For the last three years at Enterprise Connect, Brent Kelly and I have done a session contrasting Cisco and Microsoft in UC. Over those three years, one key differentiator had been Cisco's integration capabilities, especially in video. As a single vendor for a "complete" UC portfolio, it was logical that Cisco would have a better integrated video offer than Microsoft.
Microsoft's latest purchase is another step to enhancing the Skype for Business experience, with the purchase of the technology assets underlying Event Zero's UC Commander product suite. With this purchase, Microsoft has obtained new technology assets, which it intends to use to expand and improve the management tools that are built in to Skype for Business Online in Office 365.
This is the time of year for retrospectives. Mine is pretty simple: 2015 was a "meh" year for UC. Reminds me a lot of my San Francisco Giants in 2015 - a respectable winning record, but the team didn't meet expectations and didn't make the playoffs. The UC industry had some interesting moments in 2015 but it certainly was not a breakout year.
The name change of the UC Summit to the BC Summit this year symbolizes the search for momentum in the industry.
Unify Square has just announced the launch of PowerSuite, a UC operations solution suite designed to provide IT with a full view of Skype for Business service health. It provides a comprehensive approach to Skype for Business management, and is available in three packages to meet various needs.
AudioCodes introduced a new Skype for Business solution for service providers and enterprises: CloudBond 365. This hybrid appliance has a complete Skype for Business Server infrastructure, combined with management utilities and cloud connectivity tools, and is designed for hybrid environments, main sites, and branch offices. It provides the connection between on-premises and cloud, enabling companies to take advantage of Skype for Business and "the power and promise of the cloud."
This is part of a series of case studies showcasing how companies achieve their business communication objectives with Mitel technology.
Nectar Services Corp. has announced new capabilities for proactively monitoring Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange environments hosted both in the cloud and on premises. This is in addition to improvements to existing capabilities, and new availability and performance metrics for Microsoft Office 365.
Microsoft Office, the suite of workplace tools so commonly used that this very article is being written in it and most people reading this will have an Office application open at the same time, is about to launch its latest version. The worldwide general availability for Office 2016 has just been announced, and along with the usual tools comes an assortment of collaboration features.
In the Unified Communications and Collaboration space, and even in the VoIP and telephony markets, there is a huge elephant in the room...Microsoft. All signs are pointing to Microsoft being a major player in the space. Collaboration is one of three pillars for Microsoft strategy as envisioned by the new CEO, Satya Nadella. And it is clear that Microsoft is winning a lot of converts.
Among the myriad announcements Microsoft is making at its Ignite Conference in Chicago this week, one of the most important for UC is the ITPro Tools program.