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they can be sent around the office. This section takes a closer look at one company’s
strategy and vision—Microsoft Unified Communications.
New Phones
Microsoft has targeted telephones as part of its Unified Communications initiative. Noting
that very few people actually know how to transfer a call from their telephones, Microsoft
moved ahead with the notion that the problem doesn’t lie in the telephones themselves. It’s
a mental block with the users. As such, Microsoft introduced a suite of business software
that will improve office tasks. The new products included in its Unified Communications
push include the following:
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
• Microsoft Office Live Meeting
• A service pack update of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
• RoundTable—an Ethernet-connected, 360-degree videoconferencing VoIP system
Using the Internet
Unified Communications targets traditional business private branch exchanges (PBXs).
These are pieces of telecommunications equipment that serve an entire office. Microsoft PART III
notes that when an employee gets a new PBX-based telephone system, it costs the business
a week’s worth of lost time and US$700. In Microsoft’s vision, the less-expensive option is to
use the Internet via Voice over IP (VoIP).
Basically, the Unified Communications system treats voice like e-mail. Outlook is
configured so that it shows the employee’s phone numbers and at which one they can be
contacted. When a call (or message) comes through, the employee can decide whether to
take the call or to route it to voicemail.
Additionally, Microsoft sees RoundTable as a way to revolutionize conference calling.
For example, a conference leader can highlight a specific member or call up a PowerPoint
presentation.
Smooth Working
The system also makes it possible to communicate with others using different types of
technologies. For example, if you’re on the road and you need to check your e-mail, you can
call your inbox and have the e-mail read to you, using text-to-speech. You can also check
your voicemails and update your calendar, as needed.
The move is an effort to aggregate all the different ways people try to communicate into
one, centralized system.

Intranets
You know that human resources manual that’s the size of a cinder block? You don’t need it.
And you certainly don’t need a copy on everyone’s desk. Just put it on your organization’s
intranet and employees can access it from their computers. Plus, when you make a change,
you need not reprint the book; just send out an e-mail to your employees that the change
has been posted to the manual.