Microsoft Nears D-Day for VoIP Launch

"Because you're reusing things like Active Directory and Exchange, the solutions will also be cheaper to operate," he said. "We believe we will fundamentally change the economics of the communications space."

Solution providers in the unified communications market, particularly those working with other vendors, are bracing for the Microsoft impact.

"Anybody that ignores that company does so at their own peril," said Mark Essayian, owner of KME Systems, a VoIP solution provider in Lake Forest, Calif. "Microsoft is going to be a big contender."

Microsoft's success in the market is by no means a given, Essayian said.

"They've entered a few arenas and fallen down, but I don' think they will with this," he said. "Microsoft can be an even bigger competitor than Cisco [Systems], but I don't know that customers will want to implement Microsoft [unified communications] systems at the 300 to 400 seat level."

Steve Marks, president and general manager of Starnet Data Design, a solution provider in Westlake Village, Calif., has a dimmer view of Microsoft's prospects, particularly in the mid-market.

"I think it's going to e a struggle for them, honestly," Marks said. "I don't know that SMBs will have enough staff to support it."

The leg up that Microsoft's unified communications rivals have is that they are already entrenched in the market, Essayian said.

"The 3Coms and Ciscos of the world understand that they have to stay ahead of the competition. Microsoft has to catch up," Essayian said.

That's exactly the point Cisco makes when laying out reasons why it thinks it's got Microsoft beat.

"We've got unmatched experience in VoIP and unified communications," said Richard McLeod, director of unified communications solutions for worldwide channels at Cisco, San Jose, Calif., during the recent launch of Cisco's own efforts to build an ecosystem that brings its channel partners together with ISV partners.

He also pointed to the breadth and depth of Cisco's end-to-end offerings, and the blood, sweat and tears Cisco has expended to build up a support infrastructure around VoIP. "We have award-winning support that we've build for partners and customers over seven years, and that doesn't come easy," McLeod said.

As they butt heads in the unified communications space, there are two things Cisco and Microsoft seem to agree on. One is that customers expect and demand technologies from the two companies to interoperate. The other is that someone has to put all of these pieces together, meaning the channel's collective star is on the rise.

"We do more engineering work with Microsoft because they need to make sure everything they're doing works through the backbone of the Internet," said Edison Peres, Cisco vice president and chief go-to-market officer for worldwide channels. "Customers want Cisco and Microsoft managed end to end. The bottom line is that partners will be much more relevant."