unified communications
enterprise unified communications views and opinions
Tuesday 10 February 2009, 7:25 PM
OCS 5 day hosted trial - no fuss opportunity to learn
I’ve just completed the 5 day OCS hosted trial and am pleased to report it provided an insight that I would recommend to anyone interested in OCS. The online signup process (https://r2.uctrial.com/) was followed by an email providing logon details, voicemail box numbers and a download link for the desktop Office Communicator client. The daily email outlining key features was clear and consise. Features covered by the trial include:
- Instant Messaging & Presence using the Office Communicator desktop client
- Email & Unified Messaging using Outlook Web Access including voice command access to your inbox and playback of email messages (Outlook Voice Access)
- Peer-to-Peer Voice & Video using the Office Communicator client
- Desktop Sharing
- Web-based IM, Email, Presence & Desktop Sharing using Office Communicator Web Access (this uses a web based client for access rather than a downloadable desktop client… key for workers using home or public computers)
Large enterprises considering evaluating OCS will get evaluation trials from their suppliers quite easily, however if you just want a no fuss trial to understand what OCS is about then the hosted offer will serve you nicely. If you have more time to commit you can also download 60 day trials that you host on your own hardware (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/bb684921.aspx).
- Instant Messaging & Presence using the Office Communicator desktop client
- Email & Unified Messaging using Outlook Web Access including voice command access to your inbox and playback of email messages (Outlook Voice Access)
- Peer-to-Peer Voice & Video using the Office Communicator client
- Desktop Sharing
- Web-based IM, Email, Presence & Desktop Sharing using Office Communicator Web Access (this uses a web based client for access rather than a downloadable desktop client… key for workers using home or public computers)
Large enterprises considering evaluating OCS will get evaluation trials from their suppliers quite easily, however if you just want a no fuss trial to understand what OCS is about then the hosted offer will serve you nicely. If you have more time to commit you can also download 60 day trials that you host on your own hardware (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/bb684921.aspx).
Thursday 5 February 2009, 9:28 PM
Integrate your Polycom room and Microsoft desktop video solutions
If you have a Polycom High Definition video conferencing environment and Microsoft OCS environment then OCS R2 will now let you integrate the two according to a recent Polycom press release.
I’ve seen alot of demand for the ability to bring Microsoft Office Communicator users into Polycom video conference rooms - the best example being remote workers at home or in a hotel who want to join a room based video conference.
Of course Polycom have PC based web conferencing tools such as Polycom CMA Desktop… but if you are an OCS house already having one desktop video solution will only be a good thing. Shared presence and contact lists are among the features released.
I’ve seen alot of demand for the ability to bring Microsoft Office Communicator users into Polycom video conference rooms - the best example being remote workers at home or in a hotel who want to join a room based video conference.
Of course Polycom have PC based web conferencing tools such as Polycom CMA Desktop… but if you are an OCS house already having one desktop video solution will only be a good thing. Shared presence and contact lists are among the features released.
