licensing

Understanding OCS 2007 R2 Licensing

This morning Microsoft held a virtual launch event on the Web to officially unveil the new Office Communications Server 2007 R2. R2 has a whole slew of new features and functions and represents a big leap in the capabilities of OCS, but we’ll talk about that another time.

The focus of this post is on OCS 2007 R2 licensing. Any time you are dealing with enterprise software, especially when dealing with enterprise software from Microsoft, navigating the licensing options can be daunting. You want to get the functionality you need at the best possible price while also ensuring that you don’t run software illegally by not having the appropriate licensing in place.

Mike Stacy, Director of Services for Evangelyze Communications, wrote a blog post providing a detailed look at the ins and outs of licensing with OCS 2007 R2. Take a look at OCS R2 Licensing Explained to learn more about it.

The Value of VoIP

For new companies or old companies building new facilities, the value of VoIP is easier to define and the return on investment can be realized much quicker. Deploying only one infrastructure- the network infrastructure- for voice and data, rather than an IP network for data and separate wiring and infrastructure for voice presents immediate cost savings. For existing businesses, the value is still there, but removing and replacing an already present voice network is a harder sell in terms of ROI. As this article points out, there is value in VoIP, but businesses need to look carefully at the costs of licensing and the actual handset phones they will need. More importantly, to more accurately determine the value or ROI, the business needs to look not just at the ‘now’, but also project how they will grow and expand over the next 2 to 3 years and what the additional investment will be. On the other hand, VoIP is not an island an the sum total of the value of VoIP does not rest in the VoIP itself. VoIP is also a stepping stone to more comprehensive and robust unified communications solutions which can make the business more efficient and boost productivity, increasing the value of VoIP even further.