Convergence & VoIPNetwork World's Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, 10/24/07NEC joins Microsoft’s unified communications coming out partyBy Steve Taylor and Larry HettickJoining in Microsoft’s unified communications launch last week, NEC announced that it is enhancing its portfolio with new products and services along with further support for Microsoft’s unified communications software. NEC’s enhancements include a USB handset, collaboration middleware, and media gateway, “all of which will be optimized for use with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007,” according to the company’s statement. When we spoke to Paul Lopez, NEC’s general manager for marketing and unified solutions, he said that the development is “a natural continuation of a 28-year relationship [that NEC has had] with Microsoft” noting that NEC “is the No. 1 [market] share leader of Microsoft products in Japan.”
Like many of the other Microsoft partners, NEC already has a unified communications portfolio, but, according to Lopez, “This give the customer a choice that includes a desktop softphone, a USB softphone, [and a] pure IP or gateway environment.” NEC had previously announced support for Microsoft’s Live Communications Server (LCS) environment in March of this year; the company’s announcement last adds Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS). These new products and services will be offered by NEC in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions and will provide customers with one source for complete integration of Microsoft and NEC environments. The new products include: * Univerge OW5000: Collaboration middleware that enables customers connected to NEC’s PBX and Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007 to use remote call control from Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook and Excel. * USB Handset which can be plugged directly into a USB port, enabling the high-quality wideband voice input and output capabilities of a standard desktop phone for Microsoft Office Communicator 2007.
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Contact the author: Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to Webtorials, the premier site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and market research. Taylor can be reached at taylor@webtorials.com Larry Hettick is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in voice and data. He is Vice President for Telecom Services and Infrastructure at Current Analysis, the leading competitive response solutions company. He can be reached at lhettick@currentanalysis.com ARCHIVEArchive of the Convergence & VoIP Newsletter. BONUS FEATUREIT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESTo subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007 |
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