May 31 2008 12:47PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
OCS,
Mac Messenger 7.0,
Unified Communications,
UCC,
UC,
Mac,
Microsoft,
Evangelyze,
Office Communications Server 2007,
Joe Schurman,
OCS 2007,
Office Communications Server
If you are a Mac user, as an ever-increasing percentage of you seem to be, you may be feeling left out of the unified communications revolution. As Microsoft, Cisco, Avaya, IBM, and a host of smaller players all vie to establish their share of the UC pie, the Mac operating system has been largely ignored. According to Evangelyze Founder and Executive Director Joe Schurman, Microsoft has changed that with the introduction of Mac Messenger 7.0. This initial step at integrating Macs with Office Communications Server 2007 does not include Live Meeting or enterprise voice support, but it does enable Mac users to benefit from video, audio, presence, and instant messaging with other users in an OCS 2007 / UCC infrastructure.
May 31 2008 12:24PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
UCC,
UC,
Unified Communications,
Mike Stacy,
Evangelyze,
certificate,
OCS,
Office Communications Server 2007
Certificates are a key component of enabling communications between the various components of Microsoft UCC implementation. The OCS server maintains certificates with the various servers in order to facilitate secure communications. Having the certificates expire unexpectedly means losing communications unexpectedly, so admins need to be proactive about ensuring certificates are renewed or replaced before they expire. Mike Stacy, a Director at Evangelyze, discusses how to monitor OCS for certificate expiration.
Apr 30 2008 10:16PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
PBX,
VoIP,
training,
Evangelyze,
Unified Communications,
UC,
Infonetics Research,
Gartner
A recent report from Gartner suggested that one of the biggest complaints from early adopters of unified communications (UC) technologies is the lack of standards and interoperability. A recent study by Infonetics Research suggests a slightly different obstacle to adopting UC technologies - they are intimidated by the complexity of UC and concerned about product integration. I don’t necessarily agree. Certainly, at this early stage, there is progress to be made on integration and interoperability. However, I think there is a general lack of education and understanding about how to approach unified communications. The beauty of most UC solutions today is that they can be implemented using a modular approach that lets enterprises leverage their existing infrastructure, and allows them to wade in to UC rather than diving into the deep end. Organizations that are concerned about having to ditch their PBX infrastructure and start over at square one should take a look at some of the training seminars being offered by Evangelyze. A small investment in training such as The Business Value of Unified Communications, or Understanding Unified Communications Telephony can help to provide a better understanding of unified communications technologies and benefits and remove the intimidation factor.
Mar 31 2008 8:57PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
SMB Nation,
UC,
VoIP,
Unified Communications,
Joe Schurman,
Evangelyze,
ResponsePoint,
Microsoft
In a past life, I managed a PBX system. I was thrust into one of those jack-of-all-trades IT positions where I was basically tasked with deploying, administering, troubleshooting, and maintaining anything with a plug. From pencil sharpeners to servers, and desktop PC’s to laser printers, it was all my responsibility, and the PBX phone system was based in the server room so it became mine to manage. From what I recall, it was archaic and cumbersome. Just adding a phone line or a new user was a project in and of itself. That was a mere 10 years ago. Now, we have VoIP and Unified Communications, and all of the miraculous wonders those technologies bring with them. For small and medium businesses, Microsoft has a tool that is simply awesome- ResponsePoint. Evangelyze Founder and Executive Director Joe Schurman presented a demonstration of the power and simplicity of ResponsePoint at the SMB Nation conference in New York this past weekend. Visit the ResponsePoint site and watch some of the demos. I think it will blow you away. If you want more information about ResponsePoint, you can contact Evangelyze.
Mar 25 2008 7:31PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Partner of the Year,
Joe Schurman,
Gold Partner,
Microsoft,
Unified Communications,
Evangelyze
Evangelyze, a Microsoft Gold Partner, was recently awarded the Microsoft Partner Program, Unified Communications Competency Specialization. The Evangelyze team has been working with Microsoft product, marketing, and research teams since the initial release of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003. By providing global readiness, training, marketing, and research, Evangelyze has been recognized as a Unified Communications leading partner and is also nominated for the Unified Communications Partner of the Year Award for 2008, to be presented at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston, Texas July 7th, 2008. The Founder and Executive Director of Evangelyze, Joe Schurman, is an internationally renowned expert and speaker for VoIP and Unified Communications technologies.
