Microsoft releases beta of unified communications hub
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft's goal to provide a unified communications infrastructure for the enterprise moved forward Tuesday with the release of a private beta of software it sees as its communications hub. The company released Office Communications Server 2007 to about 2,500 IT professionals in a private beta, said Paul Duffy, a group product manager at Microsoft. It's the first time Microsoft has offered software for making voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) part of integrated communications services alongside corporate instant messaging, e-mail, and video conferencing all running on one IP network, he said. Office Communications Server 2007 runs in conjunction with Office Communicator 2007, which is the accompanying desktop software. In July, Microsoft announced aÂ strategic alliance with Nortel NetworksÂ calling for interoperability between Microsoft communications software and networking infrastructure from Nortel. Office Communications Server 2007 also will interoperate with products from Avaya, NEC Phillips, and Siemens CommunicationsÂ through partnerships Microsoft has with those vendors, Duffy said. "Customers can deploy Office Communications Server and Communicator with infrastructure they have -- with IP telephony that they might have from one of those vendors -- or they can deploy it in conjunction with an IP PSTN (public switched telephone network) gateway," he said. Though Microsoft is working with vendors on VOIP, there is some belief in the industry that the company eventually will look to provide the entire software infrastructure for VOIP and other communications offerings. Such a move would hardly be a stretch, as Microsoft's strategy for entering new markets has often been to partner with companies that specialize in certain software until it is able to build out its own portfolio. Microsoft does not just aim to enter the VOIP-enablement market with Office Communications Server 2007, but rather provide a software hub that will allow the various facets of network communication to interoperate, Duffy said. For instance, by using Office Communications Server with Microsoft's Exchange Server messaging software and Outlook e-mail client, a user can respond to an e-mail received in Exchange with a VOIP call using Communications Server and Communicator, he said. Office Communications Server and Office Communicator 2007 are expected to be available in the second calendar quarter of 2007.
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REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. plans a Dec. 1 release for the latest version of its server software that aims to give companies more secure instant messaging and other corporate communications tools.
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Microsoft is releasing its Office Communications Server 2007, Office Communicator 2007, and Office Live Meeting on October 16.
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Microsoft released a beta version of its next-generation Windows Live OneCare 2.0 desktop security and management package on July 11, touting a number of improvements made to the product, including the ability to monitor multiple PCs on a local network.
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The beta version of MSN Spaces, web-logging service that enables consumers to create their own personal place on the web has been launched for current users of Hotmail or MSN webmail services.
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Microsoft announced Monday that it had completed its Windows Home Server (WHS) software and released the code to its OEM partners, just six months after unveiling the project.
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Microsoft Corp. is developing a new front-end application for its upcoming Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 instant messaging server that links LCS 2005 with end-users' telephones.
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As expected, Microsoft on Wednesday released its Windows Live software suite, including the global betas of several of its desktop products.
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Leveraging IP Network Resources to Enable Next-Generation Corporate Communications.
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Microsoft is developing a front-end application for its upcoming Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 instant messaging server that links LCS 2005 with end-users&#39; telephones.
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Microsoft plans to release in December new software that secures instant messaging and other communications within big companies. The Redmond, Wash.
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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.
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Microsoft is now seeking beta testers for its Windows Home Server software, which was unveiled last month at the Consumer Electronics Show and is set to ship before September.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft continues to test updates to its Windows Live online services, including a service launched last year that allows users to submit blog posts simultaneously to more than one blogging platform. A new beta of that service, called Windows Live Writer, is now available from an internal blog. Windows Live Writer is a tool to compose blog posts and publish them on some of the Web's most popular blogging platforms, such as Windows Live Spaces, Community Server, WordPress, and TypePad. Microsoft released the first test version of the service last August but hadn't updated the product since November 2006, according to the Liveside blog. An entry by Nick White, a Microsoft product manager, on the Windows Vista team blog lays out the new features in Windows Live Writer. It now has in-line spell checking, the ability to add categories and table editing, and easier image insertion, he said. The new Windows Live Writer beta is available in both English and Spanish in the U.S. as well as in English in India and the U.K. It also is available in Spain, Germany, Japan, China, and France. In addition to the Writer update, Microsoft also released new betas for its instant-messaging and Web-based mail services this week. Windows Live Messenger 8.5 is now in official beta, though users got an early look when the release was leaked in Spanish on the Messenger Adictos blog earlier this week. The beta includes a user interface designed to look more like the revamped Aero interface of Windows Vista. Users can find the beta on its Windows Live site. Windows Live Mail, the successor to Windows Mail that is included in Windows Vista and Outlook Express on Windows XP, also has a new beta release. The new version includes a new UI that is similar to other services in Windows Live and also allows users to sync to their Windows Live Hotmail accounts. Other features in the Windows Live Mail beta include offline mail, accounting aggregation for Windows Live Hotmail and other POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) and IMAP mail accounts, and RSSÂ feed aggregation. Improvements in the service include better photo-sharing and search features as well as more security, according to Microsoft. Windows Live Mail also will feature integration with other Windows Live services, including Windows Live Spaces. For the time being, the service will not include advertisements, the company said. However, many of the Windows Live services have been created by Microsoft to drive online advertising revenue, so many of them already include advertising or will in the future if they do not already. Microsoft revealed a new strategy to develop new online services in November 2005 and also unveiled the new Windows Live brand. Many of the services previously branded MSN are now called Windows Live. More information and a list of service can be found on the Windows Live home page.ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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SWsoft is preparing a beta version of Parallels Server virtualization and management tools.
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US software company Microsoft has launched a beta version of its MSN Toolbar Suite, with desktop search functionality that can help users find documents, media files or e-mail messages on their PCs.
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Revamped Endpoint Protection program enters public beta during vendor conference this week.