Unified Communications: Click to talk » Evangelyze

Planning Capacity and Bandwidth for OCS 2007

Tony Bradley — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:42:29 +0000

One of the most important factors in a successful VoIP or unified communications implementation is ensuring that adequate server processing horsepower and network bandwidth exist to handle the load. Streaming audio and video are less tolerant of latency and packet fragmentation, and the infrastructure has to be capable of meeting the demands of unified communications. Mike Stacy, Director of Professional Services for Evangelyze, has created an OCS Capacity and Bandwidth Calculator. The calculations to determine the number of users a given server can support, or the bandwidth capacity necessary for those users to use unified communications technologies are contained in an Excel spreadsheet which Stacy makes available for free.

Microsoft Brings UC to Mac

Tony Bradley — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:47:03 +0000

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.

Monitoring OCS Certificate Expiration

Tony Bradley — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:24:01 +0000

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.

Enterprises Intimidated by UC Complexity?

Tony Bradley — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:16:13 +0000

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.

Microsoft ResponsePoint

Tony Bradley — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:57:05 +0000

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.

Evangelyze Achieves Unified Communications Specialization

Tony Bradley — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:31:11 +0000

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.