Microsoft and Google have entirely separate approaches to integrating social networking, though. Google Buzz is actually a social networking service itself–integrated into the popular Gmail email interface. Google has faced some serious backlash and challenges related to privacy with Buzz, but privacy issues aside it is basically like having Twitter rolled into Gmail without the 140-character limitation, and you can actually pull your Twitter feed in as well.

The Google approach has some potential as a real-time collaboration platform that can help Google combine tools to deliver a viable unified communications solution, but it actually adds to the messaging noise rather than cutting through the clutter and helping to manage social networking.

Microsoft’s approach, using social connectors with Outlook, provides users with a means of aggregating all communications and activity for a given user in one space. The People Pane in Outlook 2010 shows a complete email history with the given user, calendar events, file attachments, RSS feeds, and social networking comments and status updates.

Microsoft Outlook with social connectors is a much more efficient and productive method of sifting through all of the messaging clutter to be able to quickly and easily find all relevant communications from a given user. There is still room, though, for someone to create a single software application to act as an interface to aggregate all of the various social networks in total, rather than on a contact by contact basis.

A NetworkWorld article summarizing the acquisition says “Aspect will apply SharePoint directly to contact centers, for example, enabling such services as expert search in which agents can find subject matter experts company-wide to answer callers’ questions.”

It should be interesting to see how Aspect takes the skills and intellectual property of Quilogy and expands its portfolio of unified communications and contact center offerings.

A Computerworld article on the product launch says:

Allen Cohen, vice president of enterprise solutions, said told Computerworld that today’s new products and Cisco’s recent agreement to buy videoconferencing vendor Tandberg for $3 billion demonstrate that “Cisco is doubling down [its investment] on collaboration.”

I don’t disagree that it shows Cisco is commited, but 61 products??? I realize that a vendor like Cisco can’t create a one-size-fits-all unified communications solution and expect it to work for everyone, but 61 new products?!?!?!

My eyes glaze over just reading ’61 new products’. I haven’t even gotten to the part where I try to learn what each of the 61 new products does, how they work together, what impact they might have for a business, and what combination of this smorgasbord of products would work best.

I commend Cisco for its commitment, but I think it needs to understand that unified communications and collaboration is about simplification and efficiency. If it requires some sort of calculus algorithm just to map out the available options, customers will just be confused and choose something easier.

That said, there are two sides to the Google Wave coin. Its not all ice cream and rainbows, or sunshine and lollipops. First, the real-time collaboration is a huge benefit and the ability to see others typing as their fingers hit the keys is novel, but do we really need to watch others type…wrong…then backspace….then retype?

Have you ever written a message in anger or frustration? Then you take a step back and a deep breath, re-read it, and decide that there is a more appropriate way to say things so you edit the message before sending it? If you were holding that conversation in a Google Wave the other party would be able to watch as you type what a complete jackass….brain dead moron…..jerk….good person with the right intentions, but poor execution your boss is.

Real-time typing has its drawbacks.

What about the ability to chain and forward a Wave well after the fact? Say you start a Wave with a friend and you are venting between the two of you about a third friend. The Wave evolves and later the third friend is inadvertently added to the Wave. That person can go back to the beginning of the Wave, replay it, comment on it, etc.

Once its a Wave its sort of out of your control and the concept of assuming that everything you type will be shared publicly takes on a whole new meaning.

It will be interesting to see how some of the pitfalls of Google Wave are addressed as development evolves and the fully functional Google Wave eventually hits the Internet.

If you are on Google Wave, you can feel free to connet with me at s3kur3@googlewave.com.

But, investing in unified communications is seen as a cost-cutting measure as well as an investment in technologies that will help the organization to communicate more effectively and operate more efficiently so it can continue to get more done with fewer resources. In a time when people and budgets are being cut, unified communications almost becomes an imperative so that the people who are remain can still get the job done and deliver quality products and services for customers.

That is just my $.02 (which may only be worth half a cent in this economy- so take it for what its worth). You can get another point of view on the subject from this CIO.com article: Unified Communications, Collaboration Can Help Save Cash.