I should point out that Microsoft's smartphones (Windows Mobile 5.0) has still been fairly slow to take off as compared to Treo and other smartphones, which are often used for business applications such as email access. Perhaps Microsoft should go read my recent perfect unified communications client article?Īlthough the Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 client CAN connect to an IP-PBX, it has to FIRST go through Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 as an intermediary. Stupid Microsoft does it again… When will they get it that with so many open-source solutions out there you can't get away with this proprietary stuff - proprietary solutions are so 1990s. Sure, Microsoft has partnered with public instant messaging networks such as AOL and Yahoo to offer IM connectivity, but what if I want to have my employees use my own SIP registrar server or SIP-based IP-PBX in combination with just the Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 client? Unfortunately, you can't. Although it does support SIP, it will not support all SIP based VoIP networks, but instead only connect to Microsoft's proprietary (and commercial) Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 platform. Unfortunately, it appears as though this solution is strictly targetting the enterprise and completely ignoring the consumer market. Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 uses Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) standards-based protocol to enable presence-based VoIP call management, as well as VoIP communication. Office Communicator 2007 will be available in desktop, browser-based and Windows Mobile-based versions.

This solution delivers a presence-based, enterprise VoIP “softphone” for secure, enterprise-grade instant messaging that allows for intercompany federation and connectivity to public instant messaging networks such as MSN, AOL and Yahoo! It also enables one-to-one and multiparty videoconferencing, audioconferencing, and webconferencing. I was close - Microsoft actually 'skipped a year' and released Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, a unified communications client that works in tandem with Office Communications Server 2007, which was also announced today. On May 30th 2006, I speculated that Windows Live Meeting 2006 was coming - the next version after Windows Live Meeting 2005.

Microsoft office communicator 2007