Archive | Lync RSS feed for this section

Microsoft Lync RC available to download

by on September 13, 2010 in Lync, Microsoft

Microsoft have today made their latest version of OCS available to download as a Release Candidate.  Although I have not seen anything offical from Microsoft yet it seems that Lync will be the new product name for their OCS software.

If you download and install you have until Febuary 20th 2011 to evaluate Lync within a Lab environment.  Download here

Lync is Microsoft’s third generation of software to attack the Unified Communications market place and is being positioned by them as a fully featured PBX replacement, as well as providing the most comprehensive feature set available within a single product in the UC market today.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Does OCS have a new name?

by on September 9, 2010 in Lync, Microsoft

Rumours are swirling tonight that Microsoft are about to change the name of their OCS software when they release Wave14.  The blogoshpere is divided.  Tom Keating says no, Mary Jo Foley says yes, – the entire product will receive a new name.  Who is right….we shall see.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Microsoft “Communications Server 2010″ Docs

by on September 7, 2010 in Lync, Microsoft

Found via Tommy Clarke Microsoft have released several Technet documents related to “Communications Server 2010″.  Not sure if this is an error or an early release but for those not on any of the NDA protected TAP programmes the link contains some interesting information about MS’s upcoming version of OCS, especially new features and resiliency.

Technet documents here

Popularity: 1% [?]

Microsoft’s “CS14″ Lobby Function – save 5 minute on every call?

by on September 6, 2010 in Business Process, Lync, Microsoft, UC News

In a previous post about conference calls Dave Grady caught perfectly the frustrating experience that occurs everyday in every office in the modern world.  The curse of the first five minutes of a conference call.

Microsoft’s new Lobby feature in their upcoming “Communication Server 14″ release could be a solution to this curse. The “CS14″ team over at this blog post give a brief hint at the Lobby feature and “CS14″ UI.

Fundamentally the Lobby feature and the integrated Audio Conferencing feature should now negate the need to complete a constant roll call.  All those on the call will see who is on the call and the chair of the call doesn’t have to worry about unauthorised attendance.

Popularity: 2% [?]

BT Global Service extend SIP Trunking/OCS Support and commit to savings

by on September 2, 2010 in Lync, Microsoft, UC News

BT announced today they are extending their existing SIP trunking capability in the UK to the US, Holland, Belgium and Germany with Spain to follow.   They also extended their Onevoice product to support Microsoft’s OCS R2.  Press release here

BT today announced two further voice initiatives on its converged communications platform, BT Onevoice. To enable larger organisations to accelerate the adoption of communications applications to the desktop, BT is launching SIP trunking in a number of countries, delivering a clear migration path to unified communications. At the same time, BT has the global Microsoft qualification of BT Onevoice for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

BT Onevoice’s SIP trunking provides full connectivity between domestic country voice services and BT’s Onevoice global VPN to help customers reduce telephony costs and rapidly deploy converged applications. The service offers local numbering for both outgoing and incoming call traffic that can be delivered anywhere on a user’s network. Already available in the UK the services will be rolled out to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and the US in the coming months, with further regions, including Spain, to follow. In addition, by utilising SIP trunking, customers can reduce rental for access lines, reduce call costs, and improve collaboration for users, whether they be office based, on the move or based remotely.

BT also announced a commitment to deliver up to 25% reduction on voice communications for customers who already have a data network with BT, spend £700k on voice communications and then move their voice traffic to BT’s Onevoice product.  Devil of course will be in the detail.

Interesting to see another large incumbent telco start to broaden their UC offer to include support for products such as OCS and also start to offer guaranteed savings into the mix. While I fully expect the number of voice and video minutes to increase within an enterprise the per unit pricing will fall dramatically which creates real financial challenges for incumbents such as BT, AT%T, D-Telecom.

(please note I initially had guarantee savings and did not have the ‘up to’ 25% but having re-read I now notice BT are offering to commit up to 25% savings)

Popularity: 2% [?]

CUCM 6.1 and OCS R2 Direct SIP Document

by on August 31, 2010 in Cisco, Lync, Microsoft

A good resource if you are looking to configure a Cisco Call Manager 6.1 with OCS R2 for Direct SIP.

Goto technet document

Popularity: 1% [?]

Unified Communications enabling multi language IM Conversations

by on August 30, 2010 in Business Process, Lync, Microsoft, UC News

Fire up the UC use case folder.  Chris over at his blog has detailed a fantastic looking app that integrates Bing Translator with the Communication Server “14″ platform.  This allows IM conversations to be translated into 32 different languages.  For further details go take a look at Chris’ blog post.

This has got me thinking as to the potential use for this application.   I’m sure there are many more use cases but here are a few off the top of my head:

  • Multi language helpdesk/website support.  The UC platform already allows an organisation to embed IM into their website, enabling Bing Translation now allows an organisation to support customers in multiple languages without investing in costly translation services or multi language resource
  • Emergency translation services.  Although limited in number there are times when organisations/individuals need immediate contact to answer an emergency call and there is a lag if a translator is required.  A quick IM conversation could answer the call without having to search for the translator
  • Clearly within the multinational business environment the ability to seamlessly communicate across boundaries without everyone having to rely on a single language is a significant benefit and there will be many different use case generated by such organisations
  • And perhaps more exciting is for the SME market place.  Large organisations can devote resources to overcome language barriers (or simply dictate a primary language) but for the SME that is venturing into a foreign market for the first time language can be a significant challenge.  Such a solution could help a business overcome the challenge.

Unified Communications coupled with critical mass and an open platform deployed within an organisation can dramatically change how that organisation operates, this is just one small example of the countless possibilities that UC can deliver.

Popularity: 1% [?]

UC Use Case: Selling to A Government Agency

by on August 26, 2010 in Lync, Microsoft, UC News

Again not normally a big fan of these types of video, they tend not to pitch at the right level. But this one is quite good, of course there is the standard corporate look and feel but don’t let that distract you from the central message that deploying UC can enable significant and tangible benefits within your business/project. Take a look at the video but here are some points I would like to draw out. Both positive and negative.

Good messages:

  • Human Lag is the No1 reason why projects get delayed.  Unified Communications can significantly reduce that lag
  • Federation between councils and vendors helps further reduce lag
  • The Live Meeting saved $50 in audio conferencing costs
  • And saved carbon output by not having to travel three other members from around the country

Negative:

  • The video is misleading when it highlights how simple it is to set a live meeting up, especially when visiting another office.  The sales guy simply walked into the meeting and established the live meeting with the roundtable.  I’ve never seen this implemented so smoothly.  Also the desktop sharing and some of the video looked a little too swift in certain sections

There is no point having such great functionality when it is difficult to set up and can not always be relied upon during a vital sales pitch.  If UC vendors can work through the usability issues the benefits expressed in the video are certainly achievable.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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

by on April 6, 2010 in Lync, Microsoft

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.

Popularity: 1% [?]