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