What is UC?
Microsoft Unified Communications technologies can help your business integrate telephone-based tasks such as phone calls, voicemail and conferencing with computer-based tasks such as documentation, spreadsheets, instant messaging, email and calendars. It's simple, streamlined and highly scalable. And we call it Unified Communications.
The UC Vision - to bridge the gap between telephones and computers
Microsoft Unified Communications technologies can help you streamline your communications processes and establish a scalable and protected communications infrastructure. In so doing, you can also increase overall efficiency and reduce costs for your business.
How? By using the power of software to deliver a complete communications solution – incorporating messaging, voice and video – across the devices and applications that your people use every day.
Our vision is simple: to integrate the experiences you associate with the telephone (phone calls, voicemail and conferencing) with the work done on computers (documents, spreadsheets, instant messaging, email, calendars). We call it Unified Communications.
In this Briefing Centre, learn about
» Product Range - what you will need for UC.
» Unified Messaging - One inbox for all your messages.
» Presence - Communications at your fingertips.
» Conferencing - Conferencing with a click.
» Voice - VoIP as you are.
Video Demo - Microsoft Real Time collaboration
The evolution of real-time collaboration and unified communications technology promises endless innovation and opportunity. Microsoft would like to share its vision for the future of our Real-Time Collaboration and see what the buzz is about.
Video: Microsoft Real Time Collaboration
Products
Microsoft Unified Communications solutions are based on a suite of powerful and integrated technologies to help colleagues and customer communicate faster, more efficiently and more effectively.
Manages all real-time (synchronous) communications, including instant messaging, VoIP, audio and video conferencing.
» Read More» Download trialIs the client application for real-time (synchronous) communication. Is the user's primary tool for presence and directory information, instant messaging, telephone calls, and audio and video conferencing.
» Read More» Download trial# Presence technology appears throughout the Office system, from Document Workspaces inside Word 2007, Excel 2007, and PowerPoint 2007 to team sites and My Sites on SharePoint Server 2007.
» Read More» Download trialMicrosoft Office RoundTable is an advanced conference phone with a built-in 360° camera.
» Watch demo in this briefing centre
Windows Mobile - For organisations with mobile information workers, Windows Mobile powered devices provide mobile access to email, contacts, calendar, and tasks.
» Read More
Unified Messaging
One inbox for all your messages
With Microsoft Unified Communications technologies, your email, voicemail, faxes, and calendar events can all arrive in one inbox. This means you can prioritise and code your voicemails and faxes just like any piece of email. You can even forward them, to one person or to many, with just a few clicks.
Programmatic path to compliance
With voicemail and faxes integrated into Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, you can apply the same programmatic journaling and archiving you use for email to all of your asynchronous messaging. Retaining email, voicemail, and faxes in a central archive resolves many of the compliance issues businesses currently face.
Enhanced support for mobile users
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 includes Exchange ActiveSync technology which delivers messaging to a variety of mobile devices, and a rich Outlook experience on Windows Mobile Devices. Microsoft Outlook Web Access has been redesigned for greater stability and security, so users can stay connected via the Web.
Video Demo - Forward calls and start video communicator
With Office Communicator 2007, you can launch an instant message or a phone call with a click. If you need to bring more people into the conversation, Office Communicator 2007 makes it easy. You just click their names and add them: it doesn't matter if it's a phone call or an instant message session. It's just as easy to switch to a videoconference, complete with an online workspace for sharing files.
Watch the full demo
Video: Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 Forward Calls and Start Video
Presence
Communications at your fingertips
Presence unites all your contact information – including phone numbers, email addresses, and instant message – with the various ways in which you communicate – via phone, conferencing, instant messaging and email.
Connect from anywhere
Presence information travels throughout your communications environment and is readily accessible. So whenever a contact’s name appears in an email, on a teamsite, or in a document workspace, it is accompanied by contact information. Presence integrates with Windows Mobile devices, so real-time status and contact information is available when you’re on the road too.
Single sign on, single directory
When your users log on to their machines, they automatically log into Presence. Presence pulls data from Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 to put complete directory information and real-time availability at users’ fingertips. Presence depends on your existing infrastructure, so there is no data entry and no new objects to build in the directory.
Conferencing
Conferencing with a click
With Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, building a conference call happens with drag and drop simplicity. You can transform any conversation, whether a simple phone call or even an instant message session, into a conference call or a videoconference on the fly.
Meet online with Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007
Live Meeting supports the voice and video conferencing tools in Office Communicator 2007 with a rich, online meeting environment. With Live Meeting, you can make presentations, share files and work together, all in real time, so teams can meet and work no matter where everyone is located.
Conference calls that meet compliance regulations
Microsoft Unified Communications technologies deliver voice and video conferencing through Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 via IP. This means that conference call audio and video streams are captured and logged just like an instant message or an email. Retaining every conferencing instance in a central archive can be an important business resource and resolves many of the compliance issues businesses currently face.
Video Demo - UC using Round table
Microsoft® RoundTable™ is an advanced collaboration and conferencing device that delivers an engaging, immersive meeting experience with Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 or Microsoft® Office Live Meeting 2007. Learn more from the demo
Video: Microsoft Unified Communications Conferencing RoundTable