Saturday, April 17, 2010

OCS Voice in the “Cloud” for dedicated customers in US

Interesting bit of news from Microsoft Online included in the post Expanded Global Availability. SIP trunking is now supported but only for customers in US

US-based BPOS Dedicated customers can now enjoy a more complete unified communications (UC) experience in the cloud with Office Communications Online. Optimized for highly mobile information workers, the new voice capabilities enable people to make and receive phone calls anywhere using their PC and any broadband connection. The new service helps people be more productive by providing a simple UC experience, the ability to reach the right person at the right time, and improved mobility. BPOS-D can reduce the load on customers’ existing PBX (private branch exchange) investments by moving some workers onto a cloud based solution, but is not intended to replace all PBX functionality at this time.

Initially, the new voice service is offered in the US only, and it is important to note that connectivity from a qualified SIP (session initiation protocol) trunking provider is required for customers to connect to the PSTN (public switched telephone network). Currently, these services are available from Global Crossing (www.globalcrossing.com).

We look forward to this for all non-dedicated customers and also in Europe (But we probably shouldn’t be holding our breath while waiting ;-)

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