Update builds on momentum behind software-powered unified communications and voice.
Today, Microsoft Corp. debuted Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 (R2), an update to the award-winning Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. Microsoft representatives demonstrated the new release for the first time before an audience of telecom and IT professionals at the VoiceCon tradeshow in Amsterdam. Customers will be able to purchase the release, currently in private beta testing, beginning in February 2009.
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 delivers important new functionality that extends software-powered voice, particularly for remote and mobile workers; …

Microsoft makes equity investment in Aspect to bring Microsoft’s unified communications and voice platform to contact centers worldwide.
ORLANDO, Fla. — March 18, 2008 — Today at the VoiceCon Orlando 2008 conference, Microsoft Corp. and Aspect Software Inc., a leading contact center company, announced a multiyear strategic alliance to help deliver unified communications (UC) to contact centers around the world. Aspect will design its Aspect Unified IP contact center solution to interoperate with Microsoft’s platform for software-powered voice and unified communications and will offer it as the leading option to new …

VoiceCon Booth 801 – Orlando, Fla. - Avaya Inc, a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services, today introduced Intelligent Presence, breakthrough software that drives greater precision, speed and collaboration using presence-based, real-time communications. Avaya Intelligent Presence collects and integrates presence information from multiple sources for a richer view of a worker’s status that can be supplied to both individuals and business applications to improve collaboration and business execution.
Avaya Intelligent Presence solves the challenge of integrating diverse sources of presence information from different vendor platforms using multiple …

Avaya one-X™ Communicator delivers rich presence, multi-protocol voice and video
VoiceCon Booth 801 – Orlando, Fla. – Avaya Inc., a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services, today announced Avaya one-X™ Communicator, a new flagship, unified communications client application that gives users access to a broad range of the most commonly used communications tools from a single interface.
Avaya one-X Communicator provides full telephony features, desktop video, visual voicemail, rich presence, email and instant messaging, conference bridge integration, directories and contact history. From a single application, a simple click …