Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Page 2
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
Fact Sheet
October 2007
Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 is a unified communications platform that brings the rapid pace of software innovation and software economics to communications. It is a robust, flexible, presence-based platform that enables contextual communication across the applications, networks and devices businesses already know and use.
Office Communications Server 2007 enables an integrated user experience via Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, and delivers streamlined communications for users so they can find and communicate with the right person, right now, from the applications they use most (such as Microsoft Office Outlook®). Streamlined communications can be delivered without expensive infrastructure and network upgrades, including software-powered voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), Web conferencing and enterprise instant messaging (IM), while maintaining the operational control required.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, a cornerstone of the Microsoft Corp. unified communications portfolio, complements the voice capabilities of Office Communications Server 2007 with a built-in auto-attendant for answering and routing inbound voice calls as well as unified messaging that brings together voice mail and e-mail in a single inbox.
Customer Benefits
Business is more global and mobile than ever before. As a result, communication and collaboration demands have increased, and people are now facing more communication in more places than ever before.
Office Communications Server 2007 takes the complexity out of communications and introduces a new platform that enables customers to gain the benefits of people-centric communications from the applications, devices and networks they know and use. Using a highly scalable architecture and improved administration tools, Office Communications Server 2007 makes it easier for customers to deploy and manage real-time communications in an enterprise. Working seamlessly with the Microsoft Office system, Office Communications Server 2007 fits easily into customers’ existing work processes and infrastructure. It facilitates real-time communication across multiple geographic regions, time zones and organizational boundaries, helping people work together easily and make decisions more quickly.
Key Features and Enhancements
Office Communications Server 2007 includes a host of new features and enhancements to improve reliability, manageability and security:
· On-premise webconferencing. Office Communications Server 2007 delivers the webconferencing capabilities of the Microsoft Office Live Meeting service as an on-premise, server-based solution. Organizations can host meetings, presentations, training classes and similar gatherings using the corporate network. Additional capabilities delivered as part of the on-premise webconferencing solution include the following:
Simplified scheduling tools. Deeper integration with Microsoft Office Outlook gives users greater flexibility and more options when initiating, accepting and managing attendance for scheduled meetings.
Ad-hoc meeting support. Office Communications Server 2007 enables a user to initiate an impromptu webconference directly from the Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 client or from the Microsoft Office applications PowerPoint®, Excel®, Word, Project, Visio® and Outlook.
Two-way audio support. Full-duplex audio technology helps ensure that when several people talk at the same time during a webconference, no person’s voice gets cut off.
RoundTable support. When combined with Office Communications Server 2007, RoundTable™ delivers an immersive conferencing experience that extends the meeting room across multiple locations.
External access. Office Communications Server 2007’s on-premise webconferencing can also support a combination of internal and external participants, with an edge server deployed for users outside the organization’s firewall.
Consistent meeting environment. Office Communications Server 2007’s on-premise webconferencing uses the same meeting client as the Office Live Meeting service, providing a familiar experience for participants.
· Expanded enterprise telephony capabilities. In conjunction with Office Communicator 2007 and the appropriate infrastructure, Office Communications Server 2007 can act as a “soft phone” telephony endpoint, allowing users to make and receive telephone calls from their PC and bringing control of the Private Branch Exchange phone to users’ desktop experience. Users can initiate VoIP calls directly on a PC without a desktop telephone, simplifying their communications experience and enabling more centralized IT systems administration.
· Speech recognition and interactive voice response (IVR) capabilities. Using Office Communications Server 2007 Speech Platform Services, customers can build and deploy applications ranging from speech-enabled IM to personal assistants that route calls based on presence and self-service solutions for contact centers.
· Multiparty audioconferencing and videoconferencing. Office Communications Server 2007 allows two or more people to simultaneously interact through voice and video using the same interface for both IM and phone control.
· Provide professional-grade reliability and scale. Office Communications Server 2007 allows users to implement software-powered VoIP, presence, IM, and Web/audio/video conferencing on a platform built for professional use.
· Improved manageability. IT administrators can customize control of Office Communications Server 2007 functionality, security, bandwidth and compliance settings for several user levels, helping increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
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Pricing and Licensing
The price for Office Communications Server 2007 depends on the server edition the customer is purchasing, Standard or Enterprise. Customers need both server and client access licenses (CALs). The Standard CAL has the IM and presence capabilities including new group IM and rich presence features and costs roughly $31. The new Enterprise CAL provides all of the new conferencing and VoIP call management features and costs roughly $139.
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For more information, press only:
Melissa Legaspi, High Road Communications, (416) 644-2295,