Will Your Network Handle OCS? Use This to Test It
While researching Tuesday’’s post on virtualization, I came across this link. It was too helpful not to give it its own post.
Microsoft.com — Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Capability Planning Tool
This software download (free) helps you determine how well OCS would work in your current infrastructure. If the network can handle it now, or if you”d need some new hardware.
Once you”ve determined those things, you can consult the Capability Planning Tool for documentation on installing OCS.
Install this tool only in a test environment, however. Not anything production. Wouldn”t want to mess up connections by accident, right?
Virtualized OCS: Middle-Ground Between Hosted Plans and Hardware-Heavy On-Site Setups
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
Our Three UC Amigos snuck one by me! On the 13th, they announced Microsoft’’s added virtualization support for 3 Office Communications Server 2007 R2 functions. IM, Presence, and Group Chat.
Companies installing OCS 2007 on-site can use the Hyper-V virtualization server in Windows Server 2008 for these functions. Instead of separate servers for everything.
How Does Virtualization Help OCS?
Right now there’’s pretty much two options if you want to put in OCS: Install it on-site, or go through a hosted provider. This virtualization offers a middle-of-the-road type of solution — install OCS on-site, but at a lower total cost than the original setup.
Most businesses use virtualization to cut down on their hardware footprint and reduce power usage. It’’s the same thing for OCS. By using Hyper-V, you reduce the hardware needed to run Office Communications Server AND save on your utility bill.
(In fact, our Hosted OCS platform uses Hyper-V in its setup for this very reason.)
Read more
CEOs Who Use Twitter - Live from BusinessWeek!
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), Unified Communications
This isn”t OCS-related, but it is communication-related. Something interesting I ran across this morning:
CEOs Who Use Twitter - BusinessWeek
50 CEOs who use Twitter to stay in touch. Looks like the old-time myth of the “unreachable boss” has gone away!
The reason I like this is not because of Twitter (which I do find interesting, but easily-abused). It’’s because things like OCS and Twitter help flatten old communication hierarchies.
Used to be, if you wanted to talk to the boss, you had to make an appointment with the secretary. Wait a while. MAYBE get approved. Then stammer out your request, hoping you won”t lose your job for it.
These days, communication tools reduce all that to a few minutes. The boss has to get involved, you get your work done, and everybody saves time. THAT”S what I like!
Is There a Reason to Use Instant Messaging in Business?
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2
Ah ha! I knew it would happen. Sure enough, one of our prospective clients asked us “the” question.
“Instant Messaging? Like AIM and Yahoo? We lose tons of time to those. If this OCS system has IM in it, then we could lose even more productivity!”
(I”m paraphrasing. He was a bit more flustered.)
Danger, Personal Use, Danger!
There’’s a lot of truth in his concern. Instant Messaging can be a distraction to workers. People get sucked into conversations (recall the infamous water cooler), time drains away, nothing gets done…
However, this is really an issue with people interacting. Not the technology they use.
The one technical concern everyone SHOULD worry about is users sending confidential information over IM. OCS has security in place to protect messages. But if an employee IMs a friend outside the company, someone could eavesdrop on that message.
So long as the “no confidential information” rule is respected, there’’s really no reason OCS Instant Messaging can”t be another useful office communication tool. Read more
OCS Components: Call Forwarding
(Sorry this is up a day late. We”re in the middle of a BIG website upgrade!)
In sifting through some post ideas, I came across a few OCS tips on Brett Jo’’s blog. The one I”d like to talk about today is Call Forwarding (that’’s linked to from ”OCS” in the last sentence).
Call Forwarding is pretty standard these days. You set the office phone to forward to your mobile if you”re out. Maybe you forward calls from your cellphone when you”re in the office, too. With OCS, it’’s a little different. You set up all call forwarding from Office Communicator.
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Competition on the Hosted OCS Shores?
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
Looks like we”ve got a little competition. CallTower, a company known for enterprise-level communication systems, is moving into hosting OCS-based phone systems.
It’’s okay though. Very few companies are enterprise-level. Our Hosted OCS plan is geared more toward smaller and mid-market companies. So CallTower isn”t freaking us out.
In fact, this says a lot about growing OCS adoption in the business world. People are waking up to the cost savings. And how handy OCS can be!
Face-to-Face VS. Video Conference: A Which-to-Choose Checklist
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
Traffic. The price of gas. No time anyway. Airport security. There’’s lots of reasons why business travel is more irritating than ever. (That last one’’s bad enough!) So it’’s no surprise that we field lots of questions about conferencing systems.
Which always brings up the same question. “Which is better, face-to-face meetings or conferencing?”
By “conferencing” I mean conference calls, video conferencing through systems like OCS, etc. Any system used to bridge the communication gap between you and someone who’’s not close enough for you to knock on their door.
So which IS better? Well, it depends on a few things. Like the person with whom you”re conferencing. Their relationship to you. Where they”re located. And what technology’’s available.
What Types of Meetings Do We Have?
Let’’s start with the types of meeting out there. The “type” is determined by the other person (or group) you meet, and why. This gives us about 5 major meeting types:
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Could You Use OCS in Colleges? Sure!
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
The Three UC Amigos were asked about switching from PBX on a university campus to OCS.
(Read the article here: Low Cost IP Phones for OCS? )
I thought, “Great idea!”
A college infrastructure suits OCS pretty well. Up-to-date architecture, lots of communications going on every day…and there’’s high staff turnaround. Moving people (and equipment) around practically every semester can get tiresome. Normally.
If OCS is configured for it, it will auto-recognize IP phones at a new location. Staff can literally unplug their phones, head to their new desk, and plug back in. Phone works.
This can even work for dorms, too. (Most students have cellphones these days, but there’’s still a few stragglers!) All you do is issue a phone to the room. “Here, plug this into the wall.” They do. And it works.
There’’s a link to snom IP phones on their post too. I haven”t tested out one of these phones, but they look pretty darn good. We”ll have to get our hands on one for a review!
