Microsoft VoIP Products Ready For Public Scrutiny

With the beta release, the vendor is taking yet another step down the path toward fulfilling its unified communications vision of setting up the Microsoft desktop as the primary communications interface for users. The strategy includes not only the new products but also partnerships with IP telephony players like Avaya, Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks.

Those vendors have all been keen to tout their Microsoft relationships. Avaya President and CEO Louis D'Ambrosio and Nortel President and CEO Mike Zafirovski both showcased their respective Microsoft partnerships in keynote addresses at VoiceCon Tuesday. Charlie Giancarlo, Cisco's senior vice president and chief development officer, is expected to do the same in his keynote later Wednesday.

"The Microsoft-Nortel threat is only proportional to the technology differential between Avaya and Nortel. That's the competitive landscape, and we're very confident in our ability to win," D'Ambrosio told CRN in an interview Tuesday night. "We have comparable integration between the Microsoft desktop and Avaya [IP communications products]. We have that today."

Zafirovski during his keynote called Nortel's Innovative Communications Alliance with Microsoft "a very special alliance. We're both making investments. It's a very deep relationship with R&D elements, go-to-market elements and services."

Perhaps adding fuel to the competitive fire, Raikes is also slated to unveil the release of interoperability specifications for technology partners that want to connect their IP-PBX platforms with the two forthcoming Microsoft products via SIP.

Partnerships with the IP-PBX players are a key piece of Microsoft's communications game plan, Kapner said.

"Our biggest challenge is the perception battle about people being confident in working with Microsoft to deal with phone calls," Kapner said. "That's why we're partnering with known experts like Nortel, Avaya and others."

Kapner expects customers to be drawn to Microsoft's unified communications wares because they will work with their existing infrastructure.

"We're not trying to replace your phone. We are working with your existing infrastructure and the people who know how to do [telephony]," Kapner said.

That's not to say that Microsoft doesn't foresee a future where those infrastructure players won't be needed.

"If there's a time when that infrastructure is not required, then we will have already gained [users'] trust," Kapner added.