Microsoft is expected to release its latest enterprise instant messaging server, Live Communications Server 2005, later this month, and industry analysts suggest that its enhanced capabilities signal a concerted and not entirely surprising effort to move into the telephony and VOIP (voice over IP) market.
"They want to go into a new market where they haven't played before," said Laura DiDio, a senior analyst with The Yankee Group, based in Boston. "It's a new vista for them, and we're seeing that the traditional datacom, telco and software markets are getting to a blurry point of indistinction."
DiDio said she sees the moves as a natural progression for Microsoft, and that she sees LCS 2005 as part of a larger initiative?NET. "This all tracks back to what they've been talking about since two months after Windows 2000 shipped," she said.
Other analysts agree, and they're quick to point out that Microsoft initially won't want to compete with the VOIP carriers or traditional hardware vendors, but rather on applications and functionality.
"It's the higher-layer services and applications like IM [instant messaging], voice and data that is enabled by VOIP and those protocols [that Microsoft will focus on]," said Tom Valovic, program director of VOIP infrastructure at IDC (International Data Corp.) in Framingham, Mass.
And that's where improvements to LCS should bolster Microsoft. Microsoft says LCS 2005 will offer improved security and usability, as well as a "presence engine" that enables communications and location information to be exchanged between devices and users.
It's also the first time it's gone outside the firewall, allowing secure communications between partners, customers and employees. In addition, it's built on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), which could enable expansion to voice and video communications.
Source : http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1667858,00.asp