As for UC capabilities, just about the only thing Microsoft won't offer in Exchange 2007 is call termination; that will be handled through partnerships. Nortel has entered into a four-year deal with Microsoft that includes cross promotion, shared intellectual property and tighter product integration, to provide PBX functionality alongside Exchange and OCS. No surprise there. We didn't expect Microsoft to get into the hardware PBX market. But this partnership could negatively affect other UC vendors. Avaya, for example, must see this pact as a potential long-term threat, even as it maintains partnerships with Microsoft. Siemens likewise has products that are built on top of Microsoft's IM offering.
We see Microsoft hedging its bets and remaining open to other SIP-based VoIP systems going forward. Microsoft and Compaq made a similar deal in 1993, yet Dell seems to be doing well. From a technological perspective, the Microsoft-Nortel partnership doesn't offer much more than Alcatel, Avaya, Siemens or any other top-tier UC vendor offers. Nortel has had financial troubles for the past few years, so it may simply have offered Microsoft the best deal in hopes of taking back market share from Cisco, Avaya and others.
Gateway To UC
Currently, 36 percent of large and 23 percent of midsize organizations are using VoIP, according to Infonetics Research, which predicts adoption rates of 66 percent and 50 percent, respectively, by 2010. Considering the massive undertaking of converting from a conventional TDM PBX model to an IP-based environment, that's healthy growth.
Not all IT managers are sold on VoIP, of course. Concerns over cost, reliability, security and complexity linger, despite vendors' best marketing efforts. In our most recent annual Reader Poll, almost one-third of respondents said enterprise VoIP "is an expensive and complicated replacement for something that works just fine." Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
