The release ofMicrosoft's Office Communications Server 2007last week is expected to bring the firm into direct
competition withCiscoand IBM to supply businesses
withunified communicationssystems.
IT managers deploying unified communications within the next
year will have greater choice than in the past. They will be able
to evaluate software from Cisco, a traditional network supplier,
and networking products from Microsoft, a traditional software
provider.
Unified communications is a blanket term covering instant
messaging, voice, video and call-centre applications that can be
integrated with desktop software. It also includes one-number
communication, where a single number is used to access messages and
accept and receive phone calls.
Desktop integration challenge
Mike Gotta, principal analyst at research firm Burton Group,
said businesses that wanted unified communications to integrate
with desktop software might turn to Microsoft. "Cisco does not
have the desktop footprint that Microsoft does, and Microsoft has
always been adept at leveraging its client dominance when competing
with other suppliers," he said.
This is certainly the case at
Cambridgeshire County Council. The council has installed a
converged network with IP telephony, and its technical architect,
Alan Shields, said that one reason it would be considering
Microsoft was because of the integration with Office products.
"We are very much a Microsoft establishment, and the majority of
products that we run are Microsoft. Ultimately, we will be looking
to converge on this platform with the addition of presence
technology," Shields said.
But Cisco also has a tremendous amount of experience when it
comes to traditional networking, including voice over IP (VoIP),
unified messaging and video technologies, Gotta said. Having
stronger networking roots and a global presence was the reason
Norton Rose, one of the UK's largest law firms, deployed a Cisco
unified communications system.
The system connects its offices in Europe, Russia, the Middle
East and Asia. Jeff Roberts, director of IT at Norton Rose, said he
expected the system to help expand and increase collaborative work
practices and improve communications between international
offices.
Cisco's acquisition strategy is supporting its move into the
enterprise collaboration space. In February, it acquired XML
gateway provider
Reactivity for £66m. It also bought
Five Across, which builds social networks to help companies
connect with customers. One month later, the company acquired WebEx
for £1.4bn, which provides a hosted platform for video
conferencing.
Cisco and Microsoft have recognised that users will run
technology from both suppliers simultaneously as they build their
unified communications infrastructures. So interoperability will be
a priority for both firms.
It is the focus of the products that will differ. Cisco chief
executive John Chambers said, "Unified communications is an
emerging technology where we are engaged in high-stakes competition
and where the two companies have very different approaches. Cisco
believes that the best way to address customer needs is at the
network level, whereas Microsoft believes software is the best
approach."
Microsoft also recognises the importance of a strong network
product. Its partnership with Nortel combines the company's network
expertise with its unified communications software. More than
430,000 licences for joint products have been issued to businesses
so far.
Evolving technology
Microsoft believes all forms of enterprise communications,
including VoIP, are moving from hardware-based systems to software.
However, analyst firm Gartner said such technology often takes
several years to mature to the desired level of reliability,
quality of voice service and scalability.
In the meantime, users considering deploying live communications
technologies, such as telephony and video, will need system
integrators with different skills to those traditionally offered by
Microsoft partners. Users should ensure that their providers have
demonstrated relevant experience in these areas, said Gartner.
Gartner's guide to deploying unified
communications
● Identify groups where improvements in communications and
collaboration have the potential to provide significant value to
the enterprise.
● Senior executives should sponsor cross-departmental workgroups
to review business processes and workflows that have communication
and collaboration dependencies.
● A barrier to the adoption of personal unified communication
systems is that enterprises often find it difficult to define a
tangible business case from individual productivity improvements.
This must be addressed.
● Trials and evaluations by key personnel will provide the
feedback and business case needed to justify further deployment. It
is critical that the evaluation includes influential business users
whose views carry weight.
● Think about introducing unified communications alongside major
application upgrades.