Microsoft Unified Messaging

For quite a long time now, Microsoft Unified Messaging has been providing a complete solution, including email, instant messaging, Live Meeting, VoIP. The next factor working in Microsoft's favor is Active Directory, which is the answer to the UM problem of having a single directory of users across all applications. In this article, we will describe what is unified messaging, voib pbx, types of unified messaging software and unified messaging solutions.

Basically, MS has all the individual applications working just fine for several years now, but as stand alone applications. Now, Microsoft is about to make them work together, synchronized, because of common directories, universal presence, and synchronization across devices.

The unified messaging applications from Microsoft connect to its Exchange Server. In that way, users of the system can check their email and view voice mail from Outlook. The text version of Exchange includes a feature called Microsoft Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging that makes it possible for users to have their emails read over the telephone. This product is expected to be available by the end of 2008.

The applications which are part of the Microsoft's Unified Communications set include: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, Microsoft Office RoundTable, Microsoft Office Communicator phone experience, PC peripheral devices.

The Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 enables VoIP call management; audio-, video- and webconferencing; and instant messaging communication within and across existing software applications, services and devices.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging delivers a single inbox experience containing e-mail, voice mail and faxing functionality, as well as new capabilities such as speech-based auto attendant allowing users to access their communications from any phone.

Microsoft Office Live Meeting is a conferencing service that supports e-learning, enhanced audio and video capabilities including VoIP.

Microsoft Office RoundTable provides a truly spectacular conferencing experience that extends the meeting environment across multiple locations. All the participants in the meeting get a panoramic view with a unique 360-degree camera of everyone in the conference room.

As you can see, Microsoft's vision of Unified Messaging brings together e-mail, instant messaging, telephony and Web conferencing. Several different products are expected to make their debuts in the next couple of years in order to achieve this. But the unified messaging industry is about to become a very busy field with a lot of competitors inclduing business phone makers and network-gear manufacturers. The number one spot is still up for grabs. At the 2007 Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, Microsoft showed some of the devices part of their unified communications platform and they came from nine different manufactures - including ASUSTek, NEC, Plantronics, and Samsung. The products include a variety of VoIP phones, headsets, monitors, and at least one laptop.

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