atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General Telecom News Microsoft readies digital phone systems

Interesting...but that really does not price out good at all when you look at it. $2,999 for four phones, not installed mind you; that is not a good price at all. Sure admin will supposedly be easier, but so was the Bizfon....J/K, Microsoft will presumably do a better job, but I really do not see this ever taking over the market, maybe taking a share, but not taking it over. This is just Microsoft jumping on the bandwaggon, now it they really jumped all the way in with a real system, then they could potentially do some good/harm, but not with this, IMHO.

D-Link Version:
The Dlink Phone:

Quanta Version of System:

And the Telephone:

Steve

Microsoft is typically very disruptive in any market they enter. Phones are their next target. Their MCS Server is what will be disruptive (if they ever finish it).

2Com, which invented Ethernet and was once a predominant IT equipment maker, has a line of VOIP phones out too, for some time. The problem is that they are horribly expensive and they nickel and dime you to death for every little feature. I predict a similar fate for Microsoft.

I was thinking about this last night, and I have come to another condlusion: This is another Linksys SPA 9000, but more expensive. Honestly, that has not taken the small market by storm and I doubt this will. Expensive will not fly with small businesses (and the Linksys really is not that expensive); anyone that has tried to sell a system in that market will attest to that.

Is this system digital or IP? From the article it looks like it is digital, why would they do that? IP is happening, and it will replace digital systems in the next few years, the price point for this particular system (especially if it is digital) is just too high for the market they are aiming for. They will need to put the Microsoft name on it too, rebranding will only get you so far....and not too far with this system.

Steve

I fear that the Microsoft Communication Server will become the next cisco call manager and be tightly integrated with MS Exchange/MS Small Business Server. You are in IT, you know little to nothing about phones, you are asked to make a phone decision, and you know Microsoft like the back of your hand, what do you think they will buy? The only question is to what degree of success microsoft will have.

BTW, the link posted above was not MCS, it was just a digital phone offering in order to round-out the soho part of their soon-to-be telephony portfolio.

Kumba, you hit the nail on the head. I think that alot of Cisco IP solutions have been sold simply because of the Cisco background in IT. I personally have been seeing more and more of them lately. With Microsoft throwing their hat into the ring now, if they can make it work, it will sell.

And like anything microsoft does, they tend to destroy the market. You can trace that back through their history.

Who would have ever thought that Microsoft would release a game console that would outsell the Sony PlayStation? Food for thought.

Kumba, you hit the nail on the head. I think that alot of Cisco IP solutions have been sold simply because of the Cisco background in IT... With Microsoft throwing their hat into the ring now, if they can make it work, it will sell.

Sure, just look at what their market is. You don't think a CG even knows Vodavi, Panasonic, and the others even exist, do you? You don't think they know anything other than IP?

-Hal

and like it or not the voice side is being handed over to the in house IT guy

Not disagreeing with you but how big a financial charge did Microsoft make trying to refix their "gamey console"? Both of my son's consoles have failed 3 times.

[/QUOTE]Not disagreeing with you but how big a financial charge did Microsoft make trying to refix their "gamey console"? Both of my son's consoles have failed 3 times. [/QB][/QUOTE]

Exactly. More than likely when Microsoft does finaly enter the IP PBX market it will be with an IP Softswitch, which is where the medium to large market is going anyways. It is highly probable that one will purchase the Microsoft XXXX system and will only get a DVD in the mail, leaving the hardware to the server manufacturers. Why deal with hardware when you do not need to anymore?

Steve

Heh, I wouldn't buy it until SP1 came out....lol

I wouldn't think about using any phone system that runs on Windows. It linux or nothing for me...

Just to clarify i'm not rooting for it, or have high hopes for it, I just know i'll probably end up hating it like I do cisco

Think of it this way....if you have 10% of the number of problems, freezes, reboots that you do with the average PC running windows......would that be acceptable?

Then...you start wondering if it will be vulnerable to viruses...

Sounds like a great chance to sell new phone systems as people rip these out!!

This whole topic is really interesting to me. Considering the nature of communications today, namely 'Collaborative' which relies on interoperability, Microsoft will have to make some major changes to the way they are used to doing business. That can't happen overnight.

I blogged briefly on the topic just last night: Microsoft doesn\'t get Web 2.0

Right on target! Don't forget, Microsoft will forever bombard the buyers with licence requirements, renewals, etc. which of course is good for us.

Dave

Except for the fact that the SMB and larger manufacturers will also start going this way, as they will see it as a way to make money (at least initially). You already see them following the parade by changing their chassis from flatpack or card cage to rack-mounted and modularly-connected.

From Microsoft's perspective, with phones going VOIP, why SHOULDN'T they see this as a great opportunity? I agree that they will likely turn it upsidedown, but there is one difference: downtime is only tolerated for so long with telephones. I don't believe telephones will receive the same tolerance for downtime as is the status quo and expectation for computers and Microsoft operating systems. It's our job to continue reminding the consumers that there is no reason to tolerate this kind of unacceptable service, even if it's coming from the software monopoly. We know better that there is an alternative to computer-like downtime for phones.

I, too, believe that if approached the right way, this can be a good opportunity for us to capitalize.

Convergence of IT and the network is overshadowing all technology in business. Expect more of this. The IT guys have direct support from sr mgmt. Now IT has the budget and control.

IT managers hate old technology phones (and CCTV, security, building automation, process control, the list goes on...). The traditional telcom equip vendors did not create meaningful IT partnerships that delivered.

IT mgmt will respond to Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, HP and/or Oracle coming out with solutions converged to the network with management and integration.

Worse yet, most customers will be buying their phones directly from CDW and the like very shortly. The traditional telcom dealers will either become cabling techs or PC/nework integrators (with a voice specialty, perhaps).

I just got this in my email today:
https://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=559&tag=nl.e101

Microsoft wont have to integrate with anyone else. Everyone else will end up integrating with it (if they want to stay viable). The only integration microsoft will do is at the protocol level. Expect their communications server to work with POTS, PRI, and SIP. Don't expect it to do anything else.

Lets put it this way. Look at MS Exchange. Look at how popular it is. Now look at how inter-operable it is with something that's not Outlook. Unless you JUST want SMTP/POP3/IMAP from Exchange, don't expect to use 90% of it's groupware features.

MS will apply that same philosophy to their voip stuff.

In 2006 a study "estimated" that the number of active computers in the world would surpass 1-Billion by 2007. Lets say it did, and there are 1-billion computers in the world.

Now, depending on WHO you believe, windows (Desktop & OS) makes up 65-75% of that 1-billion computer market. If you want to refer to just the desktop market, then Microsoft is around 90-95% of it.

It all boils down to sheer numbers. Microsoft will never (and has proven it) work to be compatible with ANYONE else above the protocol level. Microsoft will also continue to offer high levels of integration within their software that can only be used by microsoft (with their own proprietary protocols). If you think microsoft is going to play nice beyond TDM/SIP signaling then it's my opinion that you are dead wrong.

Expect the MS Communication Server to roll out in force. The Windows IT weenies will love it because it plugs and plays with their server and will work with 95% of their client base. They will not even question it because "It is Microsoft".

Sounds like cisco all over again huh?

All we can hope for is that they do as bad a job as Cisco otherwise they will probably be VERY VERY disruptive to the market.

I'm willing to bet lunch that Microsoft will license this the same way they license MS Exchange. No recurring annual fee's, free updates, and a neat little holographic sticker.

WELL...if it comes with a sticker

a Holographic sticker... that add's like 5-hp to the computer

Voice is becoming data, and if the IT guy who has to now also maintain the phone system feels comfortable with Microsoft, it may be a deciding factor. We'll have to see if their integration is any better than anyone else's.

I also think there are a WHOLE lot of people who are not big fans of microsoft and their methods. Does anyone really want to buy a phone system hackers and virus writers will be out in full force against to cause problems with it?

Good analogy to the Linksys system above. If Microsoft is not cheap, what is their market? If they are selling on name alone, I can't imagine buisnesses being in a hurry to jump on board. Business decision makers are a little more savvy than our country's XBox purchasers....

1OldPhoneMan pretty much nailed it...

I believe cisco and microsoft both have a dream of a day when customers buy direct online and cut us out completely...

those microsoft phones are pretty dull... they should have had Apple design them!