007 Analyst Reports on or including Microsoft Products and solutions

The Microsoft Analyst Relations page features lot's of reports for which Microsoft has obtained the reprint or distribution rights. I have made a selection of the 2007 reports on topics that mean something in 'my world' :

Below is a collection of reports published by leading independent analyst firms on, or including, Microsoft. Microsoft has secured all copyright and publishing privileges with the firms to include the reports on this site for all audiences. All reports were researched and funded by the analyst firms themselves.

(some links may expire over time)

Enterprise Search

• Microsoft: The Latest Disruptor in Enterprise Search (Forrester Research, Nov. 6, 2007, .pdf, 104K) This Forrester report examines Microsoft’s expanded enterprise search offerings. Analyst Ken Poore writes “Microsoft Search Server 2008 raises the bar and frees up search. This week, Microsoft made its latest move into the enterprise search platforms market with two strategic products: Microsoft Search Server Express 2008 and Microsoft Search Server 2008. These products deliver a solid set of features that reset the feature/price/ease-of-use equation for entry-level and midtier enterprise search.”
  
• Microsoft Drives a Wedge Between High and Low-End Enterprise Search (Forrester Research, Sept. 28, 2007, .pdf, 121 kb) This Forrester report examines Microsoft’s position into the enterprise search market. Analyst Matthew Brown writes “Microsoft offers significantly improved search capabilities in MOSS 2007 and its standalone search product, MOSS 2007 for Search. And Microsoft isn't just throwing products into the market. Instead, it has mobilized the entire organization behind search, including extensive marketing and events, partner training programs, and specific global sales goals.”
  
• Magic Quadrant for Information Access Technology, 2007 (Gartner, September 5, 2007): This Gartner Magic Quadrant by Whit Andrews evaluates leading vendors in the Information Access market which extends beyond enterprise search to encompass a collection of information access technologies. Gartner positions Microsoft in the Challengers quadrant. According to Gartner, “Challengers possess sufficient resources to effectively penetrate the information access technology market.”
  
• How Secure Should Your Search Be? (Forrester Research, Inc., April 12, 2007, .pdf, 128 kb) This Forrester report examines enterprise search security as a complex issue that requires careful weighing of requirements to achieve “winning search strategies that will balance costs with advanced functionality.” For example, organizations should consider whether search will span more than one secure repository and if the answer is ‘yes’, analyst Matt Brown writes companies should evaluate “higher-end products including those from infrastructure providers such as Microsoft.”

Messaging and Workflow

• Messaging, Workflow Roadmap Announced (Directions on Microsoft, Oct. 30, 2007, .pdf, 377 kb) “Oslo supports principles – service-oriented architecture and composite applications – that Microsoft believes will drive future business application development.”

 

SaaS / Enterprise 2.0 / Consumerisation

• Evaluating IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP Web and Consumerization Strategies (Gartner Research, Oct. 3, 2007) This vendor evaluation looks at Consumerization and the Web as two related and highly impactful issues facing users and vendors today. Analysts David Mitchell Smith and Charles Abrams state that “one major force behind the consumerization of IT is the Internet and enterprises' adoption of Internet technologies.”
  
• Rich Internet Apps Move Beyond The Browser (Forrester Research, June 27, 2007) This Forrester report examines the adoption of rich internet applications (RIAs). The independent report finds that while early RIAs were exclusively browser-based, new platforms from Microsoft [and other vendors] broaden developer options for delivering rich media and content to clients. Forrester writes that “Microsoft has a tactical edge because its dominant position at the desktop with the .NET Framework will attract large numbers of developers who already target Microsoft’s desktop and browser platforms.”

Enterprise Content Management

• Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management, 2007 (Gartner, September 21, 2007): This Gartner Magic Quadrant by Karen Shegda evaluates leading vendors in the Enterprise Content Management market which includes web content management, records management, document imaging, document management, workflow and document-centric collaboration. Gartner positions Microsoft in the Visionaries quadrant.

Unified Communications

• Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications, 2007 (Gartner, August 20, 2007): This Gartner Magic Quadrant by Bern Elliot evaluates leading vendors in the unified communications market. Gartner positions Microsoft in the Leaders quadrant. According to Gartner, “The Leaders quadrant contains vendors selling comprehensive and integrated UC solutions that directly, or with well-defined partnerships, address the full range of market needs.”
• Microsoft Communicator Overhangs the Enterprise Communications Market (Gartner, Inc., May 1, 2007) In this Gartner report, analyst Geoff Johnson discusses Microsoft’s upcoming launch of Office Communications Server 2007. He states that “reliable integration of communications into enterprise platforms is a necessary precursor to the eventual development of communications-enabled business processes.”

Office 2007

• A Look at Improvements and Shortcoming in Microsoft Office 2007 Desktop Applications (Forrester Research, July 17, 2007, .pdf, 464 kb) This report, the second in Forrester’s “Innovation on the Desktop” series, states that “the breadth of Microsoft Office 2007 and its change of focus from desktop apps to a full system targeted at information workers warrants careful consideration by (Information and Knowledge Management Professionals.)” Analyst Kyle McNabb writes that “office productivity will evolve, taking advantage of more thin client and SaaS approaches, but we’ve not seen the end of the thick client.”

Project and Portfolio Management

• Magic Quadrant for IT Project and Portfolio Management, 2007 (Gartner, June 15, 2007, .pdf, 213 kb): This Gartner Magic Quadrant by Matt Light and Daniel Stang evaluates leading technology solution vendors in the IT Project and Portfolio Management space. Gartner positions Microsoft in the Leaders quadrant. According to Gartner, Leaders “distinguish themselves with relatively high ratings in many characteristics, not just a few” and “also tend to have, not just capable system integration partners, but some core, direct PPM service offerings, going beyond implementation and support to include process-change consulting.”

Customer Relationship Management

• Microsoft Leads in Record-Centric Customer Service Management Software: The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q2 2007 (Forrester Research, May 24, 2007, .pdf, 199 kb) “Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which delivers sufficient customer service capabilitie at a low cost, has emerged as a leader among customer record-centric products. Although not as functionally rich in core customer service capabilities, Microsoft compensates through its architecture, integration, usability, and business strategy. The product shines in its ability to support agents through phone agent, blended agent, and agent collaboration tools — all of which sit on top of a solid workflow engine. In the future, look for Microsoft to exploit its Customer Care Framework, a modular XML Web Services architecture for rapid development and deployment of contact center solutions.”
  
• Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers, (Gartner, March 6, 2007): This Gartner Magic Quadrant by Michael Maoz evaluates leading CRM vendors in the customer service contact centers space and positions Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the Visionary quadrant. According to Gartner, Visionaries are ahead of potential competitors in delivery of innovative products and/or delivery models.
  
• The Forrester Wave™: Midmarket CRM Suites, Q1 2007 (Forrester, February 21, 2007, .pdf , 513 kb): “The Microsoft brand gives Dynamics CRM major momentum. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is one of the newer products included in our evaluation, but the vendor has made impressive progress building out its solution, which emerged as a Leader for the first time in a Forrester Wave.”
  
• The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise CRM Suites, Q1 2007 (Forrester Research, Feb. 5, 2007, .pdf, 488 kb) Microsoft Dynamics CRM was rated a Strong Performer in this Forrester Wave. Forrester applied two sets of criteria weightings to this analysis, one appropriate for large enterprise wide deployments and another focused on midmarket priorities - the two sets of criteria were then used to evaluate and position the solutions.

Office Communications Server 2007 Document: Enterprise Voice Planning and Deployment Guide

More OCS 2007 goodness. I'm using the OCS voice fucntionality for quite some time and it is very impressive ...

This document provides information to help you plan and deploy Enterprise Voice in your Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 infrastructure.

Source: Office Communications Server 2007 Document: Enterprise Voice Planning and Deployment Guide
Date Published: Fri, 14 Dec 2007

Microsoft RoundTable: An IMAX Movie Experience After Listening To FM Radio In Your Car

Erica Driver of Forrester about her experience with Microsoft Roundtable. There's nothing better than positive user experience ... CHeck hr full post for the details ...

...

This week I had a 2 ½ hour conference call with one of our clients. Normally I wouldn't blab to the world who we work with. But I think it's necessary here in the spirit of full disclosure — I'm about to rave about a first-time experience I had during a meeting with Microsoft using a Microsoft product called RoundTable.

A couple of my Forrester colleagues and 6 or 7 people from Microsoft were in a conference room in Redmond, Washington and I was in my home office in Rhode Island. ...

Now, is it just me or is it really, really hard to consistently pay attention during a long, multi-party phone conversations? I blogged about this in a post a few days ago. Here's where the beauty of RoundTable comes in:

• I could concentrate — I was fully engaged.
  
  ...
  
• I felt connected to the others even though we weren’t together in the same room.
  
  ...
• Non-verbal communication was resurrected.

...

This session was my a-ha moment about the power of video to transform virtual meetings. It's time for me to get a Web cam.

Source: Microsoft RoundTable: An IMAX Movie Experience After Listening To FM Radio In Your Car
Erica Driver
Date Published: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:59:23 GMT

Forrester: The State Of Enterprise VoIP And Unified Communications Adoption In Europe: 2007

Yet another proofpoint of the UC momentum in Europe :

... Enterprise implementation of voice over IP (VoIP) in Europe is firmly entering the mass adoption phase. Most enterprises (76%) are going down the IP PBX route — either installing the equipment on their own premises or contracting a managed service from a hosting center.

Enterprise interest in hosted VoIP is also increasing, although from a very small base, and the growth of IP contact centers appears to have stalled. Unified communications (UC) are firmly on the agenda — 35% of firms say UC is a priority, and 18% have implemented some element of UC. However, very few firms today have enterprisewide strategies for UC; the obstacles that they face include cost justification, internal organizational issues, and the need to deal with multiple vendors in a complex and constantly changing market. However, enterprise sourcing professionals need to grasp the nettle and develop a sourcing strategy for UC, as there is growing evidence that a successful UC deployment can improve a firm's competitive position and its bottom line. ...

Source: The State Of Enterprise VoIP And Unified Communications Adoption In Europe: 2007
"Phil Sayer"
Date Published: Thu, 06 Dec 2007

Lifehackingacademy : Het nieuwe werken

Volgende week verzorg ik een 'unconference' over het nieuwe werken op de lifehackingacademy dag in Arnhem :

De manier waarop we werken verandert. Wereldwijde trends zorgen er voor dat bedrijven anders moeten werken. Ze hebben te maken met wetten en regels, moeten concurreren met buitenlandse en soms wereldwijd opererende partijen. Wij zijn langer onderweg naar ons werk of afspraken, woon/werk-verkeer tijdens de spits is nagenoeg onmogelijk geworden. Een nieuwe generatie werknemer dient zich aan, de "digitale autochtoon"; jongeren die zijn opgegroeid met computers, mobiele telefoons, het internet en MSN. Deze nieuwe medewerkers kijken anders aan tegen werk, een werkgever en bereiken hun doelen op een veelal andere manier.

Hoe bereid je je als bedrijf voor op het nieuwe werken? Het heeft invloed op bijvoorbeeld de manier waarop je doelstellingen afspreekt en hoe medewerkers worden aangestuurd. Hoe zou de werkomgeving ingericht moeten worden en hoe creëer je de mogelijkheid om medewerkers die niet altijd fysiek in het zelfde gebouw werken elkaar toch kunnen vinden en optimaal kunnen samenwerken?

Technologie speelt ook een belangrijke rol in dit proces. Hard- en software-oplossingen maken het mogelijk altijd en overal te werken, op afstand te vergaderen en ons netwerk van collega's, vrienden en kennissen op een eenvoudige manier te onderhouden.

Hoe kun je als werknemer je voordeel hieruit halen? Hoe is het om op een andere manier met werk en privé om te gaan en te werken waar en wanneer dat het beste uitkomt? Kun je die handige tips die je oppikt tijdens Lifehacking Academy ook in je werk toepassen? Had je die faciliteiten die je thuis hebt, zoals een snelle PC met up to date software en diensten, een snelle internetverbinding, etc., ook maar op je werk... Hoe eenvoudig is het eigenlijk om de dingen die je voordelen opleveren in je privéleven, zoals het onderhouden van je sociale netwerk (Hyves, MSN Spaces, My Space), toe te passen in je werk?

Microsoft's Persistent Group Chat Now Available as a Hosted Option

A hosted Solution for Microsoft's Persistent Group Chat ... Through Carl Tylers blog  :

mindSHIFT Technologies is now offering Microsoft's Persistent Group Chat (Parlano) as a hosted option.  I imagine we'll see a few more announcements like this as the OCS partners come to grips with the Mindalign technologies.

Source: Microsoft's Persistent Group Chat Now Available as a Hosted Option
Author: Carl Tyler
Date Published: Wed, 05 Dec 2007

Mike Gotta: Microsoft Introduces Unified Communications Tools for Developers

Mike Gotta of Burton Group gives his view on the recently announced Unified Communications Tools for Developers.

As you may know the 'partner eco system' (ISV's Developers, SI's, Telephony vendors, etc) is vital in Microsoft's approach. These tool will speed up the process of integration, optimisation and development of new functionality ...

.... How credible is Microsoft's position in the unified communications space?

Very credible but it has different areas of competency that are at different levels of maturity. Microsoft’s core strengths are in the real-time collaboration re: IM, presence, web conferencing. They are rapidly moving into the area traditionally dominated by communication vendors – VoIP/IP Telephony, audio/video conferencing. But right now, I believe most organizations are going to deploy OCS and “get stable” around the real-time collaboration capabilities, then move to VoIP and integration with existing communication vendors as driven by business requirements. I don’t see anyone ripping out their existing IP-PBX infrastructure in the short run. I do expect more rapid adoption of Round Table however given its price point, form factor and integration with Live Meeting. But make no mistake, Microsoft is in the UC game for the long run and fully intends to dominate it from a platform perspective - that includes mobile and speech as a standard application interaction model.

Who is the typical "developer" they're targeting for this stuff?

Different segments – Microsoft wants to make it easy for the average developer to UC-enable productivity applications, deliver deeper, more complex UC-centric systems and extend the modality of applications with speech interfaces – so I really think it is across the board – from the historical “VB”-like developer to the IT Pro who might be developing at a core infrastructure level. ...

Source: Microsoft Introduces Unified Communications Tools for Developers
Author: Mike Gotta
Date Published: Fri, 30 Nov 2007

Gouden Gids duikt op in Live Messenger

Leuk, weer een nieuwe bot ... Goudengids in Windows Live Messenger

En mooie plattegronden van Microsoft Virtual Earth :

Truvo, het bedrijf achter de Gouden Gids en de Nationale Telefoongids, lanceert een chatbot in Live Messenger. Hiermee kunt u in het populaire programma meteen zoeken naar bedrijven en personen.

De chatbot is te installeren via : http://www.mier3000.nl/

Source: Gouden Gids duikt op in Live Messenger
Author: redactie@zdnet.be
Date Published: Wed, 14 Nov 2007

Forrester: Microsoft Is A Leader In Enterprise Instant Messaging

Next to Gartner Group (focussing on Unified Communications rather than 'just" Enterprise IM), Forrester Research recognises Microsoft as a leader in the field of Enterprise IM :

In the fall of 2007, Microsoft released Office Communication Server (OCS) as a major upgrade to its existing Live Communication Server offering. New to OCS are on-premise Web conferencing, videoconferencing, improved presence capabilities, and a host of partnerships to extend the value of the underlying platform. With excellent integration into Office 2007 and SharePoint and a strong unified communications strategy, the value of OCS extends well beyond basic chat.

Source: Microsoft Is A Leader In Enterprise Instant Messaging
Author: "Rob Koplowitz"
Date Published: Tue, 30 Oct 2007

InfoWorld: IBM taps Alcatel for unified communications strategy

... Deal brings together Alcatel-Lucent's OmniTouch Unified Communication software and IBM's Lotus Sametime to take on Microsoft's Office Communications Server package

IBM and networking provider Alcatel-Lucent are teaming up to take Microsoft head-on in the unified communications market. ...

IBM and Alcatel against Microsoft ... but doesn't that also mean against Cisco and Avaya and other IP PBX vendors ? 

Microsoft by the way announced partnerships and support for Office Communications Server 2007 by a list of IP PBX vensdors back in May of this year.

Yes its a difficult and very fast converging market and also IBM can not be friends with everybody can they ?

... IBM is positioning itself as an open-standards alternative to unified communications offerings from Microsoft, which made a big splash earlier this month in San Francisco when it launched Office Communications Server, the linchpin of its unified communications strategy. Microsoft also has cozied up to telecommunications companies, as well as networking and wireless handset providers to push its products in this market. ....

... Other companies that have built unified communications plug-ins for Sametime include Cisco and Avaya, which have both built click-to-call features for Sametime, and Polycom and Radvision, which also offer audio- and videoconferencing add-ons to Sametime.

Microsoft also has tapped some of these same companies to support its Office Communications Server. However, Saeedi said that Microsoft also has built audio and video features into its platform that compete with offerings from its partners. Taking a different tack, IBM wants partners to add value to Sametime and does not plan to build features that compete with plug-ins they provide, she said. ...

More open ?, not competing only complementing ? I doubt it. Look at what IP PBX vendors such as Cisco are doing. They buy software / services companies. Where is the fruit of the IBM SameTime / Cisco partnership ?

Thinking of IBM's strategy / approach with regards to SameTime and the UC market this picture popped in my mind (I couldn't find a picuture of a blue labrador):

HP's Unified Communications Journey, A real customers experience

CAsestudy about the UC implementation at Hewlett Packard :

... HP began deploying Exchange 2007 and Office Communications Server 2007 in live internal and customer environments long before these products came to market. In this session you will hear about the trials, tribulations and ultimate success of implementing a consolidated Exchange 2007 environment across multiple geographies, complete with Unified Messaging and then Office Communications Server 2007 integrated with Cisco Call Manager.

 
Understand the business objectives and requirements that lead to this implementation including the unexpected benefits as highlighted in the case study. Learn from our mistakes, understand the real value, and pre-requisites for full functionality and ultimately streamline your own deployment! ...

Source: Unified Communications Journey, A real customers experience
Author: Date Published: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:54:25 GMT

The Total Economic Impact (TEI) of Microsoft Unified Communications Products & Services

A Forrester Research report (commisioned by Microsoft) on the benefits of the Microsoft UC platform

... In July 2007, Microsoft Corporation commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine the Total Economic Impact (TEI) and potential return on investment (ROI) that enterprises may realize by deploying UC products and services (UC products). To understand the financial impact of Microsoft’s UC products, Forrester conducted in-depth interviews with 15 Microsoft customers and compiled their results into a composite case study of a 4,000-person digital marketing services company. 

In conducting these in-depth interviews with Microsoft UC products customers, Forrester found that organizations can achieve significant productivity improvements and cost savings by deploying Microsoft UC products.  ...

Source: The TEI of Microsoft Unified Communications Products & Services
Date Published: Thu, 25 Oct 2007

OCS 2007 deployment guides

With the introduction of OCS 2007 lot's of documentation becomes available. Below you find the deployment guides for the Standard and Enterprise Edition of OCS 2007 :

• Office Communications Server 2007 Document: Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide 
  This document describes the process of deploying Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition.
  
• Office Communications Server 2007 Document: Standard Edition Deployment Guide
  This document describes how to deploy Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 Standard Edition.

UC End User Experience

Very good presentation to help you understand the value of Unfied Communications even better ...

Learn how to communicate within applications.

Source: UC End User Experience
Date Published: Tue, 09 Oct 2007

Uitnodiging TechNet Masterclass: Office Communications Server 2007

Geachte heer, mevrouw,

Graag nodigen wij u uit voor de TechNet Masterclass - “Office Communications Server 2007” op 30, 31 oktober & 1 november 2007 en 20 t/m 22 november. Deze driedaagse sessies wordt gehouden bij Microsoft te Schiphol-Rijk.
Communicatie is bedrijfskritisch geworden, maar hoe gaan gebruikers en IT-afdelingen om met alle communicatiemiddelen? E-mail, videoconferencing, instant messaging - het moet en kan allemaal nog veel beter.

Er is een verschuiving opgetreden in de manier waarop we werken. Organisaties zijn steeds projectmatiger ingericht en staan veel meer in contact met anderen: klanten, partners, leveranciers. Er moet snel worden gecommuniceerd en samengewerkt, in een meer virtuele omgeving, dus onafhankelijk van de fysieke locatie. De snelheid waarmee klanten worden bediend, is enorm toegenomen. Dit vraagt het nodige van de eigen medewerkers; zij moetenl beter bereikbaar zijn en sneller op de hoogte zijn dan vroeger het geval was.

Met Office Communications Server 2007 biedt Microsoft een krachtig serverplatform dat in staat is om Instant Messaging en Presence-informatie te combineren met On Premise Audio en Video Conferencing en Enterprise Voice en VoIP-oplossingen. In combinatie met hardware devices als de Office Communicator Phone Edition en de Roundtable wordt op die manier een integrale oplossing geboden.

In de OCS 2007 Masterclass bieden we u de mogelijkheid om in drie dagen diepgaande kennis en hands-on ervaring op te doen op het gebied van OCS 2007 en OCS clients.

» Meer informatie

Integrating Telephony with Office Communications Server 2007

Lot´s of downloads today on the UC front ... This whitepaper is a must read if you or your organisation is serious about UC ...

Clearly unified communications means, above all else, the integration of telephony with other important forms of communication to provide streamlined communications for business users. Therefore, telephony integration is a critical component of Microsoft’s unified communications strategy.

Source: Integrating Telephony with Office Communications Server 2007
Author: Date originally published: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:26:15 GMT

Office Communicator Mobile 2007

What I think is a great asset at Microsoft, is the fact that when new Server Products in the Information Worker space are released, mobility is an integral part of the solution. It is there for Microsoft Exchange 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and ofcourse also for Office Communications Server 2007 ...

Meet Office Communicator Mobile 2007 :

• Office Communicator Mobile (2007 Release)
  Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile is a unified communications client for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. Communicator Mobile runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.0 software for Pocket PC and smartphone devices.
  
• Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) Frequently Asked Questions
  The Communicator Mobile Frequently Asked Questions document provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about Communicator Mobile (2007 release).
  
• Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) Planning and Deployment Guide
  The Communicator Mobile Planning and Deployment Guide describes server and client requirements and procedures for installing Communicator Mobile.
  
• Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) Quick Reference Card - Installation and Configuration
  The Communicator Mobile Quick Reference Card for Installation and Configuration describes the minimum tools and procedures required to install and configure Communicator Mobile (2007 release).
  
• Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) Quick Reference Card - Instant Messaging (IM) and Presence
  The Communicator Mobile Quick Reference Card for Instant Messaging (IM) and Presence describes the most commonly used Communicator Mobile (2007 release) features.
  
• Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) Release Notes
  The Communicator Mobile release notes document describes known issues about Communicator Mobile (2007 release) and suggested resolutions.
  
• Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) Troubleshooting Guide
  The Communicator Mobile Troubleshooting Guide describes the resolutions to issues that some users of Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile encounter under particular circumstances.
  
• Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) User's Guide
  The Communicator Mobile User's Guide describes how to use Communicator Mobile (2007 release) features.

Office Communicator 2007: Enhanced Presence Model White Paper

 

This download includes the Communicator 2007 Enhanced Presence Model White Paper

Source: Office Communicator 2007: Enhanced Presence Model White Paper
Author: Date originally published: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:34:45 GMT

Microsoft Office Live Meeting Events Quick Reference Card

 

This quick reference card provides the basic steps for creating and scheduling an event using Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

Source: Microsoft Office Live Meeting Events Quick Reference Card
Author: Date originally published: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:17:29 GMT

Bart: Reverse Demo-ing

Mijn collega Bart, de bedenker van "Reverse Demo-ing" powered by Office Communications Server 2007 :-)

Vandaag zit ik in Kopenhagen in ons lokale kantoor, maar ik moest in het auditorium in Nederland een demo doe over SharePoint… probleempje dus…

Gelukkig hebben we de mogelijkheid om een Live meeting te starten met OCS, dus toen mijn presentatie aan de beurt was heeft Bram mij een invite verzonden en heb ik middels desktopshare mijn presentatie en demo gedaan. Erg leuk, maar vooral erg handig om snel de mogelijkheid te hebben om ergens iets te presenteren. Het leuke was dat ik in een kamer zat waar een "Microsoft Denmark" bord aan de muur hing en dat was achter mij zichtbaar via de webcam. Gaf een beetje "here are the results from the Danisch jury" gevoel.

Ga ik zeker vaker doen
Bart

Source: Dit moet ik vaker doen!
Author: Bart Wessels
Date originally published: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:52:00 GMT

AG: Skype drukt zwaar op eBay

Er was toch zoiets als "core business"? Natuurlijk is er een relatie tussen veilingen en VOIP en zijn er veel handige toepassingen te bedenken, maar het blijkt wel een spagaat tot nu toe. Er gaat ook nog wel meer geld "verbrand" worden als ze Skype in sync willen houden met de andere aanbieders op het VOIP vlak ....

Veilinghuis eBay neemt een last van ruim 1,4 miljard dollar in verband met zijn telefoniedochter Skype. Tegelijk treedt Niklas Zennstrom, mede-oprichter van Skype, als af algemeen directeur.

Source: Skype drukt zwaar op eBay
Author: Automatisering Gids
Date originally published: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:12:00 GMT

Microsoft Web Conferencing Choices White Paper

 

This white paper reviews common business requirements for Web conferencing and describes how Microsoft is helping businesses meet these requirements with two enterprise-class Web conferencing solutions:

• Microsoft Office Live Meeting
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007

The white paper also provides information to help organizations determine how they can best use either one or both of these Microsoft Web conferencing solutions to meet their requirements.

Source: Microsoft Web Conferencing Choices White Paper
Date originally published: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:44:47 GMT

Unified Communications and Collaboration:Pervasive Capabilities for Where and How People Work

 

This whitepaper describes the Unified Communications and Collaboration platform from Microsoft and how Microsoft's approach to unified communications and collaboration delivers the capabilities for people to collaborate on-demand – anywhere, anytime.

 

Source: Unified Communications and Collaboration:Pervasive Capabilities for Where and How People Work
Date originally published: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:40:50 GMT

Office Communications Server 2007 Document: Enterprise Voice Planning and Deployment Guide

So many angles to OCS 2007 ... I can tell you that 1:1 and 1:many Communicator calls (VOIP without PBX) work awesome. I do almost all of my internal voice/video calls via VOIP.

This document provides information to help you plan and deploy Enterprise Voice in your Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 infrastructure.

Source: Office Communications Server 2007 Document: Enterprise Voice Planning and Deployment Guide
Date originally published: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 03:13:05 GMT

PGGM gebruikt Office Communicator 2007

 

PGGM, een Microsoft klant die innovatie als een belangrijk middel inzet in haar processen heeft al enige tijd een innovatie blog. Tot mijn schaamte kom ik daar nu pas achter, maar beter laat dan nooit.

Op dit blog kwam ik de ervaringen die PGGM als 'early adopter' heeft met Communicator tegen ...

... Afgelopen maart lanceerde Microsoft de opvolger van Live Communicator Server, Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 (public beta). En sinds 2 weken heeft PGGM deze software ook draaien en zit ik in het testteam. Mijn eerste ervaringen wil ik delen in deze post.  ...

... Een toegevoegde waarde zit ook in de simpelheid om een conference chat of call te organiseren. Het is een kwestie van contactpersonen uitnodigen en accepteren en een chat of call is opgezet. En gewoon via de microfoon en luidsprekers van de pc of laptop. Daar komt geen fysieke telefoon bij kijken.

Een optie die ook aangeboden wordt is het beluisteren via een normale telefoon van je voicemail, agenda en e-mail berichten. Daarbij kun je ook voice gestuurd signalen geven om bijvoorbeeld een afspraak een half uurtje te verschuiven wanneer je in de file staat (de genodigden krijgen ook automatisch een wijziging toegestuurd). De menusturing is nog in het Engels, maar een vriendelijke vrouwelijke stem leest de e-mail berichten in Nederlands voor. En dat doet ze best aardig. Aangezien ik uitgerust ben met een PDA en Windows Mobile zal ik waarschijnlijk van dit spraakgedeelte weinig gebruikmaken. Ook de voicemail berichten worden straks gemaild, dus die krijg ik per e-mail binnen. Waar ik wel gebruik van zal maken is de mogelijkheid om iemand te bellen vanuit de spraakbesturing. Scheelt weer moeilijk doen op mijn touchscreen PDA. [ik begrijp net dat dit onderdeel is van Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging: thanks Hans]

Op dit moment wordt de Communicator alleen nog getest door een beperkt aantal collega's binnen PGGM en staat de verbinding nog niet open naar buiten voor externe contacten. Ik hoop dat dit wel snel zal gebeuren.

Ik ben enthousiast over de mogelijkheden en het gebruiksgemak dat Communicator biedt en zal het ook zeker blijven gebruiken. Sterker nog, ik denk dat het gebruik alleen maar zal toenemen, vanwege de verschillende communicatiemogelijkheden. En ik ben ook blij dat de IT afdeling van PGGM het initiatief heeft genomen om een pilot te starten met het doel om het uiteindelijk onderdeel te laten zijn van de beschikbare communicatieset van PGGM. ...

Bron: PGGM Innovatie Blog

Handson experience with Microsoft RoundTable + Office Live Meeting 2007

Mike Gotta of Burton Group experienced LiveMeeting 2007 with Microsoft Roundtable and was clearly impressed.

We have a few Roundtable devices already internally at Microsoft Netherlands so are able to use them every now and then. As soon as they become available more mainstream they will become the standard. Also the interest of clients is there and orders are coming in.

The audio (VOIP) and video quality of LiveMeeting 2007 is awesome by the way.

Would be curious if and when competitive platforms will start supporting Microsoft Roundtable like Mike points out ...

... I have to say that as a presenter, I was impressed with the experience delivered by the combination of RoundTable and Live Meeting 2007. Feedback from other people participating in the session was equally positive. The audio quality from RoundTable was perceived to be better than the previous conferencing option used. The panoramic video display that RoundTable delivers within the Live Meeting console also received positive comments. The tracking capability of RoundTable was also very good - as people conversed or moved about, the RoundTable system tracked changes in speaker and their location. As I wandered back and forth in front of the room (for instance, to point out certain items on a slide), the system consistently found me in a flawless manner.  The IT folks told me that RoundTable installed without a problem and the integration with MOLM 2007 was seamless.

I expect RoundTable (with its price point) to have a significant impact on how people think about group conferencing (e.g., bridging co-located groups with remote groups). It would be nice to see RoundTable integrated with other web conferencing tools however - it's nice (and expected) to see the level of integration with Live Meeting 2007 but I would like to see interoperability with other tools as well (e.g., IBM Lotus Sametime or Adobe Connect or Cisco Latitude).  ...

Source: Microsoft RoundTable + Office Live Meeting 2007
Author: Mike Gotta
Date originally published: Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:24:31 GMT

Take A Tour Of Office Communicator 2007

Gary beat me to it (but he is in a different timezone:-) . An interactive flashdemo of Office Communicator 2007 ...

Source: Take A Tour Of Office Communicator 2007
Author: Gary Sweeting
Date originally published: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:21:50 GMT

Microsoft to buy Parlano

Parlano is a great complementary part to Microsoft's UC portfolio.

The acquisition of Parlano and the integration of its technology and expertise will advance Microsoft’s vision to use the power of software to deliver the most complete unified communications experience.

Parlano’s group chat technology will be integrated into Office Communications Server and the Office Communicator product offering.

Parlano has experienced significant success in meeting the rigorous cross group communication demands of leading financial services firms in investment banking and capital markets.

... Microsoft announced on Wednesday plans to acquire Parlano, a developer of group chat applications for large corporate customers. The software giant plans to add Chicago-based Parlano's MindAlign group chat functionality as a new feature to several of its products, such as Microsoft Office Communications Server, Microsoft Office Communicator and its instant messaging and VoIP software.

Parlano's technology allows employees, customers, partners and others to chime in on a particular topic via instant messaging, as well as search for past "conversations" on a particular type of topic from previous instant messaging discussions. Terms of the detail were not disclosed. Microsoft expects to close the acquisition during the fourth quarter. ...

Source : cNet News.com

Today e-office upgraded to OCS2007RTM!

Joachim Farla of e-Office , one of our business partners, reports that they have upgraded to the OCS 2007 RTM version. Great stuff Joachim ...

Milestone!

Today I upgraded the entire OCS environment from e-office to RTM. We also have installed Microsoft Communicator Web Access. In the next couple of days users are migrated from LCS2005SP1 to OCS2007. More information on how to migrate read my blog or contact me by e-mail

Unified Communications

Source: Today e-office upgraded to OCS2007RTM!
Author: Joachim Farla (MCSE2003)
Date originally published: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:17:38 GMT

FaceTime Communications: No. 1 in Enterprise IM (Management) for 4th Consecutive Year

FaceTime is one of the IM Management parties also working closely with Microsoft on the UC front ...

... For the fourth consecutive year, leading IT market research and advisory firm IDC has named FaceTime Communications the market share leader among instant messaging management vendors. The ranking is based on IDC's estimate of FaceTime's worldwide revenues for the IM market (not including Web security revenues), up 28 percent in 2006 from 2005.

FaceTime enables the safe and productive use of greynets including public and enterprise instant messaging applications such as Microsoft Live Communications Server and IBM Sametime, and other real-time communications applications. FaceTime solutions allow organizations to block in-bound malware threats, prevent information leakage and maintain corporate, e-discovery and regulatory compliance requirements while realizing the productivity and cost saving benefits of real-time communications.

“FaceTime’s continued performance and growth in the EIM management market reflects the company’s alignment with current EIM management market opportunities,” said Mark Levitt, program vice president for Collaborative Computing and the Enterprise Workplace for IDC.”

The IDC study is called “Worldwide Enterprise Instant Messaging Applications and Management Products 2006 Vendor Shares: IM and Presence Are Ready for Broader Collaboration” (IDC #208000, August 2007). In this study, IDC estimates that worldwide revenue generated by sales of enterprise instant messaging (EIM) applications and management products grew to $325 million in 2006..

Source: Soucewire.com

Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications, 2007

 

Gartner Group has published the 2007 Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications. Boy is this good news for Microsoft :-)

The report is not yet 'out in the open' so you need a Gartner subscription. I assume Microsoft will work with Gartner to get reprint rights to the report, so if and when it pops up, you will read it here.

Unified communications offer the ability to improve how individuals, groups and companies interact and perform tasks. Companies should review how the new generation of communication systems can improve their business operations and processes.

Source: Gartner.com

 

Update 3-9-2007: As promised : Here the full report

Presence Integration Between IM Applications and 2007 Microsoft Office System

 

This document describes how an instant messaging (IM) application is integrated with Microsoft Office 2007 to provide Presence, IM, as well as call and conferencing features.

Source: Presence Integration Between IM Applications and 2007 Microsoft Office System
Author: Date originally published: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:16:47 GMT