Microsoft touts UC benefits

Database News : Thursday December 06, 2007

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS/ STREAMLINING WORKPLACE EFFICIENCY

Microsoft touts UC benefits

SASIWIMON BOONRUANG

Microsoft (Thailand), together with Nortel Thailand and Hewlett Packard, recently launched Unified Communications software to streamline workplace communications.

According to Microsoft (Thailand) managing director Patama Chantaruck, the four key benefits of Microsoft's Unified Communications were streamlined communications, operational efficiency, built-in protection and a future-ready software foundation.

Unified Communications software would transform business communications as fundamentally as email did in 1990s and Microsoft was now in the VoIP game, she said.

Simulating a workplace with streamlined communications, a Microsoft team demonstrated three scenarios to journalists: email, IM and voice; mobility; and video conferencing, showing how Microsoft Unified Communications could efficiently facilitate office workers no matter where they were. Even if they are on vacation, or out of the office, a boss can reach, contact or run a video conference with his staff seamlessly via a small device such as a smart phone.

The concept of UC is that people are at the centre, while software and hardware would co-manage activities that could be customised by Microsoft's partners, Patama said.

Citing Forester Research, she noted that the primary benefits of using Unified Communications over a three-year period included output up by 53%, business travel cost savings of 25% and incremental gross margins up by 22% from live meetings.

Business organisations could reach a break-even point in two months and achieve a risk-adjusted return on investment of 193% due to the UC, with benefits that could be scaled from small businesses to large enterprises, she said.

Microsoft's Unified Communications and VoIP software includes Office Communications Server 2007, Office Communicator 2007, Live Meeting and Service Pack update of Exchange Server 2007.

By : Bangkok Post