When IP Telephony emerged as a new technology eight years ago, it was promoted by a small number of startup companies. Gradually, the large incumbent enterprise telephony and data communication vendors adopted this technology allowing it to become a mainstream technology, merely 7 years after its introduction.

However, our biggest revolution of Unified Communications is still ahead of us. The real promise of Unified Communications and the integration of voice, video, fax, email and instant messaging exists in the user desktop. The company who controls the user desktop is now entering the unified communications world.

Microsoft, who owns the vast majority of enterprise desktop operation systems, office tools and messaging software, has announced its roadmap to provide a full enterprise unified communications solution. This fact can change the face of the enterprise unified communications market.

Most ICT managers today have already deployed Microsoft’ office tools and messaging solutions (based on Microsoft Exchange server). Choosing a new platform for telephony requires further decision making between the big IP telephony vendors such as Cisco, Avaya, Nortel, Alcatel and others. Microsoft allows ICT managers to have an easier adoption process by providing Unified Messaging and then IP Telephony solutions as an integrated part of their office servers.

AudioCodes was selected by Microsoft to be one of only two certified vendors that enable the voice support and PBX connectivity of their Unified Messaging platform: Exchange 2007. In addition, AudioCodes is one of few vendors that are a part of the Microsoft ecosystem for their unified communications strategy.

Using SIP as the protocol of choice for Unified Communications, AudioCodes’ MediaPack analog media gateways and AudioCodes Mediant™ digital media gateways enable the connectivity of existing enterprise PBXs to the Microsoft Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging platform. The same gateways can also be used the following year to connect the Microsoft Office Communications Server to the PSTN, or connect analog phones and faxes into the Microsoft IP PBX.

AudioCodes channels worldwide are given a new opportunity. Each Microsoft exchange customer is a potential for an Exchange 2007 upgrade, and with this upgrade, a migration from the existing TDM voicemail systems to a new Unified Messaging platform connected to the existing PBX with an AudioCodes gateway. Next year, organizations will start using the Microsoft Office Communications Server and the need for AudioCodes media gateways to connect the new IP telephony networks to the PSTN and existing PBXs will develop even further.

In parallel, AudioCodes keeps investing in interoperability with the largest PBX and IP-PBX vendors. Recently, AudioCodes has certified media gateways for integration with Nortel CS-1000 enterprise IP telephony platform and with Avaya’s Communication Manager (CM) and SIP Enablement Server (SES). Using the AudioCodes media gateways combined with enterprise IP telephony platforms, enhances the capacity and flexibility of the systems, saving costs as compared to native vendors’ solutions.

AudioCodes and its channels are positioned better than ever to become important players in the enterprise IP telephony world. As Unified Communications emerges from companies like Microsoft, vendors such as AudioCodes who provide best of breed, standards based media gateways, and channels who can integrate the best of breed solutions will enable the enterprise to harness the power of unified communications while saving costs and improving employee productivity.