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.)
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