Microsoft preps Lync 2010 as unified communications juggernaut

You may not have noticed, but Microsoft is making a strong play for a lucrative piece of the unified communications (UC) pie with Microsoft Lync 2010, its next-generation Office Communications Server. Backed by an small army of hardware vendors rolling out assorted gear optimized for Lync, and with intriguing plans to moving its multicommunication offering to the cloud in 2011, Redmond may have a winning UC recipe -- and the potential to become a major player in the coveted low-cost VoIP and videoconferencing market.

The result, as Microsoft describes it, is a system that enables all forms of communications (aside from, say, smoke signals) from anywhere. Then again, what UC vendor doesn't make that promise?

Microsoft's advantage, beyond its already strong foothold in the enterprise, is its backing from plenty of vendors, among them HP, Polycom, and Logitech. Microsoft says its assorted partners have rolled out 70 products today optimized for Lync, including IP desk phones, headsets, PCs, and meeting room devices. ("Optimized for Lync," according to Microsoft, means plug-and-play installation and a seamless user experience.)

Contrast that to UC vendors who package their software and hardware in proprietary fashion, meaning they can charge an extra limb when you need to add a new phone or headset.

Adding to Microsoft's recipe for success, the company plans to bring Lync to the cloud in 2011 -- including VoIP -- as part of the company's broad Office 365 initiative. Doing so shatters yet another barrier some organizations face in implementing a broad UC system: deploying and maintaining servers.

This article, "Microsoft preps Lync 2010 as unified communications juggernaut," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog.