Search results matching tag 'VoIP'

Office 2007 SP1 is here and it does more than just update the desktop - SharePoint gets AJAX for example

doverton — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:05:00 GMT

I'm sure you have heard that the Office 2007 Service Pack is here. Darren Strange has documented what is in it and how to get it at Office 2007 sp1 ready for download today and OfficeRocker! : More detail about sp1. In answer to Susanne's post at here, hopefully this post has some more info in it

One of the little things he puts that I like is:

Some other factoids about sp1

There are roughly 2500 fixes in SP1. This an average size for a service pack, but the issues fixed are very important to our customers.
Almost 20% of those fixes are direct result of customer requests.
Over 500 of those fixes focused on security.
There are a total of 24 different releases in 38 languages. There are 683 distinct packages. All have released simultaneously today.

If you get the whitepaper then you would be keen to see the information below. Notice that SharePoint amongst other things a developer update to support Ajax and that other server products (Groove and Project Server) are also updated.

Stability

Microsoft continues to improve its software products by listening to customers and acting on customer requests. With the 2007 Microsoft® Office system Service Pack 1 (SP1), Microsoft demonstrates this commitment by fixing at least the top five software bugs in each application that caused crashes, resulting in an even more stable product. The 2007 Office system SP1 also addresses many minor annoyances and distracting problems that users had to contend with in the initial release. Many of these minor usability and stability fixes are in response to customer requests as well. The following section lists summaries of some of the most notable stability improvements delivered with the 2007 Office system SP1.
Access 2007

For third-party applications that use Data Access Object code to synchronize replicated information in a Microsoft Office Access™ 2007 database, Office Access 2007 no longer returns a run-time error that causes the application to close or time out.
Communicator 2007

Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 now presents more accurate presence information and does so with consistent visual cues.

The icons used to display presence are modified so that users who are red-green colourblind can determine people’s presence status.
Office Communicator 2007 no longer causes presence icons to flicker when multiple people appear simultaneously.
Presence information in Office Communicator 2007 and other Microsoft Office applications is consistent in all scenarios.
Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 no longer starts in the background along with Office Communicator 2007.

Excel 2007

Several stability, general usability, and compatibility improvements have been incorporated into Microsoft Office Excel® 2007.

Office Excel 2007 no longer stops responding in some instances when opening a workbook containing calculations.
Office Excel 2007 workbooks that are saved in Page Break Preview mode and opened in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 no longer produce an error when switched to Normal view.
When inputting calculations that should result in numbers 65,534 through 65,536, Office Excel 2007 no longer returns the display error of 100,001.
Office Excel 2007 now retains custom colours on shapes in Excel 2003 worksheets.
Office Excel 2007 no longer misplaces or wraps labels in charts when the workbook is reopened.

Groove 2007

For Microsoft Office Groove® 2007, issues surrounding the activation of new and previously retired accounts have been resolved.

Office Groove 2007 no longer places a 60-day limit on retired accounts that are stored in backup files.
When the auto-activation feature is turned on and invited users open an invitation file (.grv), they are no longer prompted for an activation key or notified of an unconfigured account.

InfoPath 2007 and InfoPath Forms Server

Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007 benefits from a more consistent user experience, especially with online forms.

When users input data into an Office InfoPath 2007 form using a Web browser, the saved changes are now retained after closing and reopening the form.
Font size no longer increases when pasting from one rich text box in Office InfoPath 2007 to another.

Outlook 2007

Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 benefits from a number of fixes and enhancements that make the popular messaging client more stable and easier to use.

Office Outlook 2007 no longer closes unexpectedly when the junk e-mail rule is set to null.
Body content in HTML-formatted e-mail messages now appears properly in the preview pane or when the message is opened.
Items moved from an offline folder file (.ost) to a personal folder file (.pst) now display properly in the preview pane.
In search folders, Office Outlook 2007 now shows the accurate count for unread items that are hidden.
When scheduling a resource such as a meeting room in meeting requests, the public free/busy information for the resource is now complete and visible in Office Outlook 2007.
When users forward plain-text e-mail messages with attachments, the body text is now retained.
If the Mailbox Cleanup wizard starts while the user is dragging a message into a folder, Office Outlook 2007 no longer closes unexpectedly.

PowerPoint 2007

Fixes in Microsoft Office PowerPoint® 2007 make the presentation application even more reliable, especially when used in conjunction with Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access, Web sites that use forms authentication, or event macros.

Users who have started an event macro in Office PowerPoint 2007 can now advance slides by right-clicking and then choosing Next or Previous.
When users try to open a presentation in Office PowerPoint 2007 from a Web site using forms authentication, the presentation will now appear properly.
Users can now open presentations in Office PowerPoint 2007 from e-mail attachments in Office Outlook Web Access.
Office PowerPoint 2007 no longer crashes when the user programmatically accesses the parent property of the Hyperlinks Collection Object in the Office PowerPoint 2007 object model.
Text formatting now behaves similarly to previous versions of PowerPoint, where new text retains the formatting of the deleted text instead of using the formatting of the character to the left.

Project 2007 and Project Server 2007

The 2007 Office system SP1 eliminates instances when either Microsoft Office Project 2007 or the accompanying Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 crashes due to a software error.

Office Project 2007 no longer crashes when users click to view Windows account or Details in the Resources Information dialog box and then perform any other action.
Office Project 2007 does not produce an error message when a link from one task accesses a task in a different project stored on Office Project Server 2007. This error only occurred when the linked project was renamed.
Microsoft Office Project Web Access now makes task IDs available and allows users to enter a work estimate when creating a new task.

SharePoint Server 2007

Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 has improved manageability and compatibility.

Office SharePoint Server 2007 now has the ability to be installed on Windows Server 2008 providing compatibility and support.
ASP.NET AJAX has compatibility and support with Office SharePoint Server 2007 including examples for customer web parts build the AJAX 1.0 Control Toolkit and the AJAX 1.0 Extensions for ASP.NET (KB 941955)
New manageability with STSADM commands for consolidating or repartitioning your content databases, renaming host named site collections, and the ability to scope the people picker to a specific active directory organizational unit.
Advanced search results now include results with spaces in file names.
The View by Modified Date function now works correctly in search results.
Office SharePoint Server 2007 is now able to crawl case-sensitive Web content on computers not running the Windows® operating system.
Office SharePoint Server 2007 can now index a public folder on a Microsoft Exchange Server with a backslash in the subject.

Visio 2007

Microsoft Office Visio® 2007 now properly redraws shapes when users apply a dynamic connector that is part of a group of shapes in Office Visio 2007.
Word 2007

By taking care of several small stability and usability details, Microsoft Office Word 2007 is a more useful and reliable tool for everyday document creation tasks.

With Office Word 2007, users can now open and edit embedded objects that contain other embedded objects.
When using smart documents in Office Word 2007, the Document Actions task pane no longer disappears when moving the pointer into the Reviewing pane. Additionally, task panes opened earlier no longer appear unexpectedly.
Office Word 2007 properly creates and updates a table of contents in unprotected sections of documents that also contain sections protected for forms.
Office Word 2007 no longer prints an extra page when users choose a printer with the duplex option enabled.

Performance

Many of the improvements delivered in the 2007 Microsoft® Office system Service Pack 1 (SP1) boost application and search performance. The service pack includes performance enhancements for some of the most commonly used applications in the 2007 Microsoft Office system, such as Microsoft Office Access™ 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007. Additionally, users that rely on server components for the 2007 Office system and the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) will see a significant performance increase.
General Performance Fixes

Applications in the 2007 Office system work more effectively with the Japanese IME released by Microsoft, especially when inputting Japanese characters and converting those characters to kanji. In addition, computers that simultaneously run the Japanese IME and a security solution no longer use up to 100 percent of CPU resources.
Access 2007

Project files (.adp) no longer run slower than expected when opened in Microsoft Office Access 2007.
Outlook 2007

Improved performance in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 eliminates frustrating delays when opening large mailbox files and frees office workers to focus on important business tasks. The 2007 Office system SP1 makes it easier to open large offline folder files (.ost) and personal folder files (.pst) that are located directly on the user’s machine.
Project 2007 and Project Server 2007

When adding multiple values to a lookup table in Microsoft Office Project 2007, the application no longer searches for duplicate values in a way that unexpectedly slows performance. Also, users can now quickly retrieve lists of projects from a Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 database.
SharePoint Server 2007

With the 2007 Office system SP1, the performance of Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 improves general server activities and search functionality. An Office SharePoint Server that experiences heavy use no longer slows when a Microsoft .NET Framework hotfix (greater or equal to build 2.0.50727.832) is installed. The service pack also helps reduce the lag time before the start of a document library crawl during a document search in SharePoint.
Security

The 2007 Microsoft® Office system was built from the ground up, with security and privacy as driving design considerations. The 2007 Microsoft Office system Service Pack 1 incrementally improves security in the 2007 Office release by incorporating the latest security research and responding to ongoing application testing results. Individual application fixes that protect people’s privacy complement these improvements to baseline security.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: If you only read one post today, Office 2007, Office System, SharePoint Server 2007, Windows SharePoint Services, Service Pack, Service Pack 1, Outlook 2007, Project 2007, Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Excel 2007, Access 2007, Groove, Communicator 2007

VoIP and Unified Communications may be the future, but it has plenty of pitfalls for networks, phone systems and vendors alike

doverton — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:27:00 GMT

In many ways I am a traditionalist. I wasn't the 1st to embrace the UC/VoIP and I have to admit that my personal commercial foray into this has so far left me turning off this technology as the sound quality was not there. Apparently my 20mb/768kb line is not good enough with my website on the same line :-(

So that is me, but what about others. Information Week showed that network congestion is a growing problem - most of us don't carefully budget network traffic and while we are aware of "slow" internet connections etc, the impact on internal and external network connection is sometime something left to experimentation rather than science.

A survey of 576 unified communications users found that 75% said one-quarter of their network traffic in the last three months consisted of UC applications like VoIP, unified messaging, and instant messaging. The survey was conducted by Network General Corp., which polled its worldwide customers.

"The ramp-up in unified communications is already taking its toll," the survey stated. "Nearly 40% of companies have suffered application performance problems due to the convergence of communications applications onto their IP network."

Unified Communications Can Cause Network Traffic Jams -- Unified Communications -- InformationWeek

Now once you have decided to go down this path you need to understand several things about your desires - do you want an internal phone system only, a complete replacement to your existing PBX type system or a internet roaming call from anywhere type solution. There are some pitfalls you need to also of some interesting problems, such as how you handle 999 calls - btw, most of them don't, so you might have to keep a traditional phone on had for emergency call should you loose power.

You then have many choices on how you put together with solutions from many vendors, including Open Source, IBM and Microsoft. The information and mis-information is growing on a daily basis. Recently at VoiceCon we saw reporting like

IBM has partnered with Siemens to get the technology IBM needs to connect the Unified Telephony platform, scheduled to ship in the middle of next year, to legacy telephone systems. "It's a natural marriage of skills," Rhodin said during a news conference that followed his VoiceCon keynote. "They're very good at the back-end stuff, and we're very good on the front end."

The partnership also demonstrates a difference in approach to the UC market between IBM and Microsoft, which has yet to partner with infrastructure companies like Siemens in delivering its UC platform in the fall. IBM's announcements came one day after Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate VP of Microsoft's Unified Communications Group, told VoiceCon attendees that Microsoft would ship Office Communications Server 2007, Office Communicator 2007, and Office Live Meeting Oct. 16.

IBM Vs. Microsoft In Telephony Integration Middleware Race -- VoiceCon -- InformationWeek

and

"Usually they go in with both guns blazing," said Brian Riggs, research director at Current Analysis, in Sterling, Va. "In this case they're developing a healthy coopetition model with PBX providers that'll be in place for years to come. This is a very healthy way for Microsoft to approach this."

As a platform for voice, Microsoft's plan for the OCS is to have it work in conjunction with existing PBXes, rather than trying to rip and replace that equipment, at least for the next two years, according to Riggs.

That is a sensible plan, given the lack of credibility Microsoft has as a potential IP PBX replacement vendor. In a survey published earlier this spring of 100 large enterprises, Nemertes Research found none was thinking about Microsoft as a telephony provider, according to Irwin Lazar, principal research analyst with Nemertes Research, in Haymarket, Va.

"There was very little interest in using Microsoft as the telephony platform," he said. "They weren't willing to rely on a new vendor without a proven track record in IP telephony. The history of them is that it usually takes a couple of tries to get it right, and most don't trust Microsoft. The vast majority of them would continue to look to Cisco, Avaya and Siemens for their telephony systems."

Microsoft a Credible VOIP Supplier? Maybe Someday

And I happen to know for Eileen's blog that Microsoft works with a lot of PBX providers as the link goes to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2516dac1-dfdc-47eb-8e6f-18b1537a57b2.aspx which has some IP PBX providers listed, but points off to Telephony Advisor for Exchange Server 2007 Web site which then lists much more (Alcatel, Astra, Avaya, NEC, Nortel, Panasonic, Siemens, Tadiran Telecom, Ericsson, Intecom, Mitel, Interactive Intelligence, Cisco) - this seems to be quite partner oriented to me!!

Management of quality, networks and load will move from a proprietary hardware solution to a software and networks problem. To this end, Microsoft's System Center can help.

In his keynote address at VoiceCon, Gurdeep Singh Pall, Microsoft's corporate vice president of the Unified Communications Group, gave attendees an early look at the new tool, intended to help telecom managers better monitor voice and video call quality.

"This server allows you to capture rich information about the phone calls going on in real time, and allows you to analyze that information using off-the-shelf tools," he described.

With the help of Microsoft's Systems Center Operations Manager, the demonstration showed how Mean Opinion Scores that are less than optimal can be flagged and then investigated.

Microsoft Moves UC Ball Forward

Overall I see VoIP moving forward, no matter on what platform, but I think emergency call handling and QoS need to happen before it can take over the world.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: VoIP, Unified Communications

How unified communications could be with Exchange 2007 and Office Communications Server (OCS)

doverton — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:01:20 GMT

Unified Communications, VoIP, IM, e-mail, messaging, call redirecting, talking to your calendar - so hard to explain in words, so easy to watch in this short demo.

A bit cheesy, but it works

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Unified Communications, Exchange 2007, Office Communications Server, VoIP

Microsoft, web services, new business models and small business

doverton — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:00:38 GMT

In the IT market the term "change is the only constant" has been around for years (well, certainly since I left ICL where change was not constant, but that was due to the contract that dictated that everything did not change, so fell behind).

Note, this post is purely the ramblings from my mind, not a statement from Microsoft in an Official or Unofficial capacity

We've seen big iron, then smaller systems, the rise of SMP, the reduction in IT hardware and software costs for solutions, the rise of Microsoft servers, client server, 3-tier, clustered computing, multi-core and now internet enabled computing. There is much more, of course, to come, but how we deliver IT to customers has changed too. Of course, this is all generalised and some people have always been at one end or the other, but general acceptance is always shifting - remember the ASP business model of the late 90's - dead, yet here it is again with Software as / plus service. The pricing of some services even appears to be £0, yet you pay by clicking on adverts or by others buying adverts for you to see.

Business Models

Google and salesforce.com have once again shown that non-distributed computing means that a central failure grinds everything to a halt, just as Terminal based computing did before SAS was being considered. While you can architect to reduce these impacts, when they happen, hundreds to millions of people are impacted and if that is your business, it can be fatal.

Once upon a time it was building PCs, then custom PCs, then servers, then core infrastructure, now ICT. However this is all the technical "stuff". We now deliver solutions more than just boxes (I know some always did) and the need to move beyond core infrastructure is a business necessity if you have not already moved this way. Excitement about a new "gizmo" (OS, application, gadget etc) is now tempered with "So what can it do to improve my business and is it worth it."

One of the conversations I have had repeatedly with partners over the last few months is about the "change." How do they stop it, how do they avoid it or for those braver, how do they take advantage of it. The answer is not simple and the faith required to make the step can be huge. However, if you don't offer your customers what they want to buy, then you will surely be reduced to a niche market at best. I have been there, done that, found my "amazing high end solutions" not worth the ROI when compared to a cheaper "medium quality" solution offered by someone else. It was this change that brought me to Microsoft where I can run at the front of the change and benefit myself and share this knowledge with other.

Advertising, subscription and web based business models are cropping up all over the place - that does not mean they will survive - look at Vonage or Sunrocket - Subscription based VoIP - all the right boxes checked, except one has gone and the other will probably fail soon unless they are able to reduce churn and raise income.

Lets get the scary bits out - old business models and moving to new ones

I'm not a business specialist. I have run my own business successfully before - IT training, Legal applications, custom database applications. I've also worked with hundreds of partners to improve life for them. Below are my "collected wisdoms" in this area.

Selling IT rather than solutions will continue to decline unless you are selling to the people who sell the solutions to other businesses. You have a choice - become an outsource partner to someone else or niche yourself to those who don't want or trust the solution people. Look at some of the SBSC member and their successful business model is to sell to other IT shops, not (just) to customers.

Moving up the solution stack is hard as it often means moving away from the technology. Many SBSC partners freely admit that this scares them and they don't know how to do it. This was highlighted by a recent conversation where I was asked "Why do I have to ask my customer about their mission statement?" Well, to understand them, to check that their thoughts on IT matches their business requirements. The worst possible situation is that you think you have done everything right and they think it is a lousy solution and you can't agree on who is right. You'll never get repeat business this way and you won't learn how to grow in the future.

Charging more can be a good thing. The price you sell your services at is a reflection on how much you value them. If you get a plumber for £50 a day you probably will be told by someone that your boiler might blow up. Get someone for £1,000 a day and you will have checked their credentials and the ability to stand by their work without you having to pay more. Which camp do you want to be in?

Being a jack of all trades for technical people is a great feeling - hero to many (I know), but when someone wants something "difficult" doing you might be outsold by a more focused provider. This means you need to know what you are good at and hone that skill. Market the fact that you are an expert, the best of the best and charge for it. If necessary, have a second brand that handles the lower end business and have different SLAs or offers for each end, even if you do both yourself.

Marketing and brand are swear words for many partners I work with. They should not be. If a customer does not know you exist, or know what you can do for them, then business will be harder to come buy. Ask them if they know all you can do and ensure you can simply explain to them what it is. Help them market you if you don't want to go down the "marketing" avenue in any other way. As an aside I recently was asked to comment of 3 proposals for some work to be done for a cash strapped organisation. I looked at the 3 proposals. One was overly detailed - providing loads of technical info on Windows Server, Office 2007, Windows Vista. The second was thin, basically a Quote invoice and an overview page. The third had prices at the end, but described how they would enhance the environment for the users in terms of what the users did, not what the technology was capable of. They also included things like 3 levels of service (with a recommendation of the right one) and then a quote like price breakdown at the end. I am sure you can guess which one one out. It was above the budget set by this organisation, but they felt most comfortable with the one focused on them. They knew they had to buy some "things" that they had not thought off, but when questioned why it was on the winning quote and not the others they were able to say what would be missing from the solution without it. Simple!

Adopting new business models will require a change in the shape of your business - in terms of where you make money, the skills (both technical and sales) that you need and where you invest in training and customers to build a reputation that you can stand by. If you want to sell "Live" services, you won't make your money on the sign-up kicker unless you sell hundreds a month, so you need to make it on design, consultancy, support services (and I don't mean just break fix), adding extra functionality that the business will want over the lifetime they are with you and more. Do the sums, work out the run-rate you need and switch partially or fully as needed.

So what has this got to do with Microsoft and me?

Well, my tone is often not too kind, so if you've read this far you might now be thinking that I am too big for my boots or simply want to put a stick in my eye. You might also be thinking that this is all very well and good, but why does this matter the to the people who read my blog. Well, people have asked me about this and the fact is that change is coming that will shake up the way SBSC members and others do business. For those who have not seen the signs along the way, here are some of them.

1) Microsoft is beginning to offer services in the cloud - With Its Head in the 'Cloud,' Microsoft Talks Web Services, Microsoft Details Web-Services Strategy, Ozzie Opens Up on 'Cloud' Services

2) Microsoft is trying to enable a model where partners can build a new business model around these new offerings, but the place where you make your profit (who cares about revenue - you need to have some take home money to pay the mortgage right?) - Turner: Microsoft Still 'Figuring Out' Core Strategies

3) The traditional software model will continue, but the growth will come in the newer areas - its not all doom and gloom, but the market will shrink for traditional services - Microsoft Executives Explain Services Transformation

4) We are not at the end of the line, there is still a huge amount more to come - Behind Microsoft's Bid to Gain Cutting Edge, Ballmer: Patient Investors Rewarded

For those who want to understand more, have a look at On-Demand Webcast: Presentations at Financial Analyst Meeting;

Me and others

As always, I'd love to get feedback - know where I am wrong - I most surely am in places and I have been told before that when I write it comes out far more arrogantly than when I talk face to face - that is the lack of feedback. I'd love to have feedback, as I said, where you want more help from Microsoft, where I am wrong or mis-guided, what you are doing or have done to ensure the "gloom" does not impact your business. It does not take long to write a comment or send me an e-mail - I can take the blunt ones as well as I can be blunt :-)

One last point - I am in a new role, working with software vendors around the UK and world. Microsoft is not the only organisation grappling with this change, so expect to see similar offerings form others too!!

Other people who discuss areas like this, but don't necessarily agree with me include Steve Clayton (Microsoft), Susanne Dansey and Vlad Mazek and Rachel Elnaugh

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Business, Software plus Service, S+S, Microsoft, web based business, new business models

Eileen Brown talks VoIP

doverton — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:27:48 GMT

This is again taken from the latest TechNet (http://www.microsoft.com/Technet) newsletter here in the UK.

VoIP Is On Its Way
I've been playing with Office Communicator 2007 for a while now and have been impressed by all of the extra functionality that the new instant messaging client brings. We talk a lot about extra productivity in our new products, but I've really noticed a difference this time. It now provides the ability to create a set of contacts that can see different levels of information: personal contacts who can see all published contact information including home and mobile numbers, team settings which allow members of my team to see my free / busy status, and who can also interrupt me whilst my status is busy. Moving down the list, there are company contacts who can see my limited availability and information, and public contacts, connecting through 'Public Internet Connectivity (PIC)' who see my name and email address and limited availability. I think this is much better than the blocked or not blocked options in the past. There's also an option for instant messaging conversations and voice calls to be saved in to a conversation history folder in Outlook.
But the best feature is definitely the VOIP calling option which gives you amazing flexibility. Just right click on the contact you want and click 'call'. Select the number you want and the call goes either to land line, mobile or the recipient's computer. I have a USB desk phone for when I'm working from home, and a retractable headset and microphone for when I'm travelling. I don't need to VPN in, but just use the SIP /TLS features with my normal wireless connection and I'm there. I don't use my mobile phone to make calls any more when my PC is on, and the cost savings when I'm travelling and my phone is roaming will be huge.
So I need to get out on the road and demo this. Look out for our Unified Communications Unplugged tour coming in late October when you can see for yourself just how VOIP can liberate you from your desk.

Eileen Brown, Manager, IT Pro Evangelist team
Email: eileen.brown@microsoft.com
Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/eileen_brown/
Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/Industry_Insiders/

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Technet, VoIP, Office Communications Server, Office Communicator, Unified Communications

Unified Communications

doverton — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:02:50 GMT

This information is from the last 2 Technet newsletters (http://www.microsoft.com/technet)

Unified Communications Team Blog
http://blogs.technet.com/uc/default.aspx

Unified Communications - Office Communication Server 2007 Videos

Two videos, one on Office Communications Server 2007 and one on Office RoundTable
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=4&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3fFamilyID%3d67d3e846-ae4a-4b30-9e0c-eac22bd2a58a%26DisplayLang%3den
Unified Communications and Collaboration Event Presentation Downloads
Unified Communications and Collaborations Event Downloads
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=5&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3fFamilyID%3da10931b2-dceb-4ddc-8c5a-25c4b2c5804c%26DisplayLang%3den
Using Exchange Server 2007 for Unified Messaging and Fax

How can you best implement the Unified Messaging (UM) features of Exchange Server 2007? Microsoft IT uses the UM features of Exchange Server 2007 to integrate voice messaging with the internal e-mail messaging environment. This content will detail the technical implementation and deployment strategy for deploying Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging features in the Microsoft enterprise messaging environment.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=9&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3fFamilyID%3dde6b24ab-0d23-4d82-ac2e-342a86b22580%26DisplayLang%3den

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Unified Communications, Office Communications Server, Exchange 2007, RoundTable

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Public Beta

doverton — Tue, 29 May 2007 23:22:29 GMT

I just came across this. Should you want to play with our VoIP solution that also integrates into Exchange 2007 then this is for you.

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Public Beta

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 provides users with streamlined real-time communications on an extensible VoIP foundation that provides the operational control your organization requires.

Featured Resources

Now available: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 public beta

Download Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Public Beta with Office Communicator 2007.
Download the documentation for Office Communications Server 2007 beta

Featured Webcasts
Join us for an overview of Microsoft unified communications solutions and to learn more about Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.

Microsoft Unified Communications Overview
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Overview
Scenarios for Using Office Communicator 2007

Source: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Public Beta

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Office Communications Server

Do you want to trial Exchange Server 2007, perhaps talk to the server? If so, look at the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Hosted Trial

doverton — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:26:29 GMT

I saw this over at Henrik's blog and throught it might be of interest to the SBSC community. I like this. While I discovered that demoing something like this using a free VoIP service was a bad idea, using OK quality phones delivers an amazing experience. Obviously we will not see Exchange 2007 embedded in SBS until Cougar ships, it can still be provided as a hosted service, on a 2nd machine or for a partner internally using the Action Pack copy that should ship next month (fingers crossed).

For more information, pop over to Henrik's blog on the subject, including the link to the trial.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Hosted Trial

Like it was the case right after Exchange 2003 RTM, you can also sign up for an Exchange 2007 tempoary account…
“Welcome to the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Hosted Trial web site. You can create a temporary account to experience the features of Exchange Server 2007 which will stay active for 5 days. Your account will be pre-populated with sample messages, calendar appointments and a voice message to help you have a rich experience. You will be able to send and receive mail, schedule meetings, and adjust your options. You can access your account via Outlook Web Access, Outlook, or an Exchange Active-Sync compatible application. Please review your pre-populated messages for details.”

Source: Henrik Walther Blog » Blog Archive » Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Hosted Trial

ttfn

David

Technorati tags: Exchange 2007, Trial, OWA

So you don't get Exchange 2007 in the Action Pack, but want to evaluate it

doverton — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:25:27 GMT

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Now Available for Evaluation

Make your evaluation period as efficient as possible: Downloading the software automatically registers you to receive relevant resources for the discovery, assessment and deployment stages. You'll receive links to webcasts, e-learning, virtual labs and more.

If you are interested in Exchange 2007 integration with PBXs, here is some more information

doverton — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:40:08 GMT

I was wondering over Eileens blog and came to this one - Configuring your PBX for Exchange 2007 - it talks about a preview of documentation covering VoIP gateways, PBXs and gateway.

Have a look at the blog and link for more info. Just as a btw, the list is quite extensive:

The following PBXs are supported by the Dialogic NetStructure PBX-IP Media Gateway (PIMG).

PBX manufacturer	PBX Model/Type	PIMG model and additional signaling
Avaya	Definity G3 S8100, S8300, S8700, & S8710 (Communications Mgr SW V2.0 or later versions)	PIMG80DNIV4
Avaya	Magix	PIMG80DNIV4
Mitel	SX-200D, SX-200 Light, SX-2000 Light, SX-2000 S, SX-2000 VS, SX-200 ICP	PIMG80MTLDNIV4
Nortel	Meridian 1 - Option 11, 21, 21A, 51, 61, 71, and 81, Meridian SL1 - Generic X11, Release 15 or later versions, Nortel Communication Server - 1000M, 1000S, 1000E with Rls V3.0 or later versions	PIMG80DNIV4
Nortel	SL 100	PIMG80LSV4 Analog connectivity using SMDI serial protocol
NEC	2000, 2400, 2400 IPX	PIMG80DNIV4
Siemens	HiCom 300E CS	PIMG80DNIV4
Siemens	HiCom 300E (European)	PIMG80LSV4 Analog connectivity using Inband DTMF signaling.
Siemens	8000 (SW release 80003 or later versions), 9000 (All versions) 9751 (All version of SW release 9005),9751 (SW release 9006.3 or later versions)	PIMG80RLMDNIV4
Ericsson	MD110	PIMG80LSV4 Analog connectivity by using the MD110 RS232 protocol
Intecom		PIMG800LSV4 Analog connectivity by using SMDI serial protocol
Others include: Alcatel Toshiba	Various	PIMG80LSV4 Analog connectivity using either Inband DTMF or SMDI

The following PBXs are supported by the Dialogic NetStructure T1/E1 Media Gateway (TIMG).

PBX manufacturer	PBX Model/Type	Required software version
Avaya	Definity G3	Version 3 or later versions
Avaya	S8500	Communications Manager SW V2.0 or later versions
Mitel	SX-2000 S, SX-2000 VS	LW 34
Mitel	3300	Version 5.1.4.8
Nortel	Meridian 1- Option 11c	Release 15 or later versions, and options 19 and 46 are required
NEC	2400 IMX	Release 5200 Dec. 92 1b or later versions
Siemens	Hicom 300E CS	Release 9006.4 or later versions (only available in North America)
Siemens	HiPath 4000	V2 SMR 9 SMPO

The following PBXs are supported through AudioCodes gateways (Mediant 2000, MediaPak 114 and MediaPak 118).

PBX manufacturer	PBX Model/Type	AudioCodes model “x” – replace with 4 or 8 per need “y”- replace with 1,2,4,8 or 16 per need
Alcatel	OmniPCX 4400	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0
Avaya	Definity G3	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0 Mediant2000/ySpans/SIP/RS232 Enabling SMDI is optional
Avaya	Magix/Merlin	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0
Intecom	EADS2001	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0 Mediant2000/ySpans/SIP/RS232 Enabling SMDI is mandatory
Mitel	SX-200, SX-2000	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0 Mediant2000/ySpans/SIP/RS232
NEC	Electra, Elite, IPX, 2000, 2400 IPX	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0
NEC	NEAX2400	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0
Nortel	CS - 1000M, 1000S, 1000E	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0 Mediant2000/ySpans/SIP/RS232 Enabling SMDI is mandatory
Nortel	SL 100	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0 Mediant2000/ySpans/SIP/RS232 Enabling SMDI is optional
Panasonic	KX-TD	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0
Siemens	HiCom 300, 9005, HiPath 3000/4000	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0
Toshiba	DK	MediaPack 11x/FXO/AC/SIP-0 Enabling SMDI is optional