Ever since the “UC” concept started to gain traction in business communications, I had been bugging Fred Knight to let go of the emphasis on voice telephony reflected in the name of their very successful “VoiceCon” conference. I also was suggesting that enterprise text messaging technology providers like Microsoft and IBM bring their customer.. more »

Many of our partners announced new solutions for Microsoft Communications Server “14” at VoiceCon Orlando this week, demonstrating both the maturity of our partner ecosystem and industry support for our Unified Communications vision. Customers benefit from the investments and innovation of multiple partners in our open, horizontal ecosystem, and .. more »

It seems like yesterday that We often highlight customer successes, and I particularly like Dimension Data wanted to change their culture, and help people communicate using tools other than the telephone and the business trip. They chose Office Communications Server after testing and piloting offerings from multiple vendors. 49% reduction in travel .. more »

I would say that the bulk of attention in the industry is paid to the handful of big vendors and multitudes of smaller ones that create products and solutions, and then sell them direct or through partners, and systems integrators. The industry and analysts talk about “the channel”, but don’t talk a lot about the channel, typically because of the va.. more »

Munich has such a beautiful setting. The strikingly beautiful, snow-capped Bavarian Alps drop suddenly to a gentle plain of perfectly groomed farms and villages. Postcard picture perfect. And, there’s no secret that this Germany is leading auto producer - even the taxis are a contest of style, efficiency and power between Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Vo.. more »

Italy is a wonderful place. It sure seems true that Italians know ‘how to live’. Architecture is graceful and pleasing to the senses, the food and beverages live up to their global reputation, and the business and social settings are congenial and courteous. A nice place to visit, I can assure you, and the residents seem pretty happy, too. But that.. more »

Well, it’s still Winter outside in Toronto, but it was Unified Communications “Spring” at the UC Road Show there. Toronto really reflects the business climate of Canada. While Canada is so big that there’s really no way to sum it up in one place, Toronto is a financial center and is the headquarters location for many major Canadian companie.. more »

While most of the time we focus on Office Communicator from a Software perspective, it’s easy to forget that really good phone experiences come from pairing Office Communicator with great devices! For this post we’re going to take a look at a device that the Office Communicator team worked hard on to get just right, the This device is my pref.. more »

She was educated at the finest schools and raised in privilege. Years later, in 1922, she published her book, “ its origin in the commonplace familiar warning—"Keep off the grass." It happened in the reign of Louis XIV, when the gardens of Versailles were being laid out, that the master gardener, an old Scotsman, was sorely tried because his newl.. more »

It builds on the functionality provided by the Archiving PowerShell script that was written (http://communicationsserverteam.com/archive/2009/09/28/584.aspx) and adds a GUI interface, the ability to filter by date, and message formatting. It has been tested against OCS 2007 R2 and SRS 2005. for the Data Source name The report server cannot process .. more »

I am somewhat surprised that the name given by Microsoft to its new mobile operating system platform is a “phone.’” After all, the term “phone” comes from the Greek word for “voice.” The word “telephone” means “far voice.” Just because the mobile device/system will handle voice applications, in addition to visual data, doesn’t make it just a.. more »

Not too long ago, I had the privilege of speaking at a client’s conference for their elite dealers. I always find these conferences of interest, because generally the vendor spends most of the time tooting their own horn. This time, however, woven in with the usual talks about “how we’re doing as a company”, “here are our neat new products” .. more »

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) Program:  Recognizes, Develops, Certifies Technical Excellence How do senior IT professionals differentiate themselves from the competition?  The MCM program, through intensive training by world class experts, plus extensive written and lab-based testing, certifies only the most qualified.  As an MCM you’ll join .. more »

Interesting new study on the effectiveness of speech-to-text technologies.  Nice to see Microsoft beating Google Voice with the Exchange 2010 Voicemail Preview.  Interestingly, I think users will see improvements in their experiences with Voicemail Preview since we are using advanced machine learning  techniques that augment its vocabulary with nam.. more »

In addition to training on Office Communicator, Microsoft also offers free instructor-led sessions on Office Live Meeting. Visit a class and explore key Live Meeting usage scenarios through live demonstrations and hands-on activities. Classes are held in a virtual classroom and allow hands-on experience to build knowledge, skills, and confidence to .. more »

There’s a buzz in the air in Dubai - the electricity of optimistic growth. The airport gives an amazing first impression, blending the high tech look of the new terminal with touches for Arabia in the arches, sconces with (cloth) flames, and the ceiling painted with the deep blue, star-studded night sky. The ride into town is more of the same: th.. more »

Imagine a modern city where business, trade, society, architecture, religion, culture, continents, and history all come together in one place. Got it? OK, then Istanbul, Turkey, is very likely that place. Istanbul (formerly Constantinople and before that), sits astride the Bosporus, a magnificent waterway that connects the interior of eastern .. more »

Do you have end users that need Office Communicator training? Are your users maximizing the basic features of OC? Microsoft now offers a free instructor-led session that introduces key Office Communicator usage scenarios through live demonstrations and hands-on activities. This live course is held in a virtual classroom via Office Live Meeting. .. more »

Last week I accompanied a system integrator in the Midwest to meet with and help educate several of their customers about unified communications and building a UC strategy. In addition to the Midwest hospitality and better weather than I expected, I got some good insights into what these customers are thinking about regarding UC. I was gratified to .. more »

The bottom line payoff for UC-based business communications has been widely promoted as With the rapid adoption of personalized mobile, multimodal, smartphones by both consumers and business users, the opportunity to exploit UC for both inbound and outbound (proactive notifications) real-time interactions between customers, enterprise .. more »