Windows IT Pros Speak Out on Bringing It All Together

The Microsoft unified communications platform can radically transform how enterprises work. Those that make the transition can use its integrated presence, whiteboards, video conferencing and chat. It can as well reduce telecommunications costs with cheaper end-user devices packed with more power and the potential to displace expensive proprietary private branch exchanges.

The economic

UC can transform the economic and communication fundamentals of today's enterprises, nevertheless it takes a bit of work to get there. Redmond magazine reached out to more than a dozen readers to find out whether the theory of UC works in practice.

The Big PictureUC entails a complex array of features, and can be done on a big or small basis. Currently, the ultimate Microsoft vision brings at the same time a bevy of software tools and offers an abundance of new features. Here's the scenario: A customer ponies up for Office 2010 with Outlook 2010, SharePoint 2010, Exchange Server, SQL Server and Office Communications Server -- or the most recent version of OCS, Lync Server. IT pros and their partners can make all of this work at the same time.

"At first it's difficult to work with," recalls Guyer. "The offerings and deployment were confusing. If you've never seen the product, you only know what it does and how it does it by what you read. As always, Microsoft created its own language for the product, making it more difficult to understand. If you don't install it and overcome all the problems, you'll probably never as a matter of fact understand what it is, what it does or how it does it," he concludes.

Picking from the UC MenuSome users nibble a small portion of the full UC meal, during others munch however buffet. Alec Spyrou, an enterprise IT architect in Australia, chose a full, hearty UC meal. His company uses Exchange for general messaging just as "e-mail, fax, voicemail, SMS and RSS." The company uses OCS 2007 R2 for "real-time messaging, including IM and presence; Web conferencing; desktop sharing; click-to-call [remote control of desktop handset]; and federation with B2B [business to business] for IM and presence," Spyrou explains. Spyrou's company is now looking at video conferencing, is interested in telepresence systems that cover the desktop as then as meeting rooms, and is as well exploring OCS softphones.

Full suite of UC functions in operation

Others as well have a full suite of UC functions in operation. "We're using all of the UC modalities, and they're so then-ingrained in the way we work. We don't have any desk phones or PBX (Private -Automatic- Branch Exchange)s outside of our product-development labs," says Steven Daugherty, lead UC solutions architect for Aspect Software Inc.

It took time for Aspect to embrace all that UC has to offer. First, it adopted Live Communications Server to gain presence and IM. That was where things stood for several years. At that time the company moved to OCS 2007 R2. That was a big move. "We replaced all our PBX infrastructure globally. We as well participated in the Lync TAP [Research Adoption Program] and migrated North America -- about 1,000 users -- less than two weeks afterwards RTM [release to manufacturing]," says Daugherty.

IM was as well a driver for systems integrator Doug Kinzinger, MCITP EA, who focuses on small and midsize businesses. At first sight, Kinzinger looked at OCS 2005, nevertheless instead went for OCS 2007 when it shipped. "We integrated our hybrid-VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) PBX into OCS and it was great. Sadly, the vendor, Toshiba, has not but introduced Lync support," reports Kinzinger.

Guyer, who installs UC for customers, is moving from one UC tool to the then and there and the then. He started with Live Communications Server 2005 with OCS 2007, at that time upgraded to OCS 2007 R2. Now he's a happy Lync Server 2010 customer.

Again, IM led the charge. Once that was running, Guyer embraced desktop and file sharing. One of Guyer's customers has already moved onto the higher level -- PBX replacement. "When they were looking for a new VoIP phone system, I told them that the IM system was now advertised as a PBX solution. In the process of implementing the OCS solution, the old 3Com VoIP died. They said bring it up, and do it now," he says.