Microsoft Doesnt Offer an IP Phone System. Finally, However, Enterprises and Contact Centers Can Integrate IP Telephony to Their Microsoft Platform.

Read the name Microsoft and data is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Or talk to an IT director and youll likely hear integrated, as in Microsofts integrated approach to managing data, using solutions from the software makers integrated server platform and distinct product families.

What you dont normally read or hear in mainstream Microsoft circles, though, are phone system and IP telephony even though Microsoft has long been a proponent of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) that supports voice over IP, and continues to boost VoIP functionality in its Windows CE operating system for IP-enabled client devices.

Now, however, Interactive Intelligence has made phone calls possible on the Microsoft Windows Server System platform with an IP contact center application suite and open software architecture that welcomes Microsoft integrations. Furthering this effort, Interactive Intelligence launched its Vonexus subsidiary in June 2004 to introduce the only 100 percent Microsoft-based IP phone and communications system available today, the Enterprise Interaction Center (EIC).

Any contact center or business that relies on Microsofts solutions can therefore get a single pre-integrated server to manage voice interactions as well as data using a SIP-driven network for VoIP. The same server also gives them plenty of room and power to integrate their existing Microsoft applications, along with any new ones down the road. Better still, this single-server approach is applicable for corporate offices as well as branch locations and remote and mobile workers.

Moreover for the most critical part of any business the bottom line building upon the value of Microsofts integrated approach with Interactive Intelligence and Vonexus lets you:

Leverage your current Microsoft investment. Rather than deploying a PBX that doesn't integrate with anything else or is soon to be obsolete, simply build upon the Microsoft investment you've already made by integrating IP functionality to your Microsoft server system.

Add telephony to your Microsoft applications. Desktop Business Client integrations from Interactive Intelligence and Vonexus let you add call management capability to Outlook, Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, and Microsoft CRM with no need to add new applications. A .NET thin client strategy also lets you universally deploy Client functionality to distributed and remote users with zero-effort while reducing bandwidth requirements and eliminating the need to install software at each desktop.

• Utilize Microsofts full range of products. The IP solutions from Interactive Intelligence and Vonexus integrate with Microsoft Business Solutions applications, products from the Windows Server System, and integrate Exchange Server and Outlook for unified communications. EIC also integrates to Windows XP, Office Online applications, and Windows Mobile devices.
• Reduce customization and implementation. Integrations to these broadly deployed Microsoft applications are out-of-the-box, meaning there are no long, drawn-out, expensive integration projects. Implementation and deployment times also are reduced, and your return on investment improves dramatically.
• Stick with what you know. Or more specifically, what your employees know. Reduce training costs by letting workers continue to use the Microsoft applications theyre familiar with, and make training time almost non-existent with intuitive point and click telephony capabilities for calls, Web contacts and other interaction functions.
• Reduce overall costs. By allowing your business to deploy fewer desktop applications while increasing functionality, Interactive Intelligence and Vonexus give your business the advantage of an established technology partnership plus ongoing integration efforts between Microsoft and two companies that bring unmatched innovation, experience and value to your Microsoft platform.

Moreover, Interactive Intelligence and Vonexus let you deploy a proven telephony solution with the backing and cooperation of the largest software company in the world. So mention Microsoft now, and say phone system and voice over IP right along with it.

Peggy Gritt is Senior Director, Product Marketing for Interactive Intelligence Inc., a global developer of software for contact centers and the enterprise since 1994. Interactive Intelligence integrated out-of-the-box IP functionality into its lineup of business communications software solutions in 2002, and launched its Vonexus subsidiary in 2004 to offer the only Microsoft-based IP PBX available anywhere.