Has Microsoft done enough with Wave 14 to be considered a serious voice player?

The short answer has to be yes.  OCS R2 while adding a whole bunch of new UC and client functionality missed a few key areas of PBX functionality that prevents most organisations from deploying OCS R2 as their only PBX.  R2 currently works well as an overlay to an existing PBX (although interoperability issues remain).   The overlay and integrate approach however should only be seen as a migration step and not a long term strategy.  Wave 14 allows consideration to be given to an MS only PBX estate.

What is missing in R2 and what is now in W14?

• Call Access Control and 999/911 support – Network guys are a conservative bunch and R2 has no control mechanism in place to prevent calls being made on the network or support legal requirements for emergency calls.  W14 introduces a server that will specifically handle CAC thus removing such an objection from the network guys.  The server will also support 999/911 support that also turns into a nice location application that not only lets W14 know your whereabouts for emergency calls it also lets all your team mates know your location via the OCS client.
• Remote Survivability – Another absolute must for businesses is the ability for voice to remain active if connectivity is lost to the data centre, R2 required a complex mix of mediation servers andconfiguration to meet this requirement which put off all but the hardiest of organisations.  W14 announced a number of vendors who will provide gateways that will include remote survivability into a combined gateway…now if only that functionality could be combined in a Cisco router or a combined router/gateway (watch this space HP?).
• Support for standalone and Analog phones – While it is fair to assume that plenty of voice traffic will move away from the traditional phone it is clear there will remain a considerable rump of standalone phones, W14 will support this requirement.

So W14 may not be right for every organisation but if you are considering a PBX replacement/refresh W14 should now be on your list as a credible player in the market.  At the very least W14 will be a good price deflator against the traditional PBX players.  There is also the fact W14 provides an extremely good UC solution but discussing UC versus PBX replacement is a whole different discussion/blog post.

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