This is really a great move …
Microsoft today announced it is merging the Exchange and Real-Time Collaboration (RTC) groups to form the Unified Communications Group (UCG). With the mission-critical nature of e-mail and the rapidly increasing use of instant messaging, VoIP, audio/video/Web conferencing, customers are asking for an integrated communications experience that enables them to intuitively and seamlessly communicate across all modes of communication. The merger of the teams aligns Microsoft’s efforts internally and allows the company to more rapidly and effectively addresses these customer needs.
read the whole Q&A over on Microsoft.com
Innovative Communications Solutions from Microsoft is as big an oxymoron as Military Intelligence. The one thing that is really missing from the list of communication tools that are being brought together is any mention of Sharepoint and the type of communication that it handles. Leaving that out of the plans of the UCG would indicate how narrowly MS views communication.
Sean—
Sean
From my perspective the vision and execution of Microsoft in the area of (Unified) communications is quite comprehensive and I am not sure how up to speed you are on this. Ofcourse SharePoint, just as almost any other MS enterprise product is part of this strategy.
– Have you heard of presence (or awareness) integration ? This is just one of these components.
– Have you seen any of the announcements Microsoft did March last year on the area of RTC and how this relates to the overall colloboration strategy.
Have you compared the recent announcement of IBM around Sametime to those implemented by Microsoft more than a year ago ?
You can bet Microsoft is on top of (Unified) Communications in any form and is seen as a leader in this space ..;-)