Microsoft to Unveil Collaboration Wares

Microsoft said it has completed development of its next generation instant messaging and real-time collaboration client, Office Communicator 2005, and plans to ship the software before the end of this month.

In addition to the instant messaging capabilities, Communicator provides users with voice, video, Web conferencing, and telephony in a single desktop interface.

Office Communicator 2005 is a major overhaul of the client software for Microsoft's real-time platform. Microsoft says Office Communicator has been released to manufacturing, which means CDs are being pressed and it should be generally available soon.

Communicator is part of the Office System, which is Microsoft's centerpiece for real-time communication and collaboration including Outlook, Communicator, Exchange, Office, SharePoint, Live Communication Server and Live Meeting.

Taking on Lotus

Communicator is the front end for integrating presence information with a host of Windows applications, including those in Office System. When coupled with a PBX, the client can control calls, such as call forwarding and multi-call conferencing.

"You can look at this as an IM client, but it is really a much broader integrated communications client," says Ed Simnett, group product manager with the real-time collaboration group at Microsoft.

Microsoft is working with Siemens, Alcatel, and Mitel to provide telephony integration.

Communicator, which runs on Windows XP and 2000 SP4, works in conjunction with Live Communications Server 2005 (LCS) and is a key link for integrating the server with public IM services such as Yahoo, AOL, and MSN. In April, Microsoft released the first service pack for LCS, including a feature called Public IM Connectivity (PIC). Communicator provides the client support for PIC, although Microsoft says the current Windows Messenger 5.1 provides limited PIC support.

In addition, users rolling out PIC will need to purchase a separate yearly license, which is priced at $10 to $12 per user or device. Also, the PIC service is only available to users with volume-licensing agreements. The Communicator client access license (CAL) is priced at $31. A separate CAL is needed for telephony integration and is also priced at $31.

Microsoft is entering a corporate IM market dominated by rival IBM/Lotus and its Lotus Instant Messaging and Web Conferencing platform.