In a bid to provide richer functionality to its Live
Communications Server’s product line, Microsoft has introduced
controls and sample code to facilitate presence and real-time
collaboration features.
Microsoft said that a key goal in the design of Live
Communications Server is to create a platform upon which developers
can build integrated communications solutions. The company claims
that Live Communications Server can help eliminate the
inefficiencies that come from disconnected workforces by enabling
workers to see if someone is online and available while staying
within the application in which they are working.
Zig Serafin, general manager, Real-Time Collaboration Group at
Microsoft, said: “With these controls and sample code for Live
Communications Server, we are making it easier for developers to
build presence and real-time collaboration functionality into
applications that today’s workforces use most and that work
seamlessly across various networks and internal and cross-company
business processes… [Developers] can build solutions that work
securely across networks and connect to public IM and presence
services.”
Presence Controls for Microsoft Office Communicator, previously
called Real-Time Collaboration Presence Toolkit, enable developers
using Microsoft Visual Studio to insert presence icons into
applications to provide the status information of contacts. The
context menu within the icons enables integration with Microsoft
Office Communicator 2005 also allows users in the application to
launch Communicator's IM conversation or telephone call window.