Microsoft to Test New Calling Software

Microsoft intends to offer a beta version of Office Communicator 2007 to millions of testers later this month. The move will begin an effort to give VoIP click-to-call functionality to some 100 million users of Office in the next three years.

In a keynote to attendees of a VoIP conference in Orlando, Fla. Wednesday, Microsoft Business Division president Jeff Raikes said the cost of VoIP deployment for businesses would be cut in half by the end of the decade, spurring growth in the sector.

One of the biggest costs to business deployment still remains the phones used, often requiring a specific brand. This can comprise nearly half of the cost of adoption, and is something Microsoft plans to address.

Raikes said users would have the option to choose from a range of phones rather than those from a specific brand. In addition, the Office Communications Server beta would offer considerably better sound quality, and for those already with VoIP deployments, an easy transition path.

Office Communications Server is Microsoft's offering that enables communications services within the productivity suite. Among the features in the new release are presence awareness, IM services, Web and videoconferencing, and VoIP support.

Office Communicator is the client that brings those services together on the user's desktop, as well as allowing that user to extend telecommunications services to devices outside of the office such as smartphones.

"Over time, the software-based VoIP technology built into Microsoft Office Communications Server and Microsoft Office Communicator will offer so much value and cost savings that it will make the standard telephone look like that old typewriter that's gathering dust in the stockroom," he mused.

The company is billing the release as one of its most important new communications technologies out of Microsoft since the release of Outlook in 1997. Raikes argued that Office Communicator will soon "change the way people contact each other."

In addition, partners will gain access to interoperability specifications that would allow them to integrate Office VoIP solutions into existing PBX solutions. This will negate the need to replace current systems with new software and devices when upgrading.

"We're embarking on a software transformation similar to what we saw from the mainframe to the PC," Raikes said. "With a shift of this magnitude, there will be tremendous opportunities for our industry partners worldwide."

Those interested in the interoperability specification can register for that information on the company's Unified Communications Web site. Registration for the open beta will also be available there as well. Microsoft did not specify a final release date for either product.